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Sunday night's game featuring the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers figured to be the best game of Week 5 and possibly one of the best contests all season. Two of the NFC's elite teams met in Santa Clara, CA as the Cowboys looked to avenge consecutive playoff losses to the 49ers in the last two seasons.
Instead, the 49ers demolished the Cowboys, 42-10, thus asserting themselves as the best team in the NFL. It was a balanced attack from the Niners, who picked apart the Dallas defense both on the ground and through the air while also shutting down the Cowboys' offense. After that convincing victory, here are three reasons why the 49ers are the team to beat this year.
Dominance of the offensive line
One of the most prominent reasons for San Francisco's success in recent years is the performance of its offensive line. The Niners faced a stiff test from the Dallas front on Sunday night, but you would not have known it based on the way San Francisco played.
The Cowboys defense came into the game with 14 sacks on the season, just two off the league lead. The 49ers offensive line only allowed one sack on the night, and Pro Bowl edge rusher Micah Parsons — who was among the league leaders in sacks (13.5) and pressures (41) last year — did not register a pressure and Dallas only hit Brock Purdy twice on the night. By comparison, San Francisco had nine QB hits and four sacks.
The 49ers also continued their success on the ground, averaging 4.1 yards per carry while gaining 170 yards, raising their season average to 156.4 rushing yards per game. With this offensive line's ability to protect Brock Purdy and open up holes in the running game, this 49ers offense is difficult to stop.
Winning the turnover battle
Five games into the season and the San Francisco 49ers have yet to lose the turnover battle. Sunday night's contest was the team's best turnover performance yet. The Niners intercepted Dak Prescott three times and recovered a fumble while only giving the ball away once themselves. Yet contrary to what that game might have portrayed, the San Francisco defense had not forced an overwhelming number of turnovers on the year. Coming into the game against Dallas, the 49ers had forced five turnovers in four games while the Dallas defense had 10 takeaways.
What makes the 49ers so effective is the offense's ability to not turn the ball over. Christian McCaffrey's red zone fumble in the second quarter was just San Francisco's second giveaway on the year. The Cowboys also entered the game with just one giveaway. Yet, the 49ers' opportunistic defense baited Dak Prescott into mistakes in the second half as the Dallas quarterback tried to make plays to cut into the sizeable deficit.
Brock Purdy's accuracy
The biggest concern about the San Francisco 49ers coming into this season was quarterback play. Would Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy be able to lead this offense as he did in the second half of 2022 and was he fully recovered from the elbow injury that knocked him out of the NFC Championship Game?
Purdy has silenced those doubters with near-flawless play through the first five games of the season. He is completing 72.1% of his passes — second in the league — while throwing nine touchdowns and no interceptions. Brock Purdy knows his strengths and plays within his role in the San Francisco offense. The offensive playcalling opens up a lot for him, but Purdy makes the right read almost every time and gets the ball out of his hands and to his playmakers. But that did not stop him from completing six passes for gains of 15 yards or longer.
Brock Purdy's four touchdowns against the Cowboys were a season high and it proved that is the quarterback the 49ers need him to be even against elite defenses.
