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FRISCO, Texas — Stephen Jones called the Dallas Cowboys’ four-game losing streak against the San Francisco 49ers “certainly frustrating.” Dak Prescott wants to end it, but he does not want his own history with San Francisco put on the rest of the locker room.
The Cowboys are 4-5 and host the 7-1 49ers on Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Kickoff is 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX. Dallas has not won consecutive games this season; doing it now would bring the Cowboys back to .500.
Jones, the Cowboys’ co-owner and chief operating officer, credited Kyle Shanahan’s preparation during a Friday appearance on 105.3 The Fan.
“It’s just you got to play at a very high level,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan’s G-Bag Nation. “I give Coach Shanahan credit. He always has his teams prepared, and they’ve been able to get the W. We want to change that narrative on Sunday.”
“I want to beat them absolutely,” Prescott said. “And I’m not naive to what has happened or my history against them. But to put that on the rest of these guys or put that on the locker room, I think that’s stupid.”
“This is about us going in and getting a win,” Prescott continued. “And us trying to win this game and get some momentum going and get back-to-back wins for the first time this season and build off of that.”
San Francisco 49ers Size Up CeeDee Lamb And George Pickens
Dallas beat the Indianapolis Colts 27-23 last week, with Prescott throwing for 335 yards and 2 touchdowns. CeeDee Lamb caught 10 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown.
George Pickens has no game designation after his hamstring injury. The 49ers list Renardo Green, Deommodore Lenoir, and Upton Stout as questionable with back, foot, and shoulder/neck injuries, respectively. Nate Hobbs and C.J. West were downgraded to out Saturday, ESPN’s Nick Wagoner reported.
Asked about replacing Lenoir and Green if they cannot play, San Francisco defensive coordinator Raheem Morris expressed confidence in San Francisco’s reserves.
“You’re very confident with your roster and with the guys you have. Obviously, nobody in the National Football League is completely healthy,” Morris said.
San Francisco defensive coordinator Raheem Morris described Lamb’s heavy workload Thursday when asked about Dallas’ receivers.
“He’s a volume player,” Morris said. “He gets the ball a lot. They put the ball in his hand.”
For Pickens, Morris pointed to a threat that extends beyond simply running past a cornerback.
“He’s got freak-like ability,” Morris said of Pickens. “He’s a great mover. He’s very versatile, can do a bunch of different things. He can shock you in all types of ways down the field, vertical or with catch and run. They’re a very, very difficult crew. Very excited about the matchup.”
Hunter Luepke Gets More Opportunities With Two Teammates Out
Tight end Jake Ferguson is out with knee and ankle injuries. Dallas placed running back Tyler Goodson on injured reserve Saturday and elevated Israel Abanikanda from the practice squad.
The Cowboys are comfortable handing Hunter Luepke the ball, using him as the only back in the backfield, at fullback, or at tight end. Brian Schottenheimer said Friday there are more opportunities for him this week.
“He’s one of those guys that you can use a lot of different ways, and he’s not a fullback. He’s a weapon,” Schottenheimer said. “But I would expect to see Hunter get more plays this week for sure, and certainly probably some more touches.”
Javonte Williams ran for 101 yards against Indianapolis. He faces a defense allowing 80.9 rushing yards per game, second-fewest in the NFL.
Prescott described Fred Warner’s pre-snap reads this week. Morris went further Thursday when asked how Warner’s communication helps the other defenders.
“No question. Fred frees up everybody. He frees up me. Fred can make a call in a heartbeat. Fred can probably call the game without me talking to him in his ear. He’s that kind of a guy,” Morris said.
Christian Parker And Brock Purdy Identify The Run-Game Test
Dallas allows 147.4 rushing yards per game, 31st in the NFL. Christian McCaffrey has 457 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns for San Francisco, which scores 29.4 points per game.
Brock Purdy credited the running game Thursday when asked why the 49ers have been successful in the red zone.
“I think just really good execution, obviously,” Purdy said. “I think starting with the run game, it’s something that you can’t overlook. I think if you’re a team that can run the ball really efficiently and stay ahead of the chains, getting to third-and-short and manageable and stuff down there, I think that’s huge. And that’s a big credit to our run game.”
Asked about the difference between Dallas’ defensive statistics and its film, Purdy said the Cowboys have playmakers.
“I don’t know, I guess the stats, I don’t look into that a whole lot, but I see a team that they got a good squad across the board and they can make you pay,” Purdy said. “They’ve won games and have gotten quarterbacks in some situations where the quarterbacks had to play ball and be smart. And so that’s how I’m looking at the game.”
San Francisco has allowed only 8 sacks, the fewest in the NFL, despite Purdy averaging more than three seconds to throw. Quinnen Williams has 5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss for Dallas.
Dallas held Indianapolis to 271 total yards and 3 of 13 on third down. San Francisco converts 51.7% of its third downs, second in the NFL.
San Francisco does not need to throw past the sticks to convert on third down, defensive coordinator Christian Parker said Thursday, because its ball carriers break tackles after the catch and Purdy extends plays.
“They have significant ball carriers, so the ball doesn’t always have to travel past the sticks,” Parker said. “They do a good job catching it. Getting vertical immediately, breaking tackles, and getting past that. The quarterback makes off-schedule plays. That’s where he really comes alive in that regard.”
Caleb Downs And Dallas Cowboys Prepare For Motion
Caleb Downs played all 64 defensive snaps in Sunday’s win over Indianapolis, finishing with a sack and his first career interception on the Colts’ final possession.
Dallas is preparing for San Francisco’s motion with P.J. Locke ruled out because of a concussion and Juanyeh Thomas doubtful with a hamstring injury. Downs’ work at nickel puts him near the changing assignments involving George Kittle, McCaffrey, and the receivers.
“They do a really good job with their offensive scheme, and being able to be on the same page as the defense is a huge thing,” Downs said Wednesday. “Our job as defenders is to get on the same page and then go play fast with that. So that’s what we’re going to do, and that’s what we’re going to execute.”
Schottenheimer said the preparation has to include seeing those movements on the field, rather than only discussing them in meetings.
“This is one of the weeks where you have to go out on the practice field or the skillet, as we call it, upstairs,” Schottenheimer said Wednesday. “And sometimes the little walkthroughs or the talkthroughs are more important than the meetings because you got to kind of see how the angles and the looks change.”
The Cowboys also need fewer penalties after drawing 14 accepted flags for 153 yards in Indianapolis.
“Sloppy. Not good enough,” Schottenheimer said. “I think there was two pre-snap, which is a positive. We’ve been averaging about seven penalties a game, so we were twice the average. Not good enough at all.”
Final Injury Outlook And How To Watch
DaRon Bland and Joey Porter Jr. are both trending toward playing, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Sunday, citing sources. Both remain questionable.
Rapoport reported that Bland is dealing with an ankle injury and that Porter is working through ankle and foot problems. Porter “has had two good practices in two days,” he wrote.
DeMarvion Overshown and KaVontae Turpin have no game designation. Donovan Ezeiruaku is out with an ankle injury.
San Francisco ruled out Mike Evans with an Achilles injury. Deebo Samuel Sr. has no designation after missing three games with a hamstring injury. Trent Williams and Dre Greenlaw are questionable.
Keenan Allen faced Dallas last week with Indianapolis and is expected to play a role for San Francisco following his trade. Kyle Shanahan said Friday that the work of learning the offense will continue.
“He’s catching up, putting a lot on his plate, working hard to get it, and expect him to get more and more each week,” Shanahan said.
Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady will call the game on FOX, with Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi on the sideline. It airs locally on FOX 4, with the radio call on 105.3 The Fan.
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