The 49ers ended the Cowboys’ season in last year’s divisional round. They ended their season in 2021, too.
Not much can end in Week 5. But by tossing four touchdowns and improving to 10-0 as a starter in the regular season, Brock Purdy did as much as possible to end prevailing skepticism.
Purdy went 17-for-24 with 252 yards, spraying the ball to six different receivers. He registered a 144.4 passer rating — the best of his young career — and improved his touchdown-to-interception ratio on the season to 9:0. All four of the “system quarterback’s” touchdowns came from outside the pocket.
“13’s cold man,” fullback Kyle Juszyzyk said postgame. “He can really go out there and play with the absolute best of them, and we have all the faith in the world of him.”
Purdy and George Kittle, who caught a career-high three touchdowns, led San Francisco (5-0) to a resounding 42-10 victory over the Cowboys. For as much history as the two legendary franchises have, what transpired on the Levi’s Stadium field was far too lopsided to resemble a rivalry. Saying the Sunday Night Football smackdown of the team who previously led the NFL in point differential was a statement would be an understatement.
After San Francisco’s biggest margin of victory over the Cowboys in franchise history, the 49ers and defending NFC champions Eagles are the only two remaining unbeaten teams in the NFL.
“I thought that was our best, complete game in all three phases,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said postgame.
Early in the game, the Cowboys’ top-ranked defense showed holes — as it did when Dallas allowed 222 rushing yards to the Cardinals in Week 3. San Francisco gashed Dallas on the ground by winning at the line of scrimmage, with Christian McCaffery pacing a seven-play, 75-yard drive to open the game.
Brock Purdy capped the drive by finding George Kittle wide open in the back of the endzone. The quarterback scrambled to his right when he felt pass-rush pressure, ultimately throwing off-platform.
That touchdown meant that for the fifth time in five weeks, Shanahan scripted a game-opening drive that ended with points.
Dallas tightened up their front seven, temporarily limiting SF’s run game. But the Cowboys didn’t come close to capitalizing.
The Cowboys ended the first quarter with a Tony Pollard fumble, finishing the frame with no first downs. McCaffery gave the ball right back to Dallas, as Jourdan Lewis ripped it from him on the goal line.
San Francisco had the answer. A double flea flicker — Purdy to McCaffery to Deebo Samuel and back to Purdy — gave Kittle his second touchdown of the game and the Niners a 14-0 lead with 13:16 left in the first half.
At that point, the Cowboys had eight total yards on three 3-and-outs. On both sides of the ball, they were perpetually a step behind. As the Niners zoomed across the field like Blue Angels, Dallas was stuck in Great America Parkway traffic.
For a moment, Dallas shifted gears. The Cowboys earned their first first down with a QB sneak with 12:20 left in the second quarter. Eight plays later, Dak Prescott took a bruising hit from Arik Armstead while finding KeVontae Turpin down the sideline for seven.
McCaffery found the endzone to answer Turpin’s score, extending his personal touchdown streak to 14 games. As impressive and turnover-averse as Purdy has been, the offense only works with the amount of weapons San Francisco has assembled for him. An MVP-level running back, elite tight end and two dynamic receivers certainly doesn’t hurt Purdy. But he has still operated Shanahan’s offense as efficiently as anyone since Matt Ryan in 2016.
The closest Dallas got was 11 after kicking a field goal to start the second half. From there, Purdy led an avalanche of San Francisco scoring.
“Thought he missed one throw throughout the day, from what it seemed like — just a little behind (Brandon Aiyuk) in the first quarter on one,” Shanahan said of Purdy, who leads the NFL in passer rating. “Everything else seemed pretty flawless.”
The 23-year-old quarterback found Brandon Aiyuk on a deep-in with a dart just over Leighton Vander-Esch’s leap. Another strike from Purdy to Aiyuk got negated by a holding penalty, but Purdy overcame a 3rd and 14 with a dot to Samuel over the middle for a 43-yard chunk.
Then in the red zone, where the field shortens and quarterbacks separate themselves, Purdy lofted another touchdown pass to Kittle. That gave the tight end his first career three-score game and the 49ers a three-score lead.
To build a 28-10 edge, Purdy led three 75-yard drives. He had half as many touchdowns as incompletions (six).
And after Prescott’s interception into double coverage, the 49ers didn’t need Purdy to do much of anything to protect their lead. He nevertheless extended SF’s drive with a 3rd and 2 completion to a wide open Jauan Jennings and finished it with a touchdown toss to Kyle Juszyzyk.
Following Prescott’s second pick — a tip-drill that ended in Fred Warner’s hands — Jordan Mason strolled untouched into the end zone to continue the onslaught. The beating was so brutal, San Francisco benched its starters for most of the fourth quarter; the first-team defense ran onto the field from the sidelines to celebrate Prescott’s third interception.
“I can’t remember a time when we were calling the dogs off with 14 minutes left in the fourth quarter,” all-world left tackle Trent Williams said postgame.
Sam Darnold took over for Purdy when the starter’s services were no longer needed. Meanwhile on the visiting team’s sidelines, Trey Lance, the former heir apparent, was inactive. His presence in the stadium only solidified Purdy’s status as San Francisco’s solution.
Purdy’s ability has been in question since the 49ers made him Mr. Irrelevant. Is his arm strong enough? Can he lead a team to the Super Bowl? Is he just a system quarterback?
With just about every opportunity, Purdy has answered in the affirmative. As a quarterback in Shanahan’s system, his job will always be slightly different than other quarterbacks. In most ways, it’ll be easier. Yet as the engineer of one of two remaining undefeated teams, Purdy has done everything asked of him.
How much doubt can there really be if he continues to lead what has clearly become the class of the NFC?