How good are the 49ers?

[tyke1doe]

I'm encouraged by our win, but I'm still not convinced.
Sorry, but 27 years of futility is not wiped away by one playoff victory, even on the road.
But ...
I think this team having to be on the road was the best thing that could have happened to them.
I think they're motivated by being the underdogs. And I think that will be the same for the San Francisco game.
The key to beating the 49ers - who are the best team in the NFC with an 11-game win streak - comes down to ...
1. Coaching. Kyle Shanahan and his staff are among the best game planners in the league. McCarthy, Quinn and Moore must come up with a game plan that exploits the Niners' weaknesses.
2. Dak. We're not winning this game on the ground. Dak is going to have to play the same he played last night, especially since the Niners secondary is its weakness.
3. Run stopping. The 49ers can wear the undersized Dallas front down with Deebo, McCaffery and crew. We're not going to grow bigger by Sunday night so we're going to need to scheme run stopping better.
4. Pass rush. We'll need to get to Purdy, get in his face, get hands on him, do everything we can to rattle him.
5. Get Tony Pollard more involved in the offense. We'll need to use Pollard like the Niners use McCaffery. More passes out the back field. Line him on at receiver. Get him isolated on linebackers. Just get him the ball. This is not going to be the game for three yard runs by Zeke. If we win and if we have to play at cold Philly, Zeke can take over. For this Sunday, give Pollard a holla.

 

[JD_KaPow]

The 9ers are going to be tough in the trenches, and that’s usually our kryptonite. On the other hand how good are the 9ers?

The Cowboys have played in a very surprisingly tough NFCE division this year. Three of the for NFCE teams have made the final 4 in the playoffs.

Dallas’ schedule included games against:

(Regular season only)
Tampa Bay (playoffs). L
Eagles x2 (playoffs) L/W
Giants x2. W
Bengals W
Jaguars L
Minnesota W

About half of their games have been against playoff teams.

I am sure there are some additional examples that I am forgetting, but I think you get the drift.

The Eagles, Giants, Jaguars, and Bengals are all in the final 4 of the playoffs in their respective divisions.


The 9’ers have played in a weak division. Maybe the 9ers are the juggernaut that the media is proclaiming them to be. But when it’s crunch time, if the game is close, I would not want to be fielding a rookie qb.

I’m not sure whether the playing time that Purdy has received is a help to him (experience) or a detriment (teams are starting to get more and more tape on him).

If this were a Garrett coached team, I would be very concerned about this matchup. But with MM calling the shots, I have to think the fact that Purdy is a rookie will be a significant factor in this game.

Weighted DVOA, which adjusts for strength of opponent and somewhat discounts early-season games, has them as the best team in the NFL by a pretty wide margin. They're really good.

 

[Creeper]

Not sure it means anything but the 49ers played 7 playoff teams so far and won 6 games. But only 1 of those teams was a division winner. The rest were wildcard teams, including Seattle 3 times.

The Cowboys have played 9 playoff teams winning 6, and 7 of those playoff teams were division winners. The Cowboys were 4-3 against division winners. The Cowboys clearly had the tougher schedule.

The Cowboys have a point differential of +125. The 49ers point diff is +173, which is the best in the league and very impressive. But their level of competition not as good as who Dallas played.

I think these two teams are more evenly matched than the pundits are saying and it will come down to who plays better in 1 game.

One thing I will say about SF, if Trey Lance didn't get Hurt I wonder if SF would have won as many games as they did. He lost the opening game against Chicago when SF scored only 10 points. We all know how bad the Bears defense turned out to be.

This is going to be a tough game on the road with two very good, evenly matched teams playing each other in a loser goes home setting. I am not super confident the Cowboys win but as MM said early in the season before the Rams game, "we are nobody's underdogs!"

I am more confident the Giants will beat the Eagles than the Cowboys beating the 49ers, but I do not think this is a shoe-in win for the 49ers.

