Grant Gordon’s takeaways:
- Purdy has emerged as top-tier QB. It’s time to toss the plucky underdog narrative on Brock Purdy into the trash bin. He’s not merely a feel-good story; he’s become an elite NFL quarterback helming an NFC heavyweight. Facing a dastardly Dallas defense on Sunday night, Purdy carved up the Cowboys with startling poise and accuracy. As his more experienced opposing QB sputtered, Purdy stood tall to the tune of a ridiculously efficient night: 17-of-24 passing, 252 yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 144.4 passer rating in fewer than four quarters of work. Nestled behind a phenomenal offensive line performance, Purdy never found a moment too large in the biggest game of the 2023 NFL season so far. He’s 10-0 to start his career (in the regular season), having become just the fourth quarterback since 1950 to win each of his first 10 starts. Purdy is most certainly surrounded by an all-star cast, but he’s fast becoming a star himself.
- Prescott struggles mightily in blowout loss. Heavy is the helmet that wears the Cowboys’ QB1 crown, and it’s very weighty right about now. Make no mistake, the Cowboys as a whole were a struggle bus on Sunday night. Their new-age doomsday defense got blown out. The offense had no balance, as evidenced by a miniscule 59 net rushing yards. However, in a pivotal season for Dak Prescott, he melted on a prime-time stage, forcing balls to covered receivers and failing to overcome a staunch San Francisco defense. Having tied for the league-high with 15 picks a season ago, Prescott put an onus on making sound decisions and not turning the ball over. Against the 49ers, though, he threw his second, third and fourth interceptions of the season — more than he had in any single game last campaign. There’s plenty of season left for Dallas, but this one will sting and will surely pile up cause for concern regarding Prescott’s play for a perceived Super Bowl contender.
- Warner shines brightest among defensive all-stars. A slugfest throughout, Sunday night’s showdown featured a parade of defensive standouts, but when the game was in the balance in the first half, Fred Warner might well have been the best player of the field. With his Niners clinging to a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter, Warner dialed up a textbook punchout to force a Tony Pollard fumble. The All-Pro linebacker then ended back-to-back drives when he corralled Prescott for a third-down sack on the ensuing drive. At evening’s end, Warner had eight tackles, a sack, an interception and a forced fumble, leading the way in a masterful 49ers defensive performance.
Next Gen stat of the game: Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was pressured on 37% of his dropbacks, but when he wasn’t pressured he was 9 of 17 for 77 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, a 25.5 QB rating and a -13.1% CPOE.
NFL Research: Niners running back Christian McCaffrey’s lost fumble to start the second quarter snapped a streak of 995 consecutive carries without a lost fumble, which was the longest active streak in the NFL. McCaffrey came back to score a 1-yard touchdown later in the quarter, becoming the fifth player in NFL history to score a scrimmage touchdown in 14 straight games (including playoffs).
