SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Dallas Cowboys were bullied, beaten and embarrassed in their 42-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5.
They were also outcoached, outclassed and looked nothing like a team that can compete with the upper echelon of NFL teams that stand above them -- especially those in their own conference.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way.
The Cowboys were 3-1 heading into Sunday's game, and had shown that they could blow opposing teams out. They were eyeing an opportunity to prove that they belonged among the league’s best.
Meanwhile, the 49ers -- the architects of the last two playoff failures for Dallas -- were one of the two last unbeaten teams in the league.
But if this was a measuring stick game, the Cowboys brought a toothpick to a sequoia fight.
From the start, it wasn’t pretty. The 49ers took the ball on the opening drive and went on a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. The Dallas defense had struggled on initial possessions at times so far this season, but had always managed to figure it out under defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. And that certainly didn’t happen on this night.
The 49ers kept the Cowboys guessing and torched the previously top-notch defense. Quarterback Brock Purdy led the 49ers’ offense, throwing for four touchdowns -- three to tight end George Kittle -- as the second-year signal caller found receivers running wide open all game long. In the end, the Cowboys’ defense gave up 42 points after allowing just 41 through four games and they surrendered an unfathomable 421 yards in the beatdown.
A defense that had been lauded early in the season ultimately produced an uninspiring performance when facing a team with an offensive system that now seems to annually flummox them. The Cowboys' linebackers and safeties in particular were routinely picked on, looking lost in coverage.
Quinn’s group also showed themselves to be extremely undisciplined. Three penalties on third downs led to the 49ers extending drives and scoring points. The defense was on the field for over 37 minutes in all, and allowed the 49ers to convert on over 54% of their third downs.
But the loss isn’t all on the defense, of course.
Dallas’ offense looked just as bad, if not worse, while failing to total 200 yards in the whole game. In the first half, when the game was at least relatively close, the offense could not sustain drives, with six of them ending in a three-and-out.
At the half, the Cowboys were down 21-7. But even that score made the game seem closer than it really was. With the prospect of a touchdown returning the game to something close to resembling a competitive state, the first drive of the second half ended up a microcosm for Dallas’ night.
With the Cowboys driving and in 49ers territory, the offense was facing a third-and-four when head coach and new play-caller Mike McCarthy called for a low-percentage run against one of the best run defenses in the league. That effort predicatably failed, and McCarthy elected to kick a long field goal rather than being aggressive on fourth down and trying to extend the drive in hopes of scoring a touchdown.
Count it as one of the many poor coaching decisions made in the game that demonstrated the lack of faith that the head coach had in his team. If McCarthy believed in his offense, he would have gone for the first down to try to pull Dallas back to within a score. If McCarthy believed in his defense, he would have taken the gamble on fourth down with the faith that the defense could get the ball back if they failed to convert.
McCarthy chose the easy way out and took the three points to keep a two-score game a two-score game. The Cowboys and McCarthy talked all week about being aggressive and wanting to get the monkey off their back against the 49ers, but in one of the biggest moments of the contest, McCarthy’s actions proved cowardly.
The Cowboys made the field goal, but the 49ers went on to score the next 21 points and put the finishing touches on the blowout.
In defeat, the Cowboys’ hyped-up new offense sputtered, and quarterback Dak Prescott looked lost. Prescott was sacked when running outside the pocket instead of getting rid of the ball twice, overthrew a wide-open Brandin Cooks for a possible touchdown and threw interceptions on three straight possessions.
The play-calling didn’t help, but Prescott had another uneven performance in a big game, leading to more questions about his ability to lead the Cowboys on a Super Bowl run.
After all, if they can’t win in San Francisco in October with everything they claimed to put into doing so during the week, how are they going to be expected do it in January?
That speculation feels moot at this point. The team told anyone who would listen that Week 5 was set to be a season-defining game. It was -- just not in the way they expected it to be. The Cowboys fell flat on their faces with their chance to prove themselves.
For the last few months, Dallas has had a great feeling about their team, with some saying this is their best squad in a number of years.
While that might be true, it’s more telling to see just how much the 49ers appear to be levels above the Cowboys.
No, the Cowboys still aren’t ready for the big-time. Sunday's game was a rough way to be hit with a dose of reality.
On Sunday Night Football, in front of a national audience, Jerry Jones’ team spit the bit.
Again.
Do you believe the Cowboys can recover to become a contender following the Week 5 loss? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.