Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images Do you think a Cowboys win against the 49ers would at all calm things down? If there’s been one constant in the Mike McCarthy era, it’s playing the 49ers. For the fifth time in as many years, the Cowboys will face San Francisco as they come out of their bye, and they’ll be looking for just their second win in those five tries. Two of those losses came in the playoffs in back-to-back years, and last year’s regular season matchup was about as brutal of a loss as the last time this year’s Cowboys squad played a game. To say that the 49ers are the big bad bully of the McCarthy-era Cowboys would be an understatement. Their only win over this team came in 2020, when Andy Dalton outdueled Nick Mullens at the end of a lost season for both teams. Since then, San Francisco has had their number, and stacking another loss to Kyle Shanahan, Brock Purdy, and company may just be the thing that breaks the morale of these Cowboys. Of course, that may not happen at all. The 49ers are riddled with injuries, especially on offense, and they could potentially play this game without many of their top weapons, in addition to the still-absent Christian McCaffrey. Would a win over this team, barely keeping it together from an injury standpoint, actually mean anything for the Cowboys? Our own Tom Ryle and David Howman discuss. Tom: I agree, this is not at all a win we can count on, but even if so, it is hard to see that it points to a strong finish to the season. Not only was the team dismal in its last outing before the bye, there seems to be a new off field flag every day. Players are complaining (again) about stadium tours, Troy Aikman criticized the entire wide receiver corps for their routes, and the injuries are also piling up for Dallas. Oh, and Jerry Jones just keeps throwing people under the bus. Should they get a win, and even look pretty good doing so, there comes a time when you have to look at the overall, constantly moving picture, and this is starting to resemble a slasher flick more than a triumphant story. I still maintain that Mike McCarthy was set up to fail. That seems to be almost inevitable. A win over the Niners would just be a momentary respite from a desultory 2024 season. David: I don’t entirely disagree, because beating this current version of the 49ers definitely won’t be some “we finally got that monkey off our back” type of moment. There won’t be any “we made it” relief or anything like that. But a win is a win, and especially against a team that’s had your number for a while. It may be psychological for the players more than anything. Going into the bye the way they did was not great, and the chatter around this team in the time since has been nothing but negative. To come out of things and play well, and even beat the 49ers after all the talk about how they can’t beat them, should be a legitimate confidence boost. Even if it won’t be an inauguration of sorts, it can at least serve as some positive momentum, which is desperately needed right now. Tom: I’m actually more interested in how the players respond on the field. If they still look to be playing hard and giving their best effort, then there is still some hope they can at least have a respectable finish to things. The danger is if players start to mail it in and make business decisions. There is also the threat of real friction on the sidelines, like we saw hints of between Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. Those are things another really bad showing could create. Most crucially, those could be a real indication that McCarthy has lost the locker room. That would be almost understandable, if regrettable, but I would suggest he is not the real culprit. That falls on Jerry Jones, who not only had such a major hand in creating the roster that is struggling, but who continues to stir the pot to no good effect. That is why the renewed grumbles about the stadium tours caught my attention. That could be a sign many of the players don’t feel respected by the organization. They can’t really take it out on the owner, however, and McCarthy becomes the scapegoat. I don’t want to see it go down like that. I want the team to still put effort on the field and at least keep this one competitive. We still have to see how it all turns out Sunday night. David: I think the most fascinating part of the whole stadium tour saga (can we really call it that?) was when reporters asked both Prescott and Lamb about it. Prescott gave a long response that basically amounted to “If the tours distract you from being the best version of yourself, you were never that great to begin with.” Meanwhile, Lamb said that the tours are “sometimes” distracting and refused to elaborate further. That, to me, sums up the problem with