SANTA CLARA — The anticipated 49ers-Dallas Cowboys Sunday night showdown turned into an old-fashioned beatdown.
The 49ers continued their recent mastery over the Cowboys with a 42-10 thumping in front of a national television audience at Levi’s Stadium.
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The 49ers intercepted Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott three times, and quarterback Brock Purdy made it look easy against the typically fast and relentless Cowboys defense.
Dallas led the NFL in scoring defense with just 41 points allowed in the first four games of the season, and it took the 49ers four quarters of football to exceed that total while running their record to 5-0 on the season.
The 49ers were remarkable consistent in the first four games, and they saved their best showing of the young season for their long-time rivals. San Francisco has scored more than 30 points in each of their five games.
The 49ers defeated the Cowboys in both of the past two postseasons. Those game, at least were competitive. This one was not.
San Francisco 49ers
Here are three takeaways from the dominant victory:
Purdy, Kittle reconnect
When Purdy entered the lineup last season, tight end George Kittle took off.
Kittle got off to a relatively slow start this season, but he broke out in a big way Sunday night with the first three-touchdown game of his seven-year NFL career.
Purdy ran his record to 13-0 in games in which he has played at least half of the snaps since taking over as the 49ers’ starting quarterback. He completed 17 of 24 pass attempts for 252 yards with four touchdown passes, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 144.4.
Purdy and Kittle teamed up for two touchdowns in the first half — the second time in his career he had two scores before the third quarter.
Purdy has been the quarterback in four of the six games in which Kittle has scored multiple receiving touchdowns.
The highlight-reel play occurred early in the second quarter when Purdy handed off to Christian McCaffrey, who pitched to Deebo Samuel, who tossed it back to Purdy.
Purdy steadied himself and delivered a deep pass to the right side for Kittle, who had gotten beyond Cowboys nickel back Jourdan Lewis. He took it the rest of the way for a 38-yard touchdown.
Purdy and Kittle hooked up to cap the 49ers’ first drive of the game. Purdy slid to his right and delivered a perfectly thrown 19-yard touchdown to Kittle, who had a few steps on linebacker Markquese Bell.
Kittle finished with three receptions -- all touchdown catches -- for 67 yards.
Warner, Greenlaw fly to the ball
The 49ers’ defense, coming off a game they considered below their standard, put together a suffocating effort against the Cowboys.
Linebackers Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw led the way.
Warner and Greenlaw both registered sacks, and Warner punched the ball loose from Cowboys running back Tony Pollard for a first-quarter takeaway.
Warner also intercepted a fourth-quarter pass while covering Michael Gallup. Jordan Mason scored on a 26-yard run on the next play.
On the Cowboys’ final possession of the first half, Warner had deep coverage of veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks on an incomplete pass down the left sideline.
Dallas decided to run out the first half when Greenlaw sacked Prescott on the next play.
Warner and Greenlaw led a defensive effort that held the Cowboys to 93 yards of total offense in the first half. Dallas had the ball seven times in the first half, and six times they were held without a first down.
Taking their shots at McCaffrey
Teams have been unable to stop running back Christian McCaffrey, and a new trend has started.
McCaffrey is facing an unusually high number of plays that have gone beyond the rules of the game.
McCaffrey extended his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown to 14 with a 1-yard run late in the second quarter. He joined Dallas’ Emmitt Smith as the only other NFL player of the past 40 years with a touchdown streak that long.
But he had to endure a lot to get there on Sunday night, while rushing for 51 yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts. He also added two catches for 27 yards.
Earlier in the drive on which McCaffrey scored, Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson was called for unnecessary roughness for helmet-to-helmet hit as a pass arrived. Dallas’ Jayron Kearse was flagged for taunting while McCaffrey was on the ground.
That’s the tone the Cowboys tried to set, too. On the first play from scrimmage, Wilson was called for a facemark penalty on McCaffrey.
In Week 4, McCaffrey faced similar treatment from the Arizona Cardinals.
The NFL last week fined two Cardinals a total of nearly $30,000 on plays against McCaffrey: Jalen Thompson ($18,222) for leading with the helmet and Ezekiel Turner ($10,927) for a facemask.
