The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 5 matchup between the 49ers and Cowboys.
Find a breakdown of every Week 5 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Dallas | Rank | @ | San Francisco | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 | Spread | -3.5 | ||
| 20.75 | Implied Total | 24.25 | ||
| 31.0 | 4 | Points/Gm | 31.3 | 3 |
| 10.3 | 1 | Points All./Gm | 14.5 | 3 |
| 70.5 | 3 | Plays/Gm | 62.8 | 19 |
| 54.8 | 3 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 63.0 | 15 |
| 5.1 | 15 | Off. Yards/Play | 6.3 | 2 |
| 4.7 | 7 | Def. Yards/Play | 4.5 | 3 |
| 48.58% | 5 | Rush% | 52.59% | 2 |
| 51.42% | 28 | Pass% | 47.41% | 31 |
| 44.29% | 18 | Opp. Rush % | 26.98% | 1 |
| 55.71% | 15 | Opp. Pass % | 73.02% | 32 |
- San Francisco is second in the NFL in scoring rate per drive (56.1%).
- Dallas is third in the NFL in scoring rate per drive (53.8%).
- The 49ers are the only team in the NFL to score 30 or more points in every game this season. It is the first time since 1948 that they have scored 30 or more points in four straight games to start a season.
- The Cowboys have reached the red zone or scored before the red zone on a league-high 51.3% of their possessions.
- San Francisco has reached the red zone or scored prior on 48.8% of their possessions, fourth in the league.
- After leading the NFL with a 71.4% red zone touchdown rate in 2022, Dallas is 30th in red zone touchdown rate at 36.8% (7-of-19) through four weeks.
- Dallas (0.187) and San Francisco (0.230) are first and third in points allowed per play defensively.
- San Francisco is allowing a gain of 20 or more yards once every 42.0 plays, the lowest rate in the league.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Brock Purdy: Purdy was nearly perfect on Sunday, completing 20-of-21 passes for 283 yards (13.5 Y/A) with a passing touchdown. He also added a rushing touchdown for good measure, giving him three QB1 scoring weeks over the opening month.
Last week’s matchup against a passive Arizona defense was tailor-made for Purdy.
This week will be a true test.
The 49ers only scored 19 points when these teams met in the postseason last year, the fewest points they have scored in one of Purdy’s complete games under center.
Purdy can still be impacted by pressure, and Dallas leads the NFL with a pressure rate of 54.7%.
When Purdy is pressured, he is completing 48.6% of his passes (17th) for 5.6 yards per pass attempt (19th).
When kept clean, Purdy has completed a league-high 84.0% of his passes for a league-high 10.8 Y/A.
When these teams played in the postseason last year, Dallas pressured Purdy on 48.5% of his dropbacks, the highest rate he has been pressured in his career.
When Dallas pressured Purdy in that game, he was 4-of-12 for 55 yards (4.6 Y/A).
When he was kept clean, he was 15-of-17 for 159 yards (9.4 Y/A).
How often Dallas gets pressure will be critical in this matchup.
Overall, Dallas has not allowed a quarterback to finish higher than QB16 this season, and that came attached 5.5 rushing points.
The Cowboys have not been tested to start the year against Daniel Jones, Zach Wilson, Joshua Dobbs, and Mac Jones, but they have done their part in mushing those passers to a league-low 5.3 passing points per game.
Even if Purdy is the best passer this defense has faced, this is a spot to proceed with caution expecting a ceiling outcome, pushing Purdy to a QB2 this week.
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