this team. They seem to be caught between the mentality that Prescott, McCarthy, and other veterans like Jourdan Lewis and DeMarcus Lawrence have – a mentality of blocking out the noise and grinding to be the best – and the mentality that Jaylon Smith once so eloquently put: “If the owner ain’t trippin’, we good.” McCarthy has done his best to instill a gritty, workmanlike culture in this franchise, and there are times where that absolutely shines through. I believe Prescott is fully bought in, too. But others are not, because the owner that wears far too many hats continues to undercut all of McCarthy’s efforts. To that extent, a win on Sunday night might lend some additional credence for certain players to at least temporarily buy

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images Here is all of the information you need on how to watch this week’s Dallas Cowboys game. The Dallas Cowboys are back from their break over the bye to face the San Francisco 49ers in a game on Sunday Night Football. Both teams are struggling on the season and injuries have a lot to do with that. The Cowboys will be without stars Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland again this week, ending hopes that they would be ready to go after the bye week. The 49ers just lost wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk for the season in their last game, and Christian McCaffrey won’t be back for this game. All the injuries have put a lot of pressure on quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Brock Purdy to help carry the their teams, but neither player has been impressive so far this year. Here is the info for the game. Cowboys vs 49ers game info Important links: Cowboys depth chart | Roster Date: Oct 27, 2024 Game time: 8:20 PM EST Location: Levi’s Stadium – Santa Clara, CA TV channel: NBC Coverage Map: 506 Sports Radio: 105.3 The Fan | SXM Streaming: NBC Sports, Sling Cowboys record: (3-3) 49ers record: (3-4) Odds: Dallas +3.5, courtesy of FanDuel Prediction: 49ers 31 – Cowboys 17 Enemy blog: Niners Nation Twitter: @BloggingTheBoys Facebook: Please Like us!

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images Los Dallas Cowboys juegan contra los San Francisco 49ers el Domingo. Los Dallas Cowboys regrese de el bye este semana con un juego contra los San Francisco 49ers. En los años pasado los 49ers se gano mucho contra los Cowboys, dos veces en los playoffs. Si están un equipo que da los Cowboys problemas, son San Francisco. Pero estos 49ers se mira mas diferente en el momento. Ahora no van a tener Brandon Aiyuk y vamos a ver si juege Deebo Samuel o George Kittle. En el otro lado los Cowboys tambien tiene mucho lesions. ¿Que vamos a ver cuando los equipos juege? Aquí estan mis tres predicciones para el juego. Dak Prescott y Brock Purdy combina para 2 o mas intercepciones Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images Entrando la semana 8 de la temporada los dos quarterbacks in la liga que tiene la mas perciente de intentos en “tight windows” son Dak Prescott y Brock Purdy. Esta statistica es indica que Dallas y San Francisco están descubriéndelo en ofensiva. Creo que los dos Prescott y Purdy van a hacer algo mas agresiva y cuando quarterbacks juege haci, intercepciones lleve. Da me a menos dos de Dak y Brock combina. La primera posesion para San Francisco se va 3 y fuera Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images Como discusamos arriba, los 49ers no son los 49ers en el momento. Sin jugadores como Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk y vamos a ver Deebo Samuel y George Kittle… no son los gigantes que destruido los Cowboys en años pasado. San Francisco van a necesitar tiempo para ver que Dallas están haciendo y los Cowboys van a quierer salir en el juego mas fuerte. Por destos razones creo que la primera posesion de San Francisco van a va 3 y fuera. Un pequeño algo gano para Dallas. Hable de este tema en el más reciente video en la canal de YouTube de Blogging The Boys. ¡Subscribir (puede aqui) al canal para ver mas videos de los Dallas Cowboys en Ingles y Español! Los Cowboys tiene 80 o menos yardas corriendo Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images Ahora los Cowboys se jugo en seis total juegos. En estos juegos especifica, tiene cuatro con 80 o menos yardas corriendo. Estos resultos es de dos razones primaria. En uno lido los Cowboys no puede correr muy bien. Jugadores Rico Dowdle y Ezekiel Elliott están abajo de muchos statisticas de corriendo. En el otro lado los Cowboys jugo contra equipos que salió a las primeras pistas contra ellos. Cuando este se pase equipos necesita tira la pelota y no puede correr. Creo que circumstancias igual puede pasar en San Francisco y que Dallas tiene otro juego donde tiene 80 o menos yardas corriendo.

