One thing no one is talking about (but should) from 49ers vs. Cowboys game

It might have gone unnoticed, but the 49ers' special teams unit actually did well enough in the Week 8 victory over the Cowboys.

One of the glaring themes from the San Francisco 49ers' first six weeks of the season was just how bad special teams were.

Like, seriously atrocious.

Whether it was blocked punts, giving up massive returns, kickers suffering injuries or whatever, it seemed as if special teams were causing the Niners to lose winnable games on nearly a weekly basis.

Thankfully, San Francisco won a crucial Week 8 bout over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, one at least in terms of special teams comparisons, was heavily gravitating toward Dallas for the crucial third phase of the game.

Entering the week, the Cowboys owned the No. 1 special teams crop in the league, in terms of DVOA, whereas the 49ers were ranked No. 31 overall.

While there were plenty of nail-biting moments during the game, particularly in the second half when the Niners got out to a big league, followed by Dallas' fourth-quarter surge, special teams didn't exactly play a featured role in the Sunday night saga.

And that's a good thing.

49ers special teams were... good vs. Cowboys in Week 8

One of the key worry points for San Francisco had to be the return prowess of wide receiver/return specialist KaVontae Turpin, who had just one 13-yard punt return and averaged 23 yards on five kickoffs, never getting more than 26 yards on any single return.

Considering the 49ers boasted the NFL's worst punt-return-allowed average in the game, and were in the bottom three in kick-return yards allowed, containing Turpin was a major boost.

Now, some of the Cowboys' own special teams woes stemmed from two illegal formations on kickoffs. And 49ers kicker Anders Carlson did kick a ball out of bounds on one particular kickoff.

However, by and large, the Niners did their job here. Carlsen didn't miss a field goal or extra point, and there were no special teams turnovers by San Francisco either.

Wouldn't you know it? The DVOA metric now bumped the 49ers up to No. 30 overall!

"I have no concerns with [special teams coordinator] Brian Schneider, if that’s what you mean by that," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters the Monday after the game. "I think that’s what you’re implying and that hasn’t entered my head at all. No, that hasn’t entered my head at all. I thought, I was proud of us last night. I thought we were up against a huge challenge."

While fans will want to see repeated improvement from special teams over the next few weeks, one can at least hope this unit has proverbially "stopped the bleeding" from this group being a pinnacle weakness for the 49ers prior to Week 8.

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