What we learned in the Dallas Cowboys’ humbling 42-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers

It has been said for many years: be careful what you asked for because you just might get it.

Well, a Dallas Cowboys team that openly pointed to Sunday’s showdown against the undefeated San Francisco 49ers for revenge from past failures and as a measuring stick for how far they have come bit off a little more than it could chew at Levi’s Stadium.

It simply no contest from start to the finish as the 49ers led 21-7 at halftime and were up 42-10 in the fourth quarter when quarterback Dak Prescott was benched after throwing his third interception in the second half.

Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy made wholesale changers on the staff following last January’s playoff loss. He fired 8 coaches and took over playcalling.

He was blunt in his assessment on Sunday’s outcome, calling the loss humbling and much more.

“It’s a punch in the gut, it’s a kick in the ass, whatever phrase you want to put on it,” McCarthy said. “We’ve been knocked down. Clearly. They beat us in all three phases. They played extremely well and we did not. And it was one of the years where I thought we had taken a step as a team. I didn’t see this coming. We did not hit the mark at all.”

Prescott will get the headlines but this was a thorough outclassing of the Cowboys (3-2) by the 49ers (5-0) on both sides of the ball.

A Cowboys defense that calls itself the best in the league could do nothing with 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who completed 17 of 24 passes for 252 yards and four wide open touchdown passes, including three to tight end George Kittle.

The Cowboys defense registered no sacks.

And with the team in trail position for the entire game, Prescott and the Cowboys offense had no magic.

Prescott completed just 14 of 24 passes for 153 yards with one touchdown and the three interceptions.

The Cowboys dropped to 3-2 on the season and look further away from the 49ers (5-0) than they did in the playoff losses in each of the past two seasons.

The outscored their opponents 110-13 in their three wins and now have lost two games by double digits, including a 28-16 setback to the 1-4 Arizona Cardinals.

Prescott called the loss demoralizing.

“I guess that’s a good word, in a sense,” Prescott said. “Didn’t see it coming. Put everything into it and got punched in the mouth. Called it a couple of weeks ago a humbling against Arizona. But this may be the most humbling I’ve ever been a part of.”

It was easily the team’s worst loss since McCarthy took over in 2020.

“It was a humbling loss. Clearly, stating the obvious,” McCarthy said. “It’s been a wide range of performances, as wide of a range as I can ever recall in a five-week period. So, the biggest thing is for us to be accountable. It was clearly humbling, but it is one game.

“Frankly, starting with me, I didn’t do a good job tonight. It clearly shows where we are as a team. We’ve got work to do. We’ve got a lot of work to do. And we’ve got a game in eight days.

The Cowboys play at the Los Angeles Chargers next Monday in what could be an early-season must-win game.

What we learned in the Dallas Cowboys blowout loss vs. San Francisco 49ers:

Dak Prescott’s revenge all bark, no bite

Prescott said all offseason he was fueled by last season’s playoff loss to the 49ers and had pointed to Sunday’s matchup as opportunity for revenge.

Prescott wasn’t the sole reason why the Cowboys fell behind 21-7 at halftime and 28-10 in the third quarter.

But he and the offense struggled and were punchless early with a total of 6 yards and no first downs in the first quarter.

“Not converting on third down,” McCarthy said in trying to explain the struggles on offense. “We had manageable third downs in the first half. We didn’t convert. That was probably our biggest negative in the first half. And I didn’t like the balance of run-pass. That’s not the way you need to play.”

And when the Cowboys needed a play to get back in the game, Prescott missed a wide-open Brandin Cooks and then imploded with three picks after the 49ers took a 28-10 lead with 7:20 left in the third quarter.

A greedy overthrow to Cooks was picked off by safety Tashuan Gibson in the third quarter was followed by tipped pick off the hands of Michael Gallup to linebacker Fred Warner in the fourth. Linebacker Oren Burks jumped a slant to Cooks for third pick.

Prescott, who led the league 15 interceptions in 12 games last year, now has four picks and five touchdown passes through five games.

Prescott was benched and Cooper Rush took over for the final 8:47 of the game and the Cowboys down 42-10.

Rushing for just 57 yards on 19 attempts didn’t help, either

“We didn’t establish a rhythm,” Prescott said. “We couldn’t get the run game going. Didn’t get the run game going. It’s tough to get completions and when that’s the case and you’re not getting first downs and putting yourself in third-and-managables, a position that we’d like to be in. It’s always gonna be tough. It’s a tough business and then when you when you’re stepping on your own feet and not getting in a rhythm, you’re only making it harder. And against a team like that, its damn near impossible.”

Defense had no answers, own worst enemy with penalties

It was bad enough that the Cowboys defense allowed the 49ers to walk down the field on the opening drive of the game, offering little resistance on a 7-play, 75-yard drive that included a facemask penalty on safety Donovan Wilson and an offsides flag on edge rusher Micah Parsons.

Purdy made it 7-0 on a 19-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Kittle.

The Cowboys simply gifted the 49ers their next two scores.

An offsides penalty on safety Jayron Kearse on a third-down incomplete pass extended a drive that was capped by a 38-yard touchdown to Kittle, who was wide open again thanks to a double reverse hand off in the backfield.

Wilson was the culprit later in the period when he nullified an incomplete pass on third down with helmet hit on the receiver, drawing a personal foul penalty.

The 49ers ended that drive with a 1-yard run from Christian McCaffrey and a 21-7 halftime lead.

The Cowboys pass rush was non existent for much of the day. Receivers were often wide open in the secondary.

And the unit proved it had no answers for Kyle Shanahan’s offense in the third quarter when a 41-yard pass from Purdy to Brandon Aiyuk was wiped out by a holding penalty.

On 3rd and 14, the Purdy hit Deebo Samuel for 46 yards and a first down. Then Kittle caught his third wide-open touchdown pass of the game against a confused and flustered Cowboys defense to make the score 28-10.

McCarthy said Cowboys hurt themselves with penalties but they also were no match for Purdy and the 49ers attack.

“I thought they played at a high level,” McCarthy said. “It starts with the run and the things that come off that. I think they do an excellent job with the shifts and motions. Frankly, I felt Brock played extremely well. I thought he made some big time throws tonight.”

KaVontae Turpin scores TD, lost for game with ankle injury

Cowboys kick returner/receiver KaVontae Turpin was expected to a big part of the game plan against the 49ers.

Turpin believed he missed out on two possible returns for touchdowns in last season’s playoff loss and was hoping to make up for it on Sunday.

The Cowboys used him to take advantage of their speed mismatches with some deep shots, midway though the second quarter when Prescott connected with a wide-open Turpin on a 26-yard touchdown to narrow the lead to 14-7 with 7:45 left in the half.

But Turpin then suffered ankle injury the next time he touched the ball on a kickoff return after a 49ers touchdown. Backup running back Deuce Vaughn replaced him as the punt returner and Rico Dowdle handled kickoff returns.

Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch leaves game with neck injury

The Cowboys got a huge scare in the fourth quarter when linebacker Leighton Vander Esch stayed on the ground after a collision with Parsons on a 26-yard touchdown run by Jordan Mason, making the score 42-10.

Vander Esch was taken immediately to the locker room after getting up wobbly. The Cowboys diagnosed Vander Esch with a neck injury.

Before getting injured he had led the Cowboys with 10 tackles, including 4 solo and one for a loss.

The injury could be a huge blow for Vander Esch and the Cowboys. He has history with spinal stenosis and plays with an extra brace on his shoulder pads to protect his neck.

McCarthy said the doctors are still evaluating the extent of Vander Esch’s injury and refused to comment further.

“Thoughts and prayers and hoping for the best for for whatever it is with Leighton,” Prescott said. “Obviously understanding he’s had previous history. Just thoughts and prayer with him and hope everything can be smooth.”

The Cowboys are also thin at linebacker with only Damone Clark and Vander Esch on the active roster. Malik Jefferson was called up from the practice squad to help out on special teams and give the Cowboys some depth at the position.