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Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis celebrates his fumble recovery of San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey during the first half at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, October 8, 2023.
The Cowboys acknowledge having been outplayed and outschemed, never finding a rhythm in a 42-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.In the aftermath, substantial attention is rightfully placed on the team’s shortcomings. The latest weekly installment of the Unheralded series takes a different angle and highlights the sparks that never ignited, focusing on three examples of winning-caliber football from an evening with that in too short of supply.The 49ers’ Fred Warner made as impressive of a play Sunday as an NFL linebacker will make all season. In the second quarter, he avoided tight end Jake Ferguson’s attempt to pick him in coverage on a mesh crossing route, twice clogged a passing window and then sackedWarner also was the player who, minutes earlier, forced running back Tony Pollard to fumble deep in Dallas territory.’ first drive that followed Warner’s sack, the left guard took an open-toe lateral step from his three-stance and sprinted to the defense’s second level, seeking to do what Ferguson couldn’t and neutralize Warner in open space. Smith grabbed Warner, drove him backward and hurled him onto his back.When Smith was done, Warner was picking himself off the ground at the 38. That block demonstrated the athleticism and physicality that attracted the Cowboys to Smith in the 2022 first round. The Fort Worth native is still only 22. His technique has come a long way, and his career potential as he hones it is as lofty as any on the roster. The Cowboys defense faced a season-high four sudden-change situations when taking the field following an offensive turnover. Pollard lost a fumble;Two plays after the fumble, running back Christian McCaffrey took a handoff and dashed 8 yards, 2 shy of the end zone. Lewis not only made a tackle but pulled the ball loose from McCaffrey while McCaffrey’s body was on top of his.Similar to Smith’s block, this effort became in vain. The Cowboys proceeded to go three-and-out, and tight end George Kittle caught a 38-yard touchdown on the 49ers’ next offensive play, as Lewis trailed in pursuit.Still, Sunday’s game could prove to be an important step for Lewis. He is coming off a significant foot injury he suffered last October and, since returning in Week 2, has worked to build trust in his foot and play freely. Lewis positioned himself to break up a third-down pass intended for McCaffrey before nose tackle Johnathan Hankins batted the ball at the line of scrimmage. He had the goal-line takeaway. He shook off a scare late in the game when a 49ers player stepped on his surgically repaired foot.. He had an ankle injury. He handled a large role on defense, tying a season-high with 46 snaps in a game thatDallas dealt with an array of injuries, including a torn pectoral for special teams ace C.J. Goodwin. At times, that made identifying 11 players to appear on a particular special teams snap a chore in and of itself.While wearing a harness over his shoulder, the 23-year-old played 19 snaps on special teams despite his defensive responsibilities. On the 19th snap, he traveled 68 yards and reached a maximum speed of 18.55 mph, according to Next Gen Stats, to tackle punt returner Ray-Ray McLoud III for a 12-yard gain.Deebo Samuel keeps Cowboys-49ers feud burning following Micah Parsons’ comments. Michael Gehlken joined the Cowboys beat for the Dallas Morning News in August 2019. This marks his 14th season covering the NFL, as he previously reported on the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders.
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