Dallas Cowboys will keep it close on Sunday, but 49ers will pull away

It’s finally here. The Dallas Cowboys are gearing up to open their season with a home match-up against the San Francisco 49ers. Now, I’m not very optimistic about this season, but I do think this team will be an entertaining bunch at the very least and it all starts this Sunday at AT&T Stadium.

The Cowboys are coming into this game with headlines and stories from everywhere. Orlando Scandrick is suspended for four games. Josh Brent has been reinstated. Michael Sam is on the practice squad. Jerry Jones allegedly really wanted Johnny Manziel. Adrian Peterson apparently would like to be a Cowboy. This list goes on, but the 49ers have some stories of their own that they are dealing with.

Aldon Smith is suspended for nine games because of substance abuse and personal conduct policy infractions. Ray McDonald just got in trouble for domestic violence, just days after the NFL introduced their new consequences for that. Plus, we can’t forget that Jim Harbaugh seemed to have some sort of rift with ownership early in the offseason. The bottom line is that this is a team with issues and that might help the Cowboys keep this game close instead of getting run out of their own stadium.

We’re all operating under the assumption that the Cowboys will be just fine on offense. They probably will in the long run, but in the first game of the season I would expect a few mishaps. Don’t forget, this offense struggled in their “dress rehearsal” preseason game against the Miami Dolphins. The good news is that Tony Romo took some hits in that game and still managed to get up and keep playing, but he still looked rusty.

However, as mentioned before, the 49er defense has some issues after the suspension of Smith and McDonald, and the loss of Navarro Bowman. Perhaps the Cowboys will be able to move the ball early and score some early points against San Francisco to help them stay in the game. San Francisco is still deep and talented, but it does bode well for Dallas and their offense. They need a way to start out hot early and this might do the trick.

The 49er offense, like their defense, also seems to be in disarray. Through the first three games of the preseason, San Francisco only scored 10 points. They did score 40 in their fourth game, but Colin Kaepernick, Michael Crabtree and the rest of their starters weren’t playing. Kaepernick is a dynamic quarterback that will probably cause this Dallas defense to lose their minds, but he struggled over the preseason and San Fran is still waiting for him to put together a full consistent season. Michael Crabtree is dealing with a calf injury, but he will still likely play, and Kaepernick still has Vernon Davis to throw to. Their offense may have struggled in preseason, but going against the Cowboy defense might be what jump starts them.

We’ll finally get to see how Henry Melton looks after his recovery from a torn ACL and we’ll get to see how Rolando McClain looks in an actual game. We’ll also finally see if Morris Claiborne can actually be effective and be on the field after he didn’t play at all this preseason. This defense is going to have their hands full with the dynamic 49er offense, but maybe San Francisco still hasn’t gained that offensive continuity their looking for, which would make it a much easier day for Dallas.

I think the Cowboys are catching the 49ers at the right time, and will be able to keep this game close and entertaining at home. But, at the end of the day the 49ers are still deeper and more talented than the Cowboys. Expect the Cowboys to keep it close, and then the 49ers to pull away late.