49ers-Cowboys preview: Christian McCaffrey and the Niners should run wild
“When you watch them, the issues stem from getting moved at the point of attack. Ball carriers aren’t getting touched until they cross the line of scrimmage. The eye test matches the stats: Dallas allows the second-most yards before contact per carry this season, at 1.78 yards. They get moved, easily, despite having played only two offenses in the top-15 in rushing success rate.
The 49ers are running more and more inside the
tackles. They’re running inside zone at a 19.1% clip, a slight increase from a year ago. This game sets up well for the Niners to keep attacking the Cowboys’ A and B gaps.
Kyle Shanahan had to be grinning as he watched the 36-play reel of the Cowboys’ defense defending —a term used loosely—inside zone. They allowed 8.08 yards per carry. Seven of those 36 plays went for double digits. They allowed a 58.3% success rate.
You could build the case that the 49ers aren’t running inside enough this season. Christian McCaffrey had two 11-yard runs on inside zone last week. McCaffrey has 24 inside zone carries this year and averages 5.04 yards per carry, with a 62.5% success rate….Rookie Caleb Downs is the player the Niners could find success against. He’s primarily played nickel. Against the Texans, Packers, and Cardinals, Downs allowed all 9 of his targets to be completed for 147 yards.
Heading into Week 9, Downs had allowed a 90.5% completion percentage, which was the third-highest among slot cornerbacks this season. He has one pass breakup. Dallas tried to align him closer to the line of scrimmage, almost like a pseudo-linebacker in coverage against Arizona. He played linebacker 32.1% of the time against the Cardinals.…Downs is not a big player. He’s 5’11”, 206 pounds, but has a 10th percentile arm length. That shows up in contested situations when he can’t make plays on the ball.”
49ers Week 9 Trench Grades: Leveling up (paywall)
“One of my main takeaways this week was the impact that DeForest Buckner had on everyone as a force multiplier. But he also drew attention away from Osa Odighizuwa….Also, Colton McKivitz had a pretty impressive day against Maxx Crosby. Now, I saw the stat that he didn’t allowed a pressure. Maybe you can argue this isn’t a pressure from Crosby. I think it is, regardless of the stunt from Tonka Hemingway getting home. McKivitz vs. Crosby is independent of that.”
49ers OT Williams, LB Greenlaw questionable, WR Evans out vs. Cowboys
“Anytime you hurt your shoulder on a Thursday, it doesn’t make you totally at ease,” Shanahan said of Williams. “Sunday comes fast, but hopefully that’s enough time for him to be all right.”
49ers vs. Cowboys: The Standard’s 5 fast predictions (paywall)
“Kawakami: 49ers 31, Cowboys 24. This one feels similar to last week against the Raiders, who were awful defensively but had Kirk Cousins throwing the ball all over the field. And Prescott has better receivers. But the 49ers are designed to methodically win these kinds of matchups.
49ers injury report: Deebo cleared, Trent Williams questionable against Cowboys
“The 49ers fully cleared Samuel to return for the team’s Week 10 game against the Dallas Cowboys. He has not played since Oct. 11, when he sustained a hamstring injury in a Week 5 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
The 49ers should get a further boost at wide receiver with the addition of veteran Keenan Allen, who will make his San Francisco debut after arriving in a midweek trade from the Indianapolis Colts.”
Five important 49ers to watch in the ‘biggest game of the year’ against Cowboys
The 49ers’ defensive backs will face a tall order on Sunday against Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and a strong passing game. Stout will undoubtedly be matched up regularly against CeeDee Lamb, who has 70 catches for 904 yards and seven touchdowns in nine games.
Lamb will line up in the slot throughout the game, and that is when Stout will get his chance to go up against one of the best receivers in the NFL.”
Kawakami: Trent Williams on the 49ers’ North Stars, Kyle Shanahan’s un-politics, and more
“It’s just confidence, and a lot of that is a team paying you [$53 million] a year, and you understand not only are they telling me that they love me and they got my back, they’ve shown me that they love me and they have my back.
So now when I go out there, I don’t have to look over my shoulder. I’m not in the huddle on eggshells saying I got to show that I’m more than the last pick of the draft. …
“So now I think that the confidence is there and it’s allowing him to keep everything football. ‘Yeah, I can throw this layered ball that a lot of quarterbacks are scared to throw. And guess what? If it gets picked, I’m gonna come out and do it again because they trust me.’ And that’s the only way we win is by throwing these balls on time, throwing to these spots, and trusting it.’ …
“[It’s about] the ability to go back out just like last week [after an interception], the next play, he threw a ball, and as I’m blocking, I hear Maxx [Crosby] say, ‘Oh, that’s a pick,’ and the ball floats right over the head [of a defender], another layered ball the drive after he just threw a pick trying to throw a layered ball.”
