It’s Cowboys week for the 49ers. That means history, rivalry, tension and some oddly familiar faces. San Francisco’s in the driver’s seat at 4-0, and having won the past two playoff matchups in consecutive years, but Sunday is a bellwether for them and Dallas.
Trey Lance inside info?
Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer mentioned that Trey Lance had knowledge of the team’s scheme, and on Thursday, Ed Werder reported that the Cowboys would lean on Lance for that info and to run practice squad reps.
But can Lance actually offer that much insight into the 49ers’ offense? Kyle Shanahan addressed that question on Wednesday. He joked that he was hoping the Cowboys were focusing on getting Lance’s info instead of watching film.
“As much as most coaches can,” Shanahan said. “You can see the plays on tape, you can explain what we look at and stuff like that, which usually you can when you can stack up a lot of tape over years, and we’ve been here for a while and previous. So hopefully he’s talking to him all the time and making them focus totally on that instead of the simple stuff of watching the tape.”
Practice report
So far, it appears like the 49ers will have their full wide receiver corps available at their disposal. Brandon Aiyuk missed the team’s Thursday night game against the New York Giants, and Jauan Jennings missed Sunday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Deebo Samuel has been nursing rib and knee injury since that Thursday game, but there doesn’t appear to be much concern any of them will miss out on Sunday.
Here’s what Thursday’s practice report looked like:
Did not practice:
- Jon Feliciano (concussion)
- RB Elijah Mitchell (knee)
Limited:
- LB Dre Greenlaw (ankle)
- WR Jauan Jennings (shin)
- WR Deebo Samuel (ribs, knee)
- CB Charvarius Ward (heel)
Ward clarified that he’s dealing with plantar fasciitis, which includes sharp pain in his heel and the his arch of his foot. It’s painful, he says, to cut, but treatment has helped. He doesn’t expect to miss any time from the injury.
As for the Cowboys, only tight end Peyton Hendershot missed out on Thursday, while star edge rusher Micah Parsons has been limited both days this week. Don’t expect Parsons to miss Sunday.
Did not practice:
- TE Peyton Hendershot (ankle)
Limited:
- LB Damone Clark (shoulder)
- S Malik Hooker (shoulder)
- LB Micah Parsons (knee)
Other notes: Kittle involvement, Ward throws some verbal jabs
George Kittle got just one target on Sunday. Kittle has generally expressed understated frustration when he’s not involved, but acknowledged “there’s a lot of mouths to feed on this offense,” and that it’s extremely difficult to get the ball to everyone in every game.
Offensive line coach/run game coordinator Chris Foerster, echoed that, saying “every dog has its day.” But he went on — as he has an endearing propensity to do — to break down how play calls designed to go to someone can match up against the wrong coverage. While they can manufacture touches for Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel, it’s a bit harder for traditional pass catchers like Kittle, and depends on what the defense offers.
Charvarius Ward provided some spicy quotes on Thursday when asked about Dak Prescott and the Cowboys.
He said Prescott “is his boy,” but recalled picking Prescott off in his first training camp and in a game. He picked off Prescott as a member of the Chiefs in 2021, a 19-9 win over Dallas in late November.
“Got his ass,” Ward said.
While there’s been plenty of talk about the rivalry between the two teams, Ward said,” This game is just another game for us.”
That’s generally a safe statement by players to not put too much onto one game, but Ward seemed to mean it. He was also asked if there’s any animosity between the two teams.
Not on the 49ers’ side, Ward said.
“Probably for them,” Ward said. “Not for us. Shit, we won, so we good.”