The Cowboys overwhelmed San Francisco, 40-10, Sunday in their finest performance of the season. Here are 10 thoughts on the victory:
- You saw what the Cowboys’ collection of stars can do on a particular day. Ezekiel Elliott had a dazzling 72-yard touchdown on a screen pass, Jason Witten made an over-the-shoulder one-handed catch and Dez Bryant made a leaping catch along the back of the end zone and Dak Prescott made several terrific throws.
- Elliott showed us why he’s one of the best in the league on his screen pass for a TD. He showed patience letting guard Zack Martin push his guy out of bounds. Then he used acceleration, speed down the sideline, agility to avoid getting tripped up about the 10 and vision to make one final cut and power to drag a defender into end zone
- Jaylon Smith made a play with a sack and forced fumble on a blitz. It was his first big play since the opener.
- You must give safety Jeff Heath for handling kickoffs and making two of three extra points after Dan Bailey suffered a groin injury that forced him out of the game after the first quarter.
- The Cowboys ended their streak of 232 snaps and 14 quarters without defensive turnover. The Cowboys forced three turnovers — all fumble recoveries — against San Francisco.
- Tyrone Crawford showed tremendous hustle in the fourth quarter, rushing the passer and then getting a piece of the tackle in the flat 10 yards downfield.
- The 30-point win was the third largest of the Jason Garrett era, and the third straight game the Cowboys have scored more than 30 points and gained more than 400 yards of offense.
- The lack of padded practices in training camp and the regular season means teams like Dallas only get to perfect their running game during the season.
- In his last five quarters, Elliott has 39 carries for 232 yards for an average of 5.9 yards per carry.
- DeMarcus Lawrence has 9.5 sacks and is making big-time plays in seemingly every game. He had a sack and forced fumble in the second quarter with Dallas leading 20-3.
