Colin Kaepernick, 49ers dominate Dallas Cowboys

onceninerfan

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Colin Kaepernick threw two touchdown passes to Vernon Davis, one right after the first of three interceptions by Tony Romo, and the San Francisco 49ers opened the season with a 28-17 win over the sloppy Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

The 49ers (1-0) also got a 35-yard fumble return on the second play of the game when Chris Culliver picked up a loose ball stripped from DeMarco Murray. They led 21-3 after the first quarter despite running just four offensive plays.

Coming off a spotty preseason for his offense, Kaepernick was efficient if not prolific, going 16 of 23 for 201 yards without an interception.

Romo was playing his first meaningful game for the Cowboys (0-1) since back surgery in December.

onceninerfan

DALLAS – Start fast and you can start your season even faster.
That’s what the San Francisco 49ers did on Sunday with a 28-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the teams’ first regular season meeting at AT&T Stadium.
The 49ers built an early lead and never looked back even without key defensive starters in the secondary for most of the game.
Let’s take a look at how we got the final score and what we learned along the way.
Momentum Seized
The 49ers took a 7-0 lead just 54 seconds into the game.
Chris Culliver returned a Demarco Murray fumble 35 yards for a touchdown and the many 49ers fans in attendance immediately went into a frenzy. Dan Skuta, starting for suspended linebacker Aldon Smith, forced the fumble on the third play from scrimmage. It was the first time the 49ers started a season with a defensive touchdown since Sept. 15, 1968 against the Baltimore Colts.
That doesn’t happen very often, as you can see.
San Francisco’s offense did its part in establishing early dominance. Colin Kaepernick completed three passes for 73 yards on the opening drive. The fourth-year passer evaded a Cowboys rusher, literally nipping at the back of his heels, to toss a 29-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis.
Davis initially bobbled the ball, but was able to corral it as he crossed the goal line. San Francisco’s lead grew to 14-3 with 5:54 left in first quarter.
The 49ers almost recorded a second fumble return for a touchdown, but Cowboys tight end Jason Witten was ruled down on a Patrick Willis strip that was returned for a score by Corey Lemonier from 27 yards out.
Eric Reid, on the other hand, was able to force a takeaway when he intercepted Tony Romo later on the drive. The impressive catch-and-run from the second-year safety set the 49ers up 1st-and-goal from the 2-yard line. On the next play, Kaepernick completed his fourth straight pass of the game and second touchdown to Davis.
The 49ers led 21-3 to close out the first quarter. The Cowboys led time of possession 13:26 to 1:34.
So much for preseason over-analysis on the state of the team entering the regular season. The 49ers looked just fine.
Four Turnovers in First Half
San Francisco ended four of the Cowboys’ first five drives with takeaways. Skuta stripped Murray, Reid intercepted Romo, Willis intercepted Romo in the end zone, and Perrish Cox, who entered the game for an injured Tramaine Brock, robbed another deep ball from the Cowboys signal-caller as he ran stride-for-stride with Dez Bryant.
Ball skills were not an issue for the 49ers defense.
A Dan Bailey 39-yard field goal was the lone score the Cowboys tallied in the first half.
Cornerbacks Injured
Brock appeared to injure his lower leg on Dallas’ second offensive possession. Cox replaced him at left cornerback and played the rest of the game.
Brock was carted off the field and into the locker room. He was later diagnosed with a toe injury.
Shortly before the end of the opening quarter, San Francisco’s other starting cornerback, Culliver, suffered a concussion after lunging himself into a pile.
Rookie Dontae Johnson entered the game at right cornerback for Culliver, who was able to walk off the field under his own power. Veteran Chris Cook was inactive for the game, leaving San Francisco with just Cox and Johnson as the only healthy cornerbacks for the remainder of the game.
Johnson showed he could be very effective against veteran receivers. More on that in the next graph of this story.
Rookies Play Vital Roles
Fifth-round draft pick Aaron Lynch saw playing time at left outside linebacker in the first quarter. He was part of a rotation to fill in for Smith, along with Skuta and Lemonier.
Fourth-round draft pick Bruce Ellington entered the game at wide receiver opposite of Michael Crabtree in the second quarter. Ellington motioned across the formation to his left and stopped in the slot. Frank Gore rushed for 20 yards on the play, his first carry of the game.
More importantly, Ellington also returned punts for the 49ers. He fair caught his first punt return opportunity, then returned his second for 13 yards. His first and only kick-off attempt was a touchback.
Carlos Hyde received his first NFL carries in the second quarter. The second-round draft pick broke off a 13-yard run inside the red zone and later capped off a 49ers scoring drive with a four-yard touchdown plunge to make it a 28-3 lead for the 49ers.
After San Francisco went three-and-out to open the second half, 49ers rookie special teams gunner Jimmie Ward ran by former 49ers safety C.J. Spillman and got into Cowboys wide receiver Dwayne Harris' face, causing a muffed punt.
Ward was called for a defensive holding penalty in the third quarter, allowing Dallas to keep a drive alive. It led to a Cowboys scoring drive, capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Murray on 4th-and-goal.
Dallas later tacked on a second touchdown, a two-yard toss from Romo to Terrance Williams.