The 49ers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 42-10 on Sunday Night Football at Levi’s Stadium, drawing attention from the rest of the NFL.
San Francisco (5-0) remained undefeated with an overwhelming victory. So far this season, coach Kyle Shanahan’s team has proven to be a step above the rest of the league, and he’s a leading candidate to represent his NFC in Super Bowl V. There will be one.
But the Cowboys’ best player isn’t so convinced.
“I don’t think they’re really at a higher level than us,” star pass rusher Micah Parsons said. He told reporters in the locker room. After the match. “I think we’re a playoff team on the same level. Same talent, same standards as them. I feel like we really need to rethink some things and come together and fix some things.
“I feel like it was a few more plays. The score doesn’t really shape what happened there.”
This score was the 49ers’ largest margin of victory in their historic rivalry with the Cowboys. San Francisco outgained Dallas by more than 200 total yards, won the turnover battle 4-1, and benched its starters early in the fourth quarter.
“I feel like they didn’t do anything other than us beat ourselves,” Parsons said. “Look on third down, I jumped offside and they got 7.” [points] After 5 plays. … We feel like we won. A good team like this shows its strength when it beats itself.
“Today we were a team that had four turnovers. We were a team that just couldn’t get off the field. But I don’t think we’re off the same level at all.”
The Cowboys lost to the 49ers and Arizona Cardinals, dropping to 3-2 on the season. Victories over the last-place New York Jets, New York Giants and New England Patriots (three teams with a combined 4-11 record through five weeks) have become less impressive as the season has progressed.
But Parsons remains optimistic. On a night where he was limited to four tackles and zero sacks, Parsons insisted he kept the big picture in mind. The Cowboys simply learned a lesson Sunday night in Santa Clara.
“Sometimes you just have to look at these losses as blessings and just say, ‘Thank you,'” Parsons said.
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