'Pissed-Off' Dallas Cowboys Soil Themselves in 42-10 No-Show Loss At 49ers; What's Next?

'Pissed-Off' Dallas Cowboys Soil Themselves in 42-10 No-Show Loss At 49ers; What's Next?

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - What became of the Dallas Cowboys' "showdown''? It became a beatdown.

What became of Dak Prescott's motivational pledge to play "pissed-off''? All the Cowboys did here was soil themselves.

What of "America's Team'' joining the San Francisco 49ers among the NFL "elite''? The final "Sunday Night Football'' score here at Levi's Stadium - 42-10, and this Week 5 game wasn't even that close - tells you all you need to know about "elite.''

And now the questions become: 1) Can the Cowboys themselves admit to the reality? And 2) Once they do that, what the hell else are they supposed to do?

Said Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy of a night he termed "a kick in the ass'': “It was clearly humbling. ... It clearly just shows where we are as a team. We’re 3-2. … We got a lot of work to do.”

Or … there is the “Dallas Denial” via Micah Parsons, who outrageously stated, "I don't think (the 49ers) are at a higher level than us. I think we're the same caliber playoff team. Same talent. … The score doesn't really show what happened out there."

True. But again … not in the way Micah thinks.

Prescott (14 of 24 passing for 153 yards, one touchdown) looked lost in throwing three interceptions before he was mercifully pulled from the game. Dallas' offense had just 197 total yards, eight first downs and just under 23 minutes with the ball.

Micah Parsons and the defense fared no better, as the 49ers jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter and also scored the final 21 points of the game. ... and in between doing enough to end up with 421 total yards, 25 first downs and over 37 minutes of possession. 

At alternating times, the Cowboys looked physically overmatched by San Francisco (which is now 5-0, as are the Dallas rivals from Philadelphia) but then simply clownish in their execution.

Meanwhile, 49ers QB Brock Purdy had arguably the best game of his career thus far, completing 17 of 24 passes for 252 yards and four touchdowns with a career-high 144.4 quarterback rating, with three of his touchdowns going to tight end George Kittle. ... exactly the sort of player the Dallas defense likes to brag it is designed to stop.

Dallas falls to 3-2, which doesn't mean its season is over. But after three consecutive losses to the 49ers in three straight years (including two straight playoff failures)? Talking up a "showdown'' isn't enough. Vowing to play "pissed-off'' isn't enough, either.

Dak Prescott and the Cowboys are simply not good enough to exist on the same level with the San Francisco 49ers. And whatever it is that Dallas plans to do about that, it begins by admitting it.