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images This is a big week for the NFC East. With the Commanders, Cowboys, and Eagles all facing tough matchups, Week 8 of this NFL season feels like it has significant swing potential in the NFC East. Depending on how the trio of rivals respond to their challenges, we may get a good sense of how the division will eventually shake out. While Dallas sat out last week on a bye, Washington and Philadelphia picked up expected wins against the Panthers and Giants. Both won their games by wide margins, reestablishing some positive momentum but still leaving questions about how they’ll handle stiffer competition. Current NFC East Standings Washington Commanders 5-2 (1-0 in division, 3-1 vs NFC) Philadelphia Eagles 4-2 (1-0, 3-2) Dallas Cowboys 3-3 (1-0, 1-2) New York Giants 2-5 (0-3, 1-4) This week will go much further in proving everyone’s mettle. Washington hosts the Chicago Bears, currently 4-2 and coming off three straight wins. But the Bears have had it easy lately with the Jaguars and Panthers as opponents, so they also need to prove something in this battle. The Commanders are still waiting to confirm QB Jayden Daniels’ status after a rib injury last Sunday, which could go a long way to deciding how this one goes. The Eagles have won their last two since an early bye but they came against the Giants and Browns. They’ll now travel to Cincinnati, with the Bengals also having won two straight against those same two teams. Cincy is better than their 3-4 record might indicate, with two narrow losses against the Chiefs and Ravens dragging it down. They’re more than capable of winning this game and putting Philly within the Cowboys’ reach. The problem for Dallas is that their own Week 8 opponent, the San Francisco 49ers, have been a major issue the last few years. The Niners have won three straight against the Cowboys, two of them playoff games and the last one a 42-10 blowout. With neither Micah Parsons nor DaRon Bland returning this week, even with Frisco’s own injuries, Dallas seems ill-equipped to exercise this particular demon. We’ll know the divisional stakes before kickoff. If either the Commanders or Eagles fall in their games, let alone both, it sweetens the deal for Dallas if they can get the road win. At the very least, it would provide some cushion against a loss. But if Washington and Philadelphia win their games, it could give a struggling Cowboys team a deeper hole to climb out of.

Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images Our latest mailbag features plenty of questions about the Dallas Cowboys. Every week, we take questions on X (Twitter) and Facebook about Dallas Cowboys players and other issues surrounding the team. So let’s get right into it. “When will we see the RBs more involved in the passing game. Dowdle & Leupke already have made big plays” (@Phillynick50 on Twitter) Mike: Rico Dowdle has made eight receptions and scored two touchdowns in the last three games, so the question is warranted. Why not get him more involved? The running game is very subpar but using Dowdle on screen passes on those “extended” handoff type plays could be the spark this entire running back corps needs right now. If it gets results like we’ve seen recently then why not add it more in the playbook. As for Hunter Luepke, we’ve seen him get targeted on pressure plays and on third-down plays, and Dak has trusted him enough to come through on those plays. The irony here is Luepke was a good receiver in North Dakota State and it was a skill set that not many people talked about during the draft. Most keyed in on his rushing and blocking skills but it was his receiving ability that for myself looked the most intriguing. Now fans are getting to see those skills and Luepke should get more targets, but let’s see what the coaches think. Dana: As you mentioned, we have seen some good things in the passing game with Dowdle and Luepke so far this season. I would like to see it incorporated more as an extension of the running game. Screen passes or quick passes to the outside to switch it up from just running it between the tackles. Throw in an unexpected wheel route or two and they’ll be cooking! As for when we will see it however, hopefully it will be something that continues to gain traction. Maybe Mike McCarthy and Brian Schottenheimer have had time to evaluate and add those to the game plans after the bye. “In your opinion, was this the correct time of the season for a bye week for the Cowboys?” (@MrEd315 on Twitter) Mike: Before the season we got asked this question and it’s one that came up in preseason on a couple of podcasts and I said it back then that having the bye right before San Francisco was a good time have a break. It meant the team would get extra time