SANTA CLARA — Nothing has come easy for the 49ers this season.
Regardless of what happens in Week 8, the 49ers are guaranteed to make it through the first portion of their schedule without back-to-back victories.
“There's only one thing, you can sit and talk and evaluate all this stuff or you can get to work and find a way to be better the next week,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said this week.
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The 49ers return to action on Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys after experiencing the disappointment of a substandard performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in a 28-18 loss last week.
The vibes around the team will shift dramatically during the bye week based on what happens at Levi’s Stadium against the Cowboys.
The 49ers (3-4) either will climb back to the .500 mark and be in the thick of the NFC West race or they will fall two games under and face an uphill climb to reach the postseason.
Here are five players who must come through in order for the 49ers to break out of the doldrums and get back on the winning track:
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TE George Kittle
George Kittle put a target on his back against the Cowboys when he revealed the front of an undershirt last year that carried an obscene message directed at the 49ers’ bitter rivals.
He made no friends in Dallas, nor at the league office. He was fined $13,659 for displaying the shirt, which contained “abusive language.”
Kittle was back at practice on Thursday after sitting out a day with a foot sprain. The 49ers need him to produce in a big way while they get things settled down on offense.
The 49ers played without their top three wide receivers in Week 7 against Kansas City. It was not pretty, but Kittle stepped up with some catches.
Kittle needs to bring more of the same. He has a team-leading 34 catches for 375 yards (second on the team behind Jauan Jennings).
P Mitch Wishnowsky
The 49ers’ special teams have been a disaster this season. Special teams have been a problem in a lot of different areas, especially with the coverage units.
Last season, punter Mitch Wishnowsky and the 49ers’ coverage team was among the best in the NFL. The 49ers had a 42.7 net punting average.
But this year, that unit has fallen off dramatically. Wishnowsky’s net punting average is just 35.6 yards.
The 49ers surrendered a 55-yard punt return last week to Kansas City’s Mecole Hardman. That huge swing in field position led directly to a touchdown.
This is a huge challenge for the 49ers’ special teams, as Cowboys speedster KaVontae Turpin has averaged 19.2 yards (with one touchdown) on punt returns and a whopping 43.0 yards on kick returns.
RB Jordan Mason
The 49ers have an opening to control the game from start to finish.
Dallas’ run defense has not been good. They rank 27th in the NFL, allowing 143 rushing yards per game. Meanwhile, Jordan Mason is the second-leading rusher in the NFL.
Mason ranks behind only Baltimore’s Derrick Henry (873) with 667 yards on 128 rushing attempts for a 5.2-yard average. He has forced 53 missed tackles this season.
The 49ers must get the running game going. And if San Francisco chooses to run the ball near the goal line, they must do better. On seven rushing attempts inside the opponents’ 5-yard line, Mason has rushed for minus-1 yard with one touchdown.
CB Charvarius Ward
Dallas wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is one of the top pass-catchers in the NFL. He is coming off a season in which he caught 135 passes for 1,749 and 12 touchdowns.
Lamb is Dak Prescott’s main target on an offense that ranks No. 2 in the NFL in yards gained through the air.
San Francisco cornerback Charvarius Ward, who is in his contract year, has been up and down this season. He will face a huge challenge in his one-on-one matchups against Lamb.
In six games this season, Lamb has 32 catches for 467 yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys’ main priority will be to find a way to get the ball into the hands of their most explosive playmaker.
QB Brock Purdy
Brock Purdy’s production has fallen off this season after a year in which he led the NFL with an average pass attempt gaining 9.6 yards and a passer rating of 113.0.
His numbers still are better than Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott, who became the highest-paid player in the NFL just prior to the start of the season. Prescott signed a deal that averages $60 million per year. Purdy is set to receive a new contract in the offseason.
Prescott is completing 63 percent of his pass attempts with eight touchdowns, six interceptions and a passer rating of 85.5. Meanwhile, Purdy is completing 63.9 percent of his attempts with nine touchdowns, seven interceptions and a passer rating of 91.2.
Things have not looked as smooth this season for Purdy and the 49ers’ offense.
While there are a lot of moving pieces on the offense, Purdy has to find a way to cut down on turnovers and make it all come together regardless of what’s going on around him.