 

[Surfguy]

Dak is going to have to shine again. Remember last year! REVENGE TOUR IS ON!

 

[Silverz1972]

49ers bullied us last year on both sides of the football. Very tough matchup.

They did but we were still in the game at the end until time ran out.

 

[BLEU3ASY]

Only 2 or 3 teams that they have beaten have winning records.. Now if that was Dallas that would be the first thing that was pointed out.. lol

 

[Risen Star]

I think they're the best team in the league. They have the best defense and as long as the QB doesn't crash and burn nobody will beat them.

But the QB is a legitimate question mark.

 

[RD21]

Let's hope Purdy pulls a Maher...... if so, we win.

 

[NumOneQB]

SF is better in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Dallas is no slouch, but the edge goes to SF. Need the passing game to hit on all cylinders to win this game. Force SF to lean on that rookie QB to score a lot of points.

Anyone know how many points SF gives up per game the last 6 weeks?

 

[Cowboyny]

Honestly, that actually gives me some hope. I don’t think SF is going to be or present anything greatly different than last year, except having a rookie, 7th round QB at the helm. I don’t think Dallas will play as near-perfect as they did last night, but they’ll play better than they did last year. Especially in the area of penalties (Weed Boy and Gas Mask Man being gone helps). SF is, and should be, favored, but I like our chances this year. I didn’t feel that way after the Major Tuddys debacle.

They did add an elite back

 

[Cowboyny]

I expect it to happen again. the only difference is if Dak comes to play. he has become a top tear qb. Go 49niners!

Have to hold up in the trenches

 

[gmb1]

yes. what they are doing with a 7th round rookie at QB is nothing short of phenomenal!

Every owner in the NFL should be looking at their front office and asking them would we be okay if we had to start a 7th rookie for half a season including playoffs. Not saying that should be the expectation...but all of these front offices that make excuses about the salary cap or protecting draft picks etc....look lazy when you see what they have been able to do.

Whatever man. If the Cowboys can beat the GOAT at his place than Purdy should be a walk in the park!

 

[Bullflop]

The 49ers are regarded as good as good as it gets in the NFL. That includes some exceptional ones. They're SB candidates for sure. The Cowboys will have their hands full in taking them on at their place. If they play as well as they did vs. Tampa, they've got a chance.

 

[Seattle49er]

The good thing is we will know who we are playing if we win on Saturday night. Don’t you think it will give them a little motivation if the Gents somehow advance? That’s a home NFC Title game if that happens!

That works for the 9ers too. That would be 4 weeks in a row at home.

 

[reddyuta]

its a YAC based passing game,if we cant or not willing to tackle then we are toast.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Whatever man. If the Cowboys can beat the GOAT at his place than Purdy should be a walk in the park!

Wow....just wow!

And trust me....I want my Cowboys to win. But the 49ers are better than they were last year...and you think going to THEIR place will be a walk in the park?

 

[Seattle49er]

Whatever man. If the Cowboys can beat the GOAT at his place than Purdy should be a walk in the park!

"The Goat" is a shell of his former self. Tampa's run game is non existent, Brady threw 66 times.

Again for the record I'm not saying its in the bag for the 9ers but if you Cowboys fans are using last nights game as a measuring stick you're in for a wake up call. 9ers D and O is better than Washingtons.

 

[gmb1]

Wow....just wow!

And trust me....I want my Cowboys to win. But the 49ers are better than they were last year...and you think going to THEIR place will be a walk in the park?

I'm talking about the quarterback matchups. It's not up to me whether the Cowboys win or not

 

[JustChip]

They did add an elite back

True.

 

[gmb1]

"The Goat" is a shell of his former self. Tampa's run game is non existent, Brady threw 66 times.

Again for the record I'm not saying its in the bag for the 9ers but if you Cowboys fans are using last nights game as a measuring stick you're in for a wake up call. 9ers D and O is better than Washingtons.

Yeah sure you're right, Cowboys have no chance.