DeMarco Murray fumbled on the third play of Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, and the ball was scooped up by Chris Culliver for a 35-yard touchdown return. From there, it was only downhill for the Dallas Cowboys. Tony Romo threw three interceptions in the first half, and the 49ers went on to cruise to a 28-17 win.
49ers vs. Cowboys final score: 3 things we learned in San Francisco’s beatdown of Dallas
The Cowboys got off to an awful start against the 49ers, and never recovered. Get ready to hear a lot of questions about Tony Romo, Jason Garrett and the future of the team.
Romo will bear the brunt of criticism against Dallas in the coming days. He finished 23-for-37 passing for 281 yards, but committed three turnovers that led to 14 points for the 49ers. Fingers should also be pointed at an injury-decimated defense, however. The 49ers’ first-team offense did not score a touchdown in four preseason games, but they found the end zone three times Sunday. San Francisco racked up 316 total yards to 382 for Dallas, but the Niners made the most of their opportunities.
Colin Kaepernick made up for his iffy preseason with a strong outing. He went 16-for-23 passing for 201 yards and two touchdowns. The 49ers should feature a strong running game yet again. Frank Gore once again keyed the ground game, but rookie Carlos Hyde provided the highlights. In particular, Hyde look impressive bulling his way to the end zone on a 4-yard carry in the first half. He finished with 50 yards on seven carries.
The second half of the game was quiet. The 49ers didn’t score any more points, and the Cowboys didn’t commit any more turnovers. The point was proven in the first half, anyway. Both teams had serious questions entering the regular season, but at a glance it appears the 49ers were just playing possum.
NFL Week 1 Review
Three things:
1) What is wrong with Tony Romo? The Cowboys quarterback has been the butt of jokes in the past for his late-game failures. On Sunday, he struggled from snap No. 1. He started the game 10-for-14 passing, but three of those "incompletions" were actually picks. He repeatedly made bad decisions. One of his picks hung out Dez Bryant, forcing the wideout to take a nasty hit to the middle of his back.
We know Romo is coming off of back surgery, though it’s unclear how much it’s affecting him. He looked all right during the preseason, albeit in very limited action. It could be that Romo just had a bad day, and that he’ll be his normal productive (if inopportunistic) self again going forward. He settled down in the second half, so perhaps that’s a sign that he will be fine. The Cowboys better hope so.
2) Preseason football is useless, example No. 4,034,523: The 49ers’ offense was held without a touchdown on every one of its Kaepernick-led offensive drives during the preseason. On Sunday, the unit scored touchdowns on two of its first three full offensive possessions (ignoring a one-play, 2-yard drive after a Romo pick), including its opening possession. A loaded receiving corps lived up to its billing, and Hyde appears to be (finally) the running back to carry the torch from Gore.
The defense was supposed to be a wreck without Aldon Smith, NaVorro Bowman and Glenn Dorsey, but the unit was able to hold the Cowboys in check while forcing four turnovers.
We spent the offseason fretting about the 49ers on both sides of the ball. Through one game, those worries appear to have been misplaced.
Colin Kaepernick, Photo credit: Christian Petersen / Getty Images
3) At least the Cowboys have DeMarco Murray. The Cowboys running back was easily the team’s brightest spot Sunday. It’s unfortunate that a big deficit likely limited his touches, but he still earned a healthy 22 carries for 118 yards and a touchdown, adding three receptions for 25 yards. He flashed speed, quickness, power and no ill effects from his extant injury history.
That injury history is still worrisome. Murray is 100 percent for now, however, and he looks outstanding.
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