San Francisco 49ers Win Early vs. Cowboys
By David Ochoa
For the first game of the season the San Francisco 49ers traveled down to Dallas to face the Dallas Cowboys. Many pundits expected the 49ers to win the game, but not in the way that they did. The 49ers ended up beating the Cowboys by a score of 28-17, but the game was not as close as the score indicates.
The 49ers started the game off strong with Chris Culliver recovering a DeMarco Murray fumble for a touchdown within the first minute of the game. After that they never looked back as they proceeded to intercept Tony Romo three times in the first half. They turned two of those interceptions into touchdowns, and essentially iced the game in the second quarter.
The first half moved the ball at will in the first half, but stalled a bit in the second. Colin Kaepernick finished the game with 201 yards and two touchdowns on 16/23 passing. Kaepernick made quick work of the Cowboys’ defense early, and chewed them up on third downs the entire game.
Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde proved to be a potent backfield as they combined for 113 yards and one Hyde touchdown on 23 carries. Hyde showed a perfect balance of power and speed on all his carries, and was rewarded with his first NFL touchdown. Frank Gore finally reached the 10,000 rushing yard milestone, and was the 29th ever to achieve such a feat.
The receiving corps didn’t earn eye-popping stats, but they didn’t need to do anything special. Vernon Davis and Anquan Boldin were the main standouts with Davis hauling in two touchdowns, and Boldin being a third down converting machine.
However, all is not well in Santa Clara. The defense took some hits in the secondary with Tramaine Brock, Culliver, and Jimmie Ward all leaving the game with injuries. If not for Romo gift wrapping three interceptions, the game could have looked much different. Although, Perrish Cox and Dontae Johnson came in an played excellent in the starters’ absences.
Overall, the defense did a good job at containing the Cowboys’ potent receiving threats. None of their receivers earned more than 60 yards, and besides a garbage time touchdown and a fluky play, the Cowboys had nothing going through the air. Justin Smith showed some youthfulness and tallied up two sacks while Ahmad Brooks got one of his own.
The run defense needs to be better, as it seemed that Murray ran over the 49ers at will. Murray gained 118 yards on 22 carries along with a touchdown. With the great running backs the 49ers will face throughout the year, they need to fix some problems.
Phil Dawson only attempted one kick this game, and while it should have been an easy make, he missed it. Dawson must get back on track because the 49ers do not want to see a repeat of David Akers.