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• John Short

  

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  March 14, 2024 6:24 AM EDT

  The Week 5 edition of Tre Jones Jersey "Sunday Night Football" isn't any old game between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers, it's a grudge match. The 49ers ended the Cowboys' last two seasons in 2021 and 2022 after Dallas won 12 games in each. First, there was the 23-17 defeat in the 2021 NFC wild card round at AT&T Stadium. Last season, it was a 19-12 slip-up in Santa Clara, California, at Levi's Stadium in the divisional round. "It's obvious,"when asked about how he felt after the Cowboys' season-ending lo s to the 49ers last January. "I mean, we're so far past that, to be honest with you, that's obvious. You just want to pi s me off going into this week, and I appreciate that. I do actually. I do. I appreciate that." When asked if that defeat served as a motivator for the Cowboys, Prescott replied honestly."Every day," Prescott said. "Every day."Both of these teams have been two of the NFL's best through the first four weeks of the 2023 season. 2023 (FIRST FOUR GAMES)COWBOYS49ERSPoints Scored124 (4th)125 (3rd)Points Allowed41 (1st)58 (T-3rd)Point Differential+83 (2nd)+67 (3rd)Turnovers1 (T-1st)1 (T-1st)Takeaways10 (T-2nd)5 (T-12th)Turnover Differential+9 (1st)+4 (T-6th)"There's no bitter taste, this is a top NFC team," Cowboys All-Pro linebacker. "I think it's us, Philly and the 49ers at the top of the NFC . This is a playoff game. This is something you look forward to. It's going to be a test. It's going to be back and forth. It's going to go down to the wire. It's almost a rivalry at this point. It is going to be super exciting." Date:Sunday, Oct. 8|Time:8:20 p.m. ETLocation:Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, California)TV:NBC|Stream:Follow: Odds: 49ers -4; O/U 45Both teams only scored one touchdown in the last meeting, a 19-12 49ers victory, but between Prescott taking much better care of the football, with four touchdowns and only one interception through four games, and having more receiving options -- Pro Bowl receiver CeeDee Lamb, Cooks, a healthy Michael Gallup, tight end Jake Ferguson and a healthy Pro Bowl running back in Tony Pollard to name a few, Dallas feels like they have an improved ability to move the football on San Francisco's defense. Prescott threw a combined two touchdowns to three interceptions in the two postseason lo ses to the 49ers in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.The turnovers are what killed the Cowboys offense last time around with Prescott throwing a critical red zone interception at the end of the first half as well as a pick inside the Dallas 25. In 2023, Dallas only has one giveaway, tied for the fewest in the NFL along with the 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks, while running McCarthy's Texas Coast offense, a combination of what the Cowboys ran under Moore plus some concepts and plays that were staples of the head coach's various offenses over the years, including his Super Bowl-winning stop with the Green Bay Packers. Being able to run a multiple-dimensional offense and not put the entire offense on Prescott's right arm will also be key, something that should be easier with the return to health for Pollard, who suffered a fractured fibula just before halftime of last postseason's defeat. With the game tied 6-6 and under two minutes left in the first half, Pollard caught a checkdown from quarterbackfor 8 yards down to the San Francisco 18, just inside the red zone. He was tackled by then-49ers safety Jimmy Ward and after Ward came off of him, Pollard could only crawl. Instant replay revealed Ward had landed on the back of the running back's left foot/ankle area, and the forced applied on that impact resulted in a devastating injury. The play after Sean Elliott Jersey Pollard's injury resulted in a Prescott interception as he tried to squeeze a pa s to top receiver. His pa s was tipped by Ward and then picked off by 49ers All-Pro linebacker.One could also argue Prescott's insistence on forcing the football to Lamb almost exclusively also cost the Cowboys the game in their last go at the 49ers. Lamb had a game-high 13 targets that went for 10 catches and 117 yards, tight end Dalton Schultz had 10 targets that went for five catches, 27 yards and a touchdown while no other wide receiver had more than's three targets. Prescott's second interception of the game occurred because he attempted to squeeze a pa s to Lamb in double coverage, and he mi sed what could have been an easy touchdown to receiver T.Y Marco Belinelli Jersey . Hilton because he has locked on to Lamb in the third quarter. Facing third-and-5 from the 49ers' 40, Prescott took a deep shot down the middle intended for Lamb who lined up in the slot to the right of the offensive line. Warner anticipated the throw as he dropped back into deep zone coverage and knocked the ball away. Dallas then took a delay-of-game penalty and punted the football away. Then-Cowboys receiver T.Y. Hilton ended up being wide open on the play for what could have been an easy Cowboys touchdown. The 49ers scored their only touchdown of the night on their ensuing po se sion. Perhaps now that Cooks, a player whose six career seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards are tied for the third-most in the NFL since 2014, trailing onlywideout(nine seasons) andtight end(seven) in that statistic, is a Cowboy, Prescott will feel more comfortable looking away from Lamb and keeping the 49ers defense honest. The 30-year-old only has eight catches for 66 yards in three games this season, mi sing Week 2 against the New York Jets with a knee sprain, but another element to his humble stat line is three of the Cowboys' four games have been monster blowouts: Dallas has outscored the Giants, Jets and Patriots 108 to 13 in their three victories this season. That means McCarthy has been able to button up his play-calling and go with a more conservative, vanilla approach in the second half of games so far this season. The Cowboys feel that also means they have many more explosive plays up their sleeve that the league hasn't seen in 2023."A good bit, yeah, a good bit," Prescott said of how much of their offense they have yet to utilize this season.The 49ers defensive front is led by 2022 Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa, whose 18.5 sacks led the NFL last season. His 90 quarterback pre sures were tied with Parsons for the most in the NFL. This season, the 49ers are generating pre sure on 39.4% of opposing quarterback dropbacks, the seventh-highest rate in the league.San Francisco has Pro Bowl running backrolling on a historic, MVP pace. He is the third player in NFL history with 600 or more scrimmage yards (600) and seven or more scrimmage touchdowns (seven) through his team's first four games to start a season. He is now the third member of that club along with Pro Football Hall of Famers Jim Brown (1958 and 1963) and Emmitt Smith. Smith took home the MVP in that 1993 season while Brown claimed the award in his first such season with that hot start back in 1958.However, the 49ers offense is far from a one-man show. They also feature four-time Pro Bowler, perhaps the most complete tight end in the NFL today between his prowe s as a receiver and a blocker, as well as Pro Bowl wide receiver, the only player in NFL history with over 1,400 receiving yards and 300 rushing yards in a single season (did so in 2021). They also have wide receiver, a player who has seen all 17 of his catches this season go for either a first down or a touchdown and whose expected points added per target (1.40) leads the NFL.To combat that arsenal of playmakers, Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn will rely heavily on Parsons and the Cowboys pa s rush. Parsons' 25.7% quarterback pre sure rate is the highest in the NFL among 109 players with 75 or more pa s rushes this season. He also co-leads the NFL in quarterback pre sures with 27 alongside the'and the'following his explosion against theon Sunday in which he recorded 10 quarterback pre sures Dejounte Murray Jersey . That is tied for the most in a game this season along withdefensive end10 against theon "Monday Night Football" in Week 3. The Cowboys team quarterback pre sure rate of 55.6% leads the NFL, and no other team is above 45%."They play a system that has guys playing multiple positions, and we do too," Quinn. "They have receivers that can play running back, running backs that can play wide receiver. We have some linebackers that can rush Parsons . We have some that go down and back . We have some safeties that can go down and back ,and . There is going to be all sorts of fun matchups in this game. A lot of late nights and studying to go because they really push you to prepare and we'll do every bit of that. We have a group that moves guys around in the same way. I think there are some fun matchups you'll see in the game."Dallas' pa s rush getting the better of 49ers All-Pro left tackleand an otherwise average pa s-blocking line that is allowing a 36.4% pre sure rate on quarterback dropbacks ranks 19th in the NFL entering Week 5 could decide the outcome Sunday night.'s play when he had a clean pocket to throw from versus when the Cowboys' pa s-rush got home in the postseason against made him look like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.PURDYCLEAN POCKETPRESSUREDComp-Att15-174-12Pa s Yards/Att9.44.6Pa ser Rating105.649.0"They are very mindful of it keeping Purdy upright and taking care of the football ," Quinn said. "They are taking care of the ball as well, I think they only have one giveaway for Tony Parker Jersey the entire season so far. That shows you how they coach it and how they take care of it. Both offenses are very good at that taking care of the football . Those will be the turning points in the game: if we can knock one out or get one. They have done a good job over the first four games for sure."Prediction: Cowboys 20, 49ers 16Both offenses are taking great care of the football, but the difference in this game will be what Parsons and the Cowboys' NFL-best pa s-rush versus an average 49ers offensive line outside of Trent Williams. They should get home enough against Purdy in order to stymie drives or force a rare turnover. Whichever offense blinks first will likely end up determining the game. It's more likely to be the 49ers' because of the unrelenting defensive front they will be facing.