For the third time in as many matchups, the San Francisco 49ers humiliated the Dallas Cowboys with the entire country watching.
The Cowboys fell down early and never made the game competitive. Though it breathed life into a defeated fan base, KaVontae Turpin's 26-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott that made the score 14-7 in the second quarter just delayed the inevitable. Dallas was (literally) punched in the mouth and never got off the ropes.
It was an embarrassing night for Dallas, which looked to send a message to the NFL that it should be taken seriously as a Super Bowl contender. Instead, they proved they don't belong in that conversation and there's nothing they can do short of going undefeated the rest of the way to make anyone take them seriously.
The entire roster and coaching staff top to bottom deserves a piece of the blame pie, but these Cowboys deserve bigger slices than most.
4. CeeDee Lamb
This Cowboys loss is hardly on CeeDee Lamb. He didn't make any glaring mistakes like Dak Prescott, Tony Pollard, Jayron Kearse and others, but his performance was not indicative of a top-10 receiver in the NFL.
Prescott had a nightmarish outing, but Lamb didn't do his QB any favors. The 49ers defense looked the part of a behemoth Sunday night, but it's not on the same level of the last few years when DeMeco Ryans was calling the shots. And yet, Lamb struggled creating separation for most of the game.
In both games this season that the Cowboys were playing from behind, Lamb's impact was minimal. Again, San Francisco's defense is elite, but its secondary is beatable. The Pro Bowler finished with four catches for 49 yards and it somehow felt less than that, if that makes any sense.
Lamb has feasted this year when Dallas has been playing with a lead. Sunday was a different story and it sheds light on a familiar trend with No. 88.
Say what you will about Prescott, but he knows how to get Lamb the ball. It's when the Cowboys' struggling passing game has looked its best this season. The fact Prescott couldn't locate Lamb (he tallied just five targets) suggests he wasn't open. That's a problem.
3. Jayron Kearse
Was Jayron Kearse the Cowboys worst performer against the 49ers? If not, he was no worse than second on the list. Kearse hasn't looked like the indispensable Swiss Army knife he was in 2021 and 2022, and Sunday night was a culmination of his slow start to the season.
Mishaps in coverage, filling gaps against the run and tackling aside, Kearse was flagged for two needless penalties that cost the Cowboys.
His offsides on third down is just about the most boneheaded penalty a player can commit in that situation and it looks worse given his experience. Later in the game, Kearse committed a taunting penalty after Donovan Wilson laid a massive hit on Christian McCaffrey over the middle.
Both Wilson and Kearse were flagged, but there was nothing else Wilson could have done. NFL rules make it impossible for defenders to make that play without a flag. Kearse's taunting is a different story. It gave the 49ers a fresh set of downs after a third down stop and it occurred with Dallas trailing by two touchdowns.
The Cowboys secondary was carved up on Sunday night, but Kearse's poor start to the season deserves more attention. He's one of the biggest trash-talkers on the roster and hasn't backed it up one bit.
2. Dak Prescott
Cowboys fans have defended Dak Prescott over the years because he's played better than he often gets credit for. Though the defense and coaching didn't do Dallas any favors, Sunday night was arguably the worst performance of Prescott's career.
His touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin was a thing of beauty, but that will get buried by a long list of miscues and woeful decision-making.
Look no further than the YOLO deep shot to Brandin Cooks after San Francisco opened up a 28-10 lead midway through the third quarter. The pass looked like an interception the moment Prescott released it (it was overthrown by 10-ish yards) and sure enough a camping Tashaun Gipson plucked it out of the air.
Prescott was picked two more times before the game ended. It's his first three-interceptiong game since 2019 against the Packers. The 49ers have Prescott's number and so does linebacker Fred Warner, who notched an INT himself and clearly has the QB afraid to throw over the middle whenever these teams play.
This is undoubtedly one of the lowest moments of Dak's career.
1. Mike McCarthy
The McCarthy discourse is just getting started, folks. National analysts will be on their soapbox Monday morning proclaiming McCarthy is on the hot seat. While that might be an overreaction, McCarthy defenders have no legs to stand on after Week 5.
It was a coaching and play-calling disaster-class. Despite repeated failed efforts to pick up positive yardage, McCarthy insisted on running on first and long.
He also called a 3rd and 4 run that amounted to a give-up play as the Cowboys settled for a field goal to make a two-score game ... a two-score game. It had the fanbase livid and he had a worse gaffe later when he called a pass short of the sticks on 3rd and 5 with Dallas trailing big.
49ers linebacker duo Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw love getting downhill and flying sideline-to-sideline tracking ball-carriers and pass-catchers, and yet McCarthy insisted on calling underneath throws. Nothing in the second or third levels of the defense. And the rare Dallas deep shots were alarmingly hopeless.
The Cowboys are still 3-2 and control their own destiny. They'll win plenty of more games this campaign, but McCarthy has nowhere left to hide after this performance. The red zone concerns are one thing, but Dallas' offense lacks creativity and explosiveness regardless of field position.
That's criminal given how much talent is on that side of the ball.