to prepare to get revenge on a bitter rival. But now add the injuries to the defensive line, and the extra week for the offense to find its rhythm, well all that just makes the timing for the by week more impeccable. Dana: Absolutely. The timing of the bye week turned out to be perfect for this Cowboys team that is riddled with injuries. That extra time should be helpful in getting some of these injured players healed and ready to play. It also gives the team extra time to prepare for their biggest boogeyman the past few seasons, the San Francisco 49ers. Both the Cowboys and the 49ers are very banged up teams. The one advantage the Cowboys have over the 49ers is rest. Hopefully that will prove itself on Sunday. “Should they move Tyler Guyton, which was his natural position, and learn next to Zack Martin?” (@Ian Broad on Facebook) Mike: Short answer is no. It’s a steep learning curve for rookie offensive linemen and moving him to the opposite side will only stunt his growth. Guyton himself once reported that he prefers playing on the left than the right, and he was the blindside blocker in Oklahoma for a left-handed quarterback. Give him time before completely writing him off at left tackle. Even Tyron Smith was a right tackle in USC and look how that worked out given time. Dana: After really only five games for Tyler Guyton, moving him from LT now might do more damage in the long run. Confidence and experience are both super important for rookies in this league and moving him now could halt his growth. He had an excellent game in Week 1 against the DPOY so he has proven he is capable. He just needs to build off of that. It was the plan all along to have Guyton at that LT position and only five games shouldn’t be enough to switch the whole thing up.

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images Dalvin Cook will be getting his first opportunity with the Cowboys on Sunday night. It’s time for the Dallas Cowboys offense to cook. During an appearance on Friday with 105.3 The Fan, Stephen Jones alluded to Dalvin Cook potentially hitting the field this weekend for the first time as a Cowboy. “Mike (McCarthy) and (OC Brian Schottenheimer) have been talking to us about how it’s about time for him to get his opportunity. We’ll see how everything goes tomorrow and make that call.” Now, the speculation is confirmed. It was announced on Saturday that Cook will be elevated ahead of Sunday Night Football against the San Francisco 49ers. Confirmed/Official. Dalvin Cook has been officially elevated from the #Cowboys practice squad — prepped to make his Dallas debut vs. 49ers. Also: John Stephens Jr. to IRAmani Oruwariye to 53-man roster pic.twitter.com/DcWNdeNOYi — Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) October 26, 2024 It’s no secret that Dallas has struggled to get its rushing offense through the first half of the season. Per NFL Pro, the Cowboys’ rushing attack ranks 22nd in success rate (38.3 percent) and 32nd in rushing yards per game (77.2). When Cook signed with the Cowboys practice squad before the season, Mike McCarthy said he liked what he saw from his workout but would need a few weeks to adjust to the new offense and verbiage. The adjustment period has been way longer than expected. To McCarthy’s credit, he was patient with his running back room to see what they could do with more opportunities. Outside of Rico Dowdle, the team may have seen enough. Cook spent the 2023 season with the New York Jets and had a brief run with the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs. The four-time Pro Bowl back couldn’t find his footing with the Jets offense, rushing for 214 yards on 67 carries. Cook’s rushing success rate was 38.8, the lowest of his pro career. Having watched the Jets offense last season, it is okay to give him a brief pass in what was a terrible situation for any offensive player. Finally earning an opportunity with Dallas, there is pressure on Cook to give the backfield and offense a much-needed boost. Running against the 49ers could be a tough matchup as they currently rank 12th in the league, allowing 112.9 rushing yards per game. However, if the Cowboys want to see what Cook can provide the rest of the way, throw him to the wolves with nothing to lose. With this elevation, there could be a ripple effect. Does this mean Dowdle will have fewer snaps on offense? Or is former franchise superstar Ezekiel Elliott the odd man out? The team has two practice squad elevations remaining for Cook before he needs to be a member of the active roster. Perhaps they will evaluate their running back rotation over the next few weeks with a few elevations in their back pocket. After that, all bets are off for what Dallas does next. Right now, Cook could be the spark the Cowboys desperately need.