49ers Make Home in Dallas, Rout Cowboys 28-17

With a sub-par preseason in the books and an offseason that saw multiple suspensions issued, the San Francisco 49ers were more than ready to get the 2014 regular season underway. Their first test would be a visit to Jerry's World to take on Tony Romo and the Cowboys in Dallas where the 49er faithful made their presence felt, filling nearly 40 percent of the stadium according to some reports. Entering the game, many believed that with the 49ers depleted defense as some put it, that Romo and the Dallas offense could take advantage and exploit an area that San Francisco has excelled at since the start of the Jim Harbaugh era. That would be far from the case, however, as the Niner defense looked just fine in the season-opener with a few kinks to address. 

What would ultimately be a long day for Tony Romo and the Cowboys offense, started off on a bad note from the get-go as Dallas was called for a false start penalty on the first play of the game. It would be a sign of bad things to come as 49ers linebacker Dan Skuta stripped Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray of the ball just two players later as cornerback Chris Culliver recovered the loose ball and returned it 35-yards for the easy score. Dallas' offense would put together a more successful drive their second time around with Romo leading his team down the field for a field goal to make it 7-3 in favor of San Francisco, but it would be the lone bright spot for the Cowboys in the first half and would be the closest they'd get on the scoreboard the rest of the game. A pair of first quarter interceptions thrown by Romo would dig too big of a hole for the Cowboys to climb out of as 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick capitalized on both turnovers by finding his tight-end Vernon Davis in the end zone in what would be a flawless first quarter for Kaepernick who recently signed a new multi-year contract. 

San Francisco would need only four plays on offense to light up the scoreboard for 21 first quarter points, the most points in an opening-quarter since December 18, 1995 when they hung a 21-spot versus the Minnesota Vikings. With second year Pro Bowl safety Eric Reid hauling in the first Romo interception and Patrick Willis coming up with the second, Parrish Cox who was called upon to fill in for Chris Culliver who left the game with a concussion, would intercept Romo at the start of the second quarter for a third and final time. More sloppy offense by the Cowboys would result in points for the Niners as rookie running back Carlos Hyde scored his first career touchdown with a 4-yard run to give his team a 28-3 lead heading into the half. The 49ers would fail to put anymore points on the board with kicker Phil Dawson missing from 37-yards out, but they would have all that they needed. 

Taking their foot off the gas on defense, the 49ers allowed touchdowns in the third and fourth quarter to help Dallas pull within 11 where the game would end, 28-17. Colin Kaepernick who finished the game with 201 yards passing and 2 touchdowns, completed 16 of 23 pass attempts while playing mistake-free football. Tony Romo on the other hand threw for 281 yards with 3 interceptions and 1 touchdown and was unable to find his top two targets in Dez Bryant and Jason Witten who combined, tallied only 69 yards on 6 receptions and were kept out of the end zone. DeMarco Murray ran for over 100-yards and a touchdown, but it was his early miscue that prevented him from having a phenomenal afternoon. Anquan Boldin led all receivers with 99 yards on 8 receptions and both Carlos Hyde and Frank Gore proved effective in the run game. With 66 yards on the day, Gore became only the 29th player in NFL history to rush for 10,000 yards in a career. 

Week 2 Preview: For Jim Harbaugh's team who improved to 4-0 in season-openers, Week 2 will see San Francisco host the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football in the 49ers brand new stadium -- Levis Field. Chicago (0-1), expected by some to win the NFC North this season, is coming off an upset loss at home in overtime to Buffalo in the season-opener. 

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