Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers Preview

By Chuck Bednar | Saturday, September 24, 2005 | ( 0 )

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The Dallas Cowboys head to Monster Park in San Francisco hoping to put last week's Monday Night collapse behind them, while the San Francisco 49ers have something to prove following an embarrassing loss to the Eagles. The two teams will lock horns in a game scheduled to kick off at 4:05pm.

The San Francisco 49ers, who limped to a 2-14 record in 2004, shocked many by opening the season with a 28-25 win over St. Louis under new head coach Mike Nolan. The team entered Philadelphia riding on a massive high, but soon came crashing back to Earth. They surrendered four touchdowns in less than 20 minutes and were outgained in the game 583-142. QB Tim Rattay, impressive in Week 1, threw three interceptions and finished with a passer rating of just 21.3. He will get the start again this week, but look for Nolan to have a quick hook and go with rookie QB Alex Smith if the offense continues to struggle.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys were less than six minutes away from starting the season 2-0. They led Washington 13-0 with just 5:58 to play. Then the Redskins started an improbable comeback, with QB Mark Brunell and WR Santana Moss hooking up on two long touchdown passes that ultimately won the game. Now Dallas has the unenviable task of putting those events behind them and focusing on the Niners, but if anyone can do it, it's the Cowboys.
They are a veteran team with a veteran quarterback in Drew Bledsoe and a veteran coach in Bill Parcells. Bledsoe has been outstanding thus far, completing nearly 2/3 of his passes for 487 yards, four scores and no picks in two games. If he can continue to perform, and the team can get a 100-yard performance out of RB Julius Jones, who has yet to top the century mark this season and has just one TD on the year, then the Dallas Cowboys should be able to rebound nicely with a win on the road.

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