Sunday Night Football for Week 5 of the 2023 season was expected to be a hotly-conteste affair. The undefeated San Francisco 49ers hosted the Dallas Cowboys in a renewal of this longstanding rivalry between the two NFC teams.
San Francisco had elimited Dallas in the playoffs each of the past two seasons. Dak Prescott and Co. werelooking for revenge inside Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara after falling in the NFC Divisional Playoffs in the same location last January.
That did not happen. San Francisco handed it to Dallas in a big way, taking an early 14-0 lead before blowing it open with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
In the end, Brock Purdy threw for touchdowns in yet another brilliant performance from the young 49ers quarterback. On the other side, Dak Prescott threw three interceptions as the ‘Boys fell by the score of 42-10. Here are the top highlights from this masterclass of a performance by the undefeated 49ers.
Sunday Night Football highlights: Top plays from San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys game
San Francisco just started to pile on against their rivals in the fourth quarter on Sunday. After intercepting Dak Prescott for the second time in the game, Jordan Mason scored from 26 yards out on the 49ers very next offensive play, giving them a 42-10 lead.
Yeah, San Francisco is an absolute machine.
Up 28-10 in the fourth quarter after intercepting Dak Prescott, the 49ers continued to roll. Purdy led the team down the field 62 yards on 12 plays, culminating in his fourth touchdown pass of the game.
What an absolutely perfect play call from Kyle Shanahan. In reality, the 49ers are on a different level than the Cowboys.
With San Francisco up 21-10 and roughly midway through the third quarter, the team once again drove down the field with a long scoring drive. This time, the 49ers went 75 yards on seven plays, culminating in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Purdy to Kittle.
This represented Kittle’s third touchdown catch of the game and gave the 49ers an 18-point lead as they look to remain undefeated at 5-0 on the season.
As for the Cowboys, their struggles on defense continued.
Talk about the 49ers answering in a big way. Up just 14-7 after the Cowboys scored a touchdown, San Francisco took over at its own 25-yard line. With some help from the Cowboys (personal foul penalty on third down), the 49ers drove down the field 75 yards on nine plays. It culminated in McCaffrey scoring a touchdown, his 14th consecutive game hitting paydirt.
Down 14-0 in the second quarter, Dallas’ offense really needed to get going. After picking up its initial first down of the game, the Cowboys did just that. It came with special teams ace KaVontae Turpin burning 49ers nick cornerback Isaiah Oliver on a 26-yard pass from Prescott.
Despite being dominated early in this game, the ‘Boys were able to cut San Francisco’s lead in half. Let’s see if their defense can maintain the momentum.
Some trickery from the 49ers after they forced a three-and-out from Dallas. Purdy handed the ball off to Christian McCaffrey who then flipped it back to Deebo Samuel. The wide receiver then handed it back to Purdy who hit Kittle streaming down the right sideline for an amazing 38-yard touchdown.
What an epic play call from Kyle Shanahan to help San Francisco to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. Following that play, the 49ers had outgained Dallas by a margin of 144-8 with nine first downs compared to zero. Domination early from the home team.
Dallas’ defense came up absolutely big after its offense turned the ball over. That included forcing a Christian McCaffrey fumble inside the five yard line.
What a huge game-changing play from the Cowboys’ defense as it looked like the 49ers were on the verge of taking a two-score lead.
With the 49ers up 7-0, they pinned Dallas deep in its own territory toward the end of the first quarter. That’s when Fred Warner forced a Tony Pollard fumble to give San Francisco great field position as it looks to take a two-score lead.
San Francisco star edge rusher and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa made a major impact as the Cowboys went three-and-out for the second time to open the game. That included getting to Dak Prescott for a third-down sack.
After signing a contract that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, Bosa registered just one sack in the first four games of the season. That came following a lengthy holdout that lasted throughout training camp. But it appears he’s now back.
The 49ers didn’t waste any time taking an early lead Sunday night, driving down the field 75 yards on seven plays with Purdy completing all four of his passes. That included a 19-yard touchdown pass to George Kittle.
Purdy completed 20-of-21 passes in San Francisco’s Week 4 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
San Francisco legends Frank Gore and Vernon Davis were among those on the field ahead of Sunday night’s epic matchup. Purdy is now 32 of his past 33 passing dating back to Week 3.
The Cowboys are also pumped up as they look to make a statement Sunday night.
Dallas Cowboys inactives
- TE Peyton Hendershot
- OL Asim Richards
- WR Jalen Brooks
- S Israel Mukuamu
- DL Viliami Fehoko Jr.
- CB Eric Scott
San Francisco 49ers inactives
- DE Randy Gregory
RB Elijah Mitchell
OL Nick Zakelj
DL Kalia Davis
LB Jalen Graham
Everything you need to know about Cowboys-49ers Sunday Night Football matchup
Find out where Brock Purdy and Dak Prescott rank among NFL’s starting quarterbacks
Bold predictions for Dallas Cowboys vs San Francisco 49ers
5 best Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers games as rivalry is renewed
Memory of playoff loss to 49ers still fuels Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons