Niners Nation
Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Monday, October 28th, 2024
3 takeaways after 49ers avoid scare in up-and-down win over Cowboys
“It’s impossible to understate how pathetic of a performance the 49ers put on in the first half. This Dallas team is bad. They are without Micah Parsons, Demarcus Lawrence and DaRon Bland. It should have been a wire-to-wire waxing.
But seemingly whenever there was a timeout or a stoppage in play, the 49ers would take an impressive drive and halt. Whether it was a hold, a missed block, or a missed throw from Brock Purdy, San Francisco consistently put itself in disadvantageous situations.
Then the second half started and they snapped awake.”
“Maybe the bye week is the salve for their errors. Sure. Watch some film, get a real practice or two in, and return reinvigorated. That absolutely can’t hurt.
The real hope is that Christian McCaffrey returns and saves the day. If you’re getting even half the player he was last year, that’s a monumental upgrade for this offense. Even if he’s just a third-down receiver, or a slot receiver, that could help solve their red zone struggles.
Isaac Guerendo’s emergence is a genuine boon, too. He can take some of the load of McCaffrey and might *whispers* just be a better option then Jordan Mason.
But even McCaffrey doesn’t solve the offensive line missing assignments. He doesn’t solve Brock Purdy missing reads and missing throws in ways he never did before this season (though he’d certainly give Purdy a safety valve). He doesn’t solve the fact that their second half of the season is grueling.
It starts with the Buccaneers on the road (granted, without Chris Godwin and Mike Evans), the Seahawks at home, then the Packers and Bills on the road, the Bears and surging Rams at home, the rebounding Dolphins in Miami, the Lions at home, then a trip to Arizona to end it.
It’s doable, sure.
But until this team makes a compelling argument that it can actually avoid short-circuiting on a regular basis, their sales pitch rings hollow. The chance is there. The opportunity is there. Being 4-4, as ugly and downright stupid as some of this season has been, gives them a chance to redeem themselves. We will see who they are and who they have when they emerge from this bye.”
49ers pull off big win over Dallas behind George Kittle, fend off furious Cowboys rally (paywall)
“The All-Pro tight end helped fill the skill-position voids by celebrating National Tight Ends Day — the faux holiday he created — with a 6-catch, 128-yard one-touchdown performance in which he collected his 500th career reception.”
Maiocco’s Observations: Kittle, Purdy torch Cowboys in 49ers’ win
“This season, the 49ers have been up and down. And against the Cowboys, the arrow was pointing up after a tough start. The 49ers stopped Dallas on their final five third-down attempts.”
