4 Steps to Dallas Cowboys success over San Francisco

This past Monday, the Dallas Cowboys exorcised a few football demons. First playoff road win in 30 years. Beating Tom Brady for the first time in 8 games.

That was the first step for them. This Sunday night the next step is bigger.

The Dallas Cowboys are going to face the biggest group of bullies in the NFL. A group that bounced them out of the playoffs in their own house last season.

A playoff loss that led to Dallas making a series of off season moves to counter what was done to them. Coach Mike McCarthy is quite familiar with squaring off against bully teams.

McCarthy built one in Green Bay and had his share of street fights with two of the best in recent NFL memory. The Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers.

Few teams can replicate what San Francisco can do on the field. I’m talking about the offense side of the ball.

The offense is all orchestrated by the mad scientist Kyle Shanahan. I don’t think he is an offensive genius, but he is close.

I hate to be the bearer of doom but let this sink in: Kyle Shanahan has won as many playoff games as the head coach of San Francisco 49ers since 2019 as the Dallas Cowboys have won since 1995.

Once upon a time, I didn’t consider him a great coach. Having wet the bed twice in the two biggest games of his career.

Once as the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons in that 28-3 Super Bowl.

The other time. He was the head coach of the 49ers.

But I must acknowledge the error of my ways.  Shanahan has done great work on the west coast.

Since year 3 of his reign as the HC of 49ers. Shanahan is 42-24 in the regular season and 5-2 in three playoff trips. When you factor in that, Jimmy Garoppolo has been his QB1.

This is winning at a high level without a top ten QB. When things go wrong, there is Patrick Mahomes to bail you out.

The Dallas Cowboys dismantling of Tampa Bay Buccaneers should not be brushed under the rug by any means.

The Dallas Cowboys will face an offensive machine that is unlike anything else in the league.

Dallas finished the NFL regular season ranked fourth in defensive success rate against the run. They’re good defensively on a down-to-down basis.

But and my mother always said to: “John, anytime you say but, everything before it is horse poop. But the Dallas Cowboys have given up 67 runs of at least 10 yards. That is fourth-most in the NFL.

Since week 8, the 49ers have ranked fifth in explosive run rate (10.2 percent) with their new toy Christian McCaffrey humming with the offense.

McCaffrey has proven to be the ideal fit for this scheme. A team that ran the ball well improved.

The Cowboys are an aggressive single-gap team. They attack up the field to create disruption. The problems show themselves when tackles are missed. They can’t repeat the sins of the 2022.

Every offense coordinator wants to make corners tackle. The majority of corners in the NFL are not very good at it.

The Dallas secondary have struggled in this area. Long runs have resulted from this.

This is where the 49ers’ skill position players thrive. They are artisans of the yards after the catch.

Fellow Football Enthusiast DMV Fanatic has made a fantastic video breaking down Kyle Shanahan’s tendencies, Brock Purdy’s strengths and weaknesses. It is worth your time to check out and raise your football knowledge.

This San Francisco 49ers team is a true NFL heavyweight. They field an offensive juggernaut and a defense well equipped to wreck the opposing offenses’ game plans.

The 49ers are not invincible. The QB is their biggest weakness on offense.

Brock Purdy has been a great story, but he has limitations. The Dallas Cowboys pass rush has shown they can make even the most battle-tested veteran QBs look less than human.

"“We’ve got to do what we do and kick ass at the highest fashion with our speed, with our takeaways, with our tackling. And really just play to our style. I’d imagine if we do that, we’ll let the results take care of themselves.”–Dan Quinn on the Dallas Cowboys defense."

Let’s cue Richard Sherman for extra context.

The Dallas Cowboys are a talented group in their own right. They will have the better QB on Sunday in Dak Prescott. They have the best defensive player in the league in Micah Parsons.

I expect Prescott and Parsons to show up. This will take a total team effort. Not just the players, but the coaches.

Let’s spotlight keys to victory for the Dallas Cowboys