The San Francisco 49ers proved once again why they are the 2023 Super Bowl favorite with a dominating 42-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night.
There has been bad blood between the Cowboys and 49ers for decades, but San Francisco knocked Dallas out of the playoffs last season, so the rivalry has continued while creating plenty of storylines along the way.
One of the biggest following the 49ers’ dominating victory?
During the Sunday Night Football broadcast, videos and images began to surface on X showing 49ers star tight end George Kittle warming up ahead of the game and then lifting up his jersey to show the crowd — and the entire sports world — he was wearing an undershirt that was guaranteed to stir up a little controversy.
George Kittle’s shirt from Sