Dallas Cowboys @ San Francisco 49ers: Week Four Preview
We preview the Dallas Cowboys Week Four game on the road against the San Francisco 49ers scheduled to take place this Sunday.
The Dallas Cowboys are back in action following their 31-17 win over the Chicago Bears in prime time. The team heads west to continue a historic rivalry with the San Francisco 49ers; a team struggling to figure out who they are so far in 2016.
The Cowboys are riding high following their first winning streak since starting last season 2-0 before the injuries began to pile up. They’ll try to push their current streak to three while the 49ers try to stop their own two game skid. This is the first time the Cowboys have traveled to San Francisco since quarterback Tony Romo’s famous punctured lung game.
The biggest storyline heading into this Week Four matchup surrounds the same topic many fans were forced to endure last season: injuries. Obviously, Romo won’t see the field this week. But now the team has to wonder about the status of star wide receiver Dez Bryant, who’s dealing with a hairline fracture in his right knee.
Starting guard La’el Collins is walking around The Star in a boot to protect his injured toe. It’s obvious the team hasn’t exterminated the injury bug that plagued them in 2015, but hopefully they can cope with it better than they did in their 4-12 campaign a year ago.
Looking at San Francisco, they are relatively healthy, and shouldn’t have any starters miss time Sunday. However the biggest issue for the 49ers is the play of quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Through three games this season, Gabbert’s only had one contest with a completion percentage over 60%. This is a team that in generally lacking talent, and the quarterback position is perhaps the biggest example of that.
Looking at the quarterback position for the Cowboys, rookie Dak Prescott continues his impressive beginning to his career, throwing his first touchdown last week and has yet to turn the ball over. While the 2016 fourth round selection was impressive in his trip to Washington in Week Two, road games tend to bring out the worst in young signal callers. So, it’ll be interesting to see the hostile environment can finally make Prescott look like a late round pick.
The Cowboys face a familiar foe on the sidelines this week when they take on former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. Kelly is facing America’s Team for the first time since being fired by the Eagles late last season. Kelly has a career 3-3 record against Dallas. Across the field, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett has a 1-1 record against the team from the Bay, losing the opener of the 2014 season.
Overall, this is a trap game for the Cowboys. A trap they can’t afford to fall into. The easy part of Dallas’ schedule ends Sunday, with the two games following the 49ers including a matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals and a trip to Lambeau Field to face off against the Green Bay Packers.
Next: Dallas Cowboys must avoid trap, attack overmatched 49ers
Stumbling in Santa Clara could result in a losing streak that could spell disaster heading into the Week Seven bye. If the Cowboys don’t look past the Niners, they should have no problem handling their business and coming away with a W; but if they do, Blaine Gabbert and company will make them pay.