The 49ers had their first true test against the Cowboys and passed it with flying colors, winning 42-10 in a game that was never close. Niner Noise hands out grades (hint, there are a lot of A's).
The San Francisco 49ers, despite their perfect record this season, have never been able to put together a complete game this year. They came close against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but a couple of defensive miscues seemed to hold them back. Against the Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals, they played teams that game-planned to minimize the Niners' chances against them, and they won games by margins far larger than they should have.
Well, against the best team they faced so far, and possibly the second-best team they'll play the entire season, the Dallas Cowboys, the 49ers put together the most dominant 45 minutes of football this team is capable of doing.
The only reason it is not 60 minutes is that San Francisco pulled its starters around the beginning of the fourth quarter.
The 49ers had a wire-to-wire victory, scoring first on their opening drive, and after a couple of drives stalling out, they put another touchdown on the board to go up 14-0. The Cowboys responded with their own touchdown, but the Niners got a touchdown of their own to go up 21-7 heading into halftime.
Out of the half, the Cowboys got a field goal on the board, but the 49ers responded with their own touchdown, and that was it for Dallas's offense.
The 49ers thoroughly dominanted all phases of the game, and it resulted in a dominant blowout: a 42-10 victory.
Here are the grades from the contest.
49ers Offensive Grades
The 49ers offense had 25 first downs, six touchdowns, over 300 yards of total offense, and only one turnover against what was a top-five NFL defense, statistically.
49ers Rushing Offense
The rushing offense was not just the Christian McCaffrey show for once.
McCaffrey had his most inefficient performance this year, finishing with only 51 yards on a paltry 2.7 yards per carry. He was clearly the focal point of the Cowboys defense, and they keyed in on him and then some.
But the other 49ers pulled their weight. Deebo Samuel had 30 yards on five carries, and Jordan Mason had 69 yards on 10 carries as he filled in admirably for McCaffrey and then took the beginning portion of garbage time carries.
Both Mason and McCaffrey finished with a touchdown, and even Tyrion Davis-Price got into the game, though 21 yards came when the Niners were simply trying to burn the clock.
San Francisco's rushing attack was not overly impressive, but it was situationally dominant, and that's all that was needed.
Grade: A-
49ers Passing Offense
Against a vaunted Cowboys pass rush, Brock Purdy was sacked once on a semi-scramble after a blitz. Against a talented Cowboys secondary, Purdy threw for 252 yards and four touchdowns, missing only seven throws on 24 attempts, and generally keeping the ball out of harm's way.
With Purdy, the question has started to change from what he can do, and how much he could limit this offense, to what can't he do, and what is the limit for a player who has managed to exceed every expectation.
Equally deserving of props are George Kittle, who had a career-high three touchdowns on only three receptions, Brandon Aiyuk, whose four receptions for 58 yards understate just how open he was, and Deebo Samuel, who had 55 yards of his own.
The 49ers passing offense was simultaneously efficient and explosive. That is a hard combination to beat.
Grade: A
49ers Defensive Grades
The 49ers defense has been solid but not spectacular over the course of the season, but they put together their most complete game against a talented Cowboys offense, forcing four turnovers and allowing only 10 points.
49ers Rushing Defense
Last year in the playoffs, Tony Pollard's injury took away a primary element of Dallas' success.
There were no such caveats Sunday night.
Pollard was healthy, the Cowboys had their entire offensive line healthy, and yet they finished with 57 yards on the ground (and that includes garbage-time yards from the depths of their roster).
The Niners held Pollard to only 29 yards on only eight carries, as the Cowboys eventually had to abandon the run like most teams have against San Francisco.
It was a consistent effort from the 49ers defensive line and linebackers that kept the Cowboys one-dimensional.
Grade: A+
49ers Passing Defense
Dak Prescott finished with 153 yards on 24 attempts with three interceptions. The 49ers sacked Prescott three times and Cooper Rush one time, and beyond one drive that ended in a touchdown to KaVontae Turpin and one pass to Ceedee Lamb, the Cowboys got nothing going down the field.
What was most exciting from the 49ers' perspective was their propensity to force turnovers. That was missing from their defense in the last couple of weeks, but they were able to change momentum on a dime, and near the end, it was the 49ers defense that shut the door on the game, led by Fred Warner.
Grade: A+
49ers Special Teams and Coaching Grades
49ers Special Teams
Jake Moody was perfect on his extra points, Mitch Wishnowsky was similarly excellent pinning the Cowboys deep, Ray-Ray McCloud broke off a couple exceptional returns, and no kickoffs went out of bounds. A great day for 49ers special teams.
Grade: A
49ers Coaching
The 49ers had a perfect plan on how to attack the Cowboys, both on offense and on defense. They attacked the Cowboys defense on the edges, neutralizing the vaunted Cowboys pass rush. They got their weapons in space,
On defense, they pressed the Cowboys, not allowing them space to get comfortable. It was a masterclass in preparation that allowed for the 49ers players to succeed.
Grade: A+