The San Francisco 49ers are back in desperation mode.
With a 3-4 record and now sitting at the bottom of the NFC West following the Los Angeles Rams’ victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday, the Niners face a crucial primetime game against the Dallas Cowboys.
For a team many expected to contend for a Super Bowl return this season, this matchup is about as close to a must-win as it gets.
San Francisco can’t afford to slide into a 3-5 hole heading into its Week 9 bye. A strong rebound from an offense that struggled against the Kansas City Chiefs in last week’s Super Bowl rematch is essential for the 49ers to get back on track.
Purdy’s Search for Answers
One play from the 49ers’ loss to the Chiefs drew significant scrutiny: an incomplete pass to Brandon Aiyuk where quarterback Brock Purdy faced pressure from two Chiefs defenders on his right side, following a well-designed blitz by Steve Spagnuolo.
When asked about the play on Wednesday, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s response was direct.
“Oh, yeah. When people blitz more than you have, you’ve got to throw hot,” he said.
However, this reply raises questions about the play’s design. The 49ers did not appear to have a clear answer on the hot side, and although Kyle Juszczyk was open in the flat, it seemed Aiyuk was designated as the hot read.
“Usually, we just have an answer built into the play. And so, if we do have like an all-out blitz or something, we usually have an answer of where I should be hitting or where I should be going,” Purdy said on Thursday.
“And there’s very rare occasions where we walk up to line and we get a look and it’s, ‘Oh shoot, they got us.’ And then I’m supposed to randomly make up an audible. There’s nothing like that.
We usually always have an answer for pressures, all-out blitz and things like that. So that’s on me to get to the right guy.”
While the 49ers might not see a blitz as exotic as Spagnuolo’s against the Cowboys, they must find better solutions against Dallas moving forward. Purdy needs to improve at selecting the right answer when it’s there.
The 49ers don’t want to stifle Purdy’s natural aggressiveness, but one of his more questionable choices against the Chiefs came in the third quarter.
The Niners had a chance to take the lead on the Kansas City 34-yard line. With George Kittle open on an out route that might have secured a first down, Purdy instead chose to test the matchup between veteran Chris Conley and Trent McDuffie, one of the league’s top cornerbacks, on a go route.
Purdy’s pass was well-thrown but was broken up by McDuffie, and he was intercepted on the following play.
Purdy commented:
“I think it’s situational football. What’s the matchup? Where are we at in the game? Trying to move the chains, are we trying to get a chunk here on a matchup that we like? It’s handling all those kinds of things. And for me, I liked the press matchup against McDuffie with Chris. Chris and I have, we’ve hit a lot of plays like that at practice and we just didn’t connect on it. Looking back on it on film, we had George in the flat to maybe move the chains and get us in third-and-manageable. Those are all decisions and factors that you’ve got to watch the film and be like, ‘Alright, how can I be better next time?’ And so for me, I look at it not going I should have done this or that? But looking at it like, alright, the next time I’m in this situation let’s think about it and am I going to be aggressive or am I going to take this checkdown here and manage it a little bit better? So those are the things that I watch on film.”
The 49ers’ offense can move the ball, but there are times when Purdy struggles to find easy solutions, and others where he bypasses them.
Against a Cowboys defense that should present some opportunities, he needs to strike a better balance between his aggressiveness and smart decision-making, capitalizing on the simpler options that Dallas will likely provide.
Kittle’s Chance at More History
George Kittle, one of the most well-rounded tight ends in modern football, is on a career path that will place him firmly in the Hall of Fame discussion when it’s all said and done.
He has a chance to bolster his resume on Sunday with another strong showing against a team he dominated last season, scoring three touchdowns in a 42-10 win over Dallas.
Kittle has accumulated 6,649 receiving yards in his career. With 102 yards in Week 8, he would surpass Gene Washington and Dwight Clark for the third most in franchise history.
Moreover, if Kittle catches six passes against Dallas, he will reach 500 receptions in his 105th career game, making him the fourth-fastest tight end to reach that milestone, surpassing Jimmy Graham.
Kittle, who recovered from a foot sprain this week, is expected to be a focal point in the passing game with Brandon Aiyuk out for the season.
The question remains whether Deebo Samuel will be healthy enough to assume a significant role after being discharged from the hospital on Tuesday following a bout with pneumonia.
Regardless of Samuel’s availability, rookie receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing are likely to see more action with Aiyuk sidelined and Jauan Jennings missing another week due to a hip injury.
Putting Things in Motion
Despite all the focus on Purdy and the passing game, given the 49ers’ receiver injuries and the quarterback’s struggles, the running game could prove even more crucial to their success.
The Cowboys have the league’s worst run defense by Expected Points Added (EPA) per play and rank 30th in success rate.
Dallas is particularly vulnerable to runs with motion, conceding a first down on 29.8% of such runs, the second-highest rate in the NFL.
Additionally, their EPA per attempt allowed on these plays ranks eighth-highest in the league.
The 49ers have the most productive run game in the NFL on runs with motion, amassing 951 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 135.9 yards per game on these plays.
Thus, San Francisco is likely to exploit this weakness to ease the pressure on Purdy and move the ball. If they can’t succeed on the ground against Dallas, their problems might be more severe than initially thought.
The Persistent Problem
Beyond red zone struggles and run-stopping issues, the 49ers’ biggest flaw has been on special teams. They rank 31st in DVOA, plagued by major issues in kick coverage throughout the season.
This area could be especially significant against the Cowboys, who excel on special teams, ranking first in DVOA.
Shanahan attributed the special teams’ struggles to a lack of continuity.
“Yeah, it’s just continuing to work with all these guys. We’ve had to move a lot of guys around. From our starting gunners at the beginning of the year are now starting on defense. We’ve had to change our PP [punt protection], our wings, I think our right guard, I think we’ve changed about four times.So there’s a bunch of movement on those guys, so you just keep developing them, you keep working with the individual drills. You can’t do all stuff full-speed, especially tackling and things like that.But we’re emphasizing everything and trying to get our group better.”
Against a Dallas defense missing its top playmaker, Micah Parsons, and with San Francisco’s defense capable of containing Dak Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense, the 49ers should have an edge.
However, that advantage could be neutralized if they don’t find a reliable special teams lineup to limit the damage in an area that has consistently been a weak spot in 2024.
