The bye week is over. Sean Lee is healthy. Ezekiel Elliott will play. Oh, and the Dallas Cowboys are in California this week to play the San Francisco 49ers. A lot has been said all week about this game, and mostly about how the Cowboys can right the ship by beating the 49ers, but is it really that simple?
Through five weeks of Dallas football, the Cowboys have struggled to get the ground game going. They’ve fielded an unspectacular defense that, at times, looks totally lost on plays, and generally can’t tackle. And they’ve consistently failed to close out games.
In spite of little turnover among the front seven, opposing running backs have marched at will. The secondary is mostly new, save for Byron Jones, yet the familiar sight of ill-prepared players failing to effectuate Rod Marinelli’s cover defense continues.
I think beating the 49ers, while a step in the right direction, is just the beginning for these Cowboys.
The San Francisco 49ers might be an 0-6 team right now, and they’ve recently named a very young quarterback as their starter, but a winless team is a hungry team.
A winless team is one with little to lose and much to gain. Teams like that can be creative and fierce, and they can turn a virtually guaranteed route into an upset before anyone can figure out how. And these 49ers have suffered some very close losses this year.
Now, with that said, the Dallas Cowboys have a key member of their defense back this week. Sean Lee was sorely missed. He’s the captain of the defense, the general on the field, and having him back should help the Cowboys contain the 49ers. It should also give Jaylon Smith a spell, which we all know is needed.
Ezekiel Elliott was given temporary relief from the league’s impending suspension and gets another chance to help this team win a ball game. Is it enough?
The offensive line hasn’t been what we know they can be and Zeke’s success has floundered as a result. He’s turned some sure losses into gains by just being Zeke, but we’re going to need more than that.
We’re going to need the league’s best offensive line to make an appearance.
You might say that’s all terribly negative. Indeed, there’s a bitter undertone to my words that I think can be detected even through plain text. It’s not negative or pessimistic, though. It’s just knowing what happens if the 49ers get their first win of the season tomorrow. Stuff starts hitting the fan.
It’s also a little realism. These Cowboys haven’t been dominant this year. If only week one could have lasted the whole season, right?
But enough with all of that. The game must be played for us to know exactly which Cowboys team is going to show up, so let’s get down to the writer’s analyses. As always, I encourage you to add your own predictions for the game in our comments section below.
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Dallas Defense Dominates
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The Dallas Cowboys defense gets back on track against newly named starter C.J. Beathard. DeMarcus Lawrence adds to his league leading sack total and David Irving continues his strong start to the 2017 season. John Williams – @john9williams
Cowboys 31 – 49ers 17
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Cowboys Defense Comes Up Big After Shaky Finish
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A lot of fans think this game is going to be a cake walk for the Cowboys. That’s not the case. The 49ers are obviously 0-6 but have played tight in every game so far this season. Dallas will jump out to an early lead, but continue to struggle in the second half. Dallas wins this one by the skin of their teeth with the help from a late strip-sack by DeMarcus Lawrence. Connor Livesay – @Connorx147
Cowboys 28 – 49ers 23
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Beat-down by the Bay
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The Cowboys have had two weeks to stew over tough losses to the Rams and Packers. They are going to come out as fired up as we may have ever seen them, and that’s bad news for the hapless 49ers. Jess Haynie – @CowboysAddicts
Cowboys 34 – 49ers 16
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Cowboys Get Back to Blueprint of Past Success
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Is it overly optimistic to think the Dallas Cowboys can put four quarters of football together to finally defeat an NFL team? I don’t think so, and I believe this is the week they do it. I’m predicting we see a heavy dose of Ezekiel Elliott to control the game clock and help hide the defense. It’s a blueprint that has worked for them in the past and something I think they want to get back to. Brian Martin – @BrianMartinNFL
Cowboys 34 – 49ers 24
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Everything Is All Right
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For the second time in the season, the Cowboys need to make an “everything is alright” kind of statement. It’s been a tough start, but the Cowboys start turning things around with a comfortable win versus San Francisco. Mauricio Rodriguez – @PepoR99
Cowboys 30 – 49ers 20
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Back to Dak-ction
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Seeing so many in Cowboys Nation refer to the Cowboys’ return to the field as a “get well game” on Sunday is, to be completely honest, worrisome. The Cowboys have found new ways to keep opponents in games each week, and that will get you beat more times than not in this league. The 49ers have done everything they can to get their first win, and while I expect them to put up another fight at home, this game will be all about the Dallas offense dominating off the bye. The difference this time – Marinelli’s defense responds with Sean Lee back on the field against a rookie QB, and the Cowboys get a needed win. Sean Martin – @SeanMartinNFL
Cowboys 38 – 49ers 17
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Turn This Season Around
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To be honest, I just think the Cowboys are a better team than the 49ers. While the 49ers’ record is a bit fraudulent (they should have a couple wins), they still cannot match up talent-wise with the Cowboys for four quarters. Let’s hope that the “real” Cowboys show up Sunday looking hungry after their bye week. Kevin Brady – @KevinBrady88
Cowboys 27 – 49ers 17
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Take Nothing for Granted
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The Cowboys are in a tough spot right now. The 49ers are in a tougher spot. This game has season long implications for both teams, and I expect the game plans from both head coaches to include “fight for every inch” somewhere. The 49ers have a knack for losing nail-biters this season, and I expect Dallas to do just enough to give them their seventh nail-biter loss. Bryson Treece – @BrysonTreece
Cowboys 31 – 49ers 27
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Looks like we’re all in agreement here, on everything except the margin of victory, but I’d like to know what you think of the coming matchup between the Cowboys and Niners. Comment below. As always, Go Cowboys!
This game could be dangerous for Dallas. This kind of reminds me of the first game of the season; I think Dallas spent the whole off-season preparing for their first opponent, the team they hate the most, the N.Y. Giants. They came out prepared for that game but after they won it was like they forgot they had the rest of the season to play. After that game they looked completely lost compared to what I was expecting. We all know they have plenty of talent on Offense and after the first game it looked like the Defense was going to be OK. Unlike a lot of what I’ve read, I still believe in this coaching staff especially the DC. I hope the Cowboys come out strong, drive the length of the field and put 7 on the board. Then I hope our D looks confident, tackles well and forces some sacks and turnovers and a lot of 3 and outs. Then we need to continue in this manner for the full 60 minutes and finish the game STRONG. We need it after starting so well by defeating the Division rival who has given us so much trouble in the past, beating them and falling back into that familiar yo-yo pattern of the last few years that we’re all so familiar with. This 49ers team will play us like this game is their Super Bowl like all teams play us, which is why we ALWAYS have to be at our best. Go Big D!
Dallas 28-17
SF 28-17
One of those… ;^)
I think a lot of shakeups may emerge tomorrow – maybe Butler starting, Heath not starting, more pass to establish run. But they must improve in the secondary if this is to be a contending season, and with Awuzie unable to get healthy it’s time to see how much Lewis and Woods can impact the unit.
I don’t know what the fortunes are for this defense. I think I can get more consistent pressure now by setting Irving up inside next to Lawrence. It would help a fledgling secondary, and Lee helps everything – but there is no way to project whether they get better short term and start contributing to wins, or if this is effectively a rebuild year for the unit.
While the last thing the defense needs to be more of a help is more field minutes, I think the Cowboys have to start making defenses pay for loaded boxes. Get a long hit to Butler early in single coverage, now they go back to 2 deep and can’t rotate over as much on Dez. Pass-to-run straps the offense to Dak more, but I like his chances with less pressure on 1st down.