49ers Warned by Jerry Jones About Added ‘Dimension’ of Cowboys Offense

Getty The 49ers defense celebrates a fourth down stop versus the Chargers on November 13, 2022.

Jerry Jones has sent his warning shot to the San Francisco 49ers, particularly the league’s best defense.

The verbose Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager spoke with 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday, January 17 that the Cowboys have a “dimension that defense has a difficult time adjusting to.” That dimension, Jones describes, is when Dak Prescott uses his legs.

“I think what you saw there [Monday] night, we’re going to get to see a lot of when we play San Francisco in terms of him keeping the ball and relying on that triple threat that he can have,” Jones said on the radio. “If we could get it, if he’s healthy enough to do it, his being able to instinctively take that ball and run with it…is really a dimension that [the 49ers’] defense has a difficult time adjusting to.”

Deep Dive Into the 49ers Versus Mobile QBs

Does Jones have a point? Or is he coming off in his usual confident state toward his team?

While in years past the 49ers have had their struggles against quarterbacks who can tuck it and run — a la Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals, Russell Wilson when he was with the Seattle Seahawks and most recently Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears — the 49ers have changed drastically in handling mobile quarterbacks while on their way to the No. 1 overall ranking.

For starters, the 49ers allowed just a combined 213 rushing yards to dual-threat passers throughout the regular season, meaning an average of just 12.5 yards per game for fifth fewest in the league. But here’s how natural running and throwing threats have fared versus the 2022 49ers defense:

• Fields: 11 carries, 28 yards, longest run a 12-yarder in Week 1 S.F. loss.
• Wilson: Six carries, 17 yards, his longest stretched 12 yards in Week 3 Denver Broncos win.
• P.J. Walker: Completed 5-of-6 passes, but had zero carries in 49ers’ Week 5 romp (also the final game for Christian McCaffrey as a Carolina Panther).
• Marcus Mariota: Six carries, 50 yards, longest run was a 20-yarder and scored on 3-yard run.
• Taysom Hill: Six carries, 13 yards with longest scamper a 6-yarder.
• Geno Smith: In all three games versus the 49ers, Smith combined for 48 yards. He earned 28 on four carries in the Super Wild Card Weekend opener won by the 49ers.

What do all of these quarterbacks have in common? Not one gained 100 yards facing this 49ers run defense. The closest one was Mariota, who reached the halfway point toward the triple digit mark.

Head Coach Gives Stirring Response When 49ers Surrender a Big Play

There have been some notable big plays the 49ers defense has given up. Most recent in the last three games were the 50-yard touchdown strike from Smith to DK Metcalf, the 77-yarder from Colt McCoy to A.J. Green and the 60-yarder by Jarrett Stidham in his connection to Davante Adams.

But those were aerial plays. The longest running plays during that three-game stretch were 11-yard runs by Stidham and Smith. Even with breakout plays on occasion by opponents, head coach Kyle Shanahan sent this message following the 49ers’ playoff win over Seattle:

“We don’t freak out when we give up a big play,” Shanahan said.

And the bomb by Smith was the last chunk play Seattle had that stretched beyond 30 yards as the 49ers adjusted defensively the rest of the afternoon.

Jones is confident that his “triple threat” behind center will be unleashed. Shanahan, meanwhile, has seen how his defense responds to when teams burn the 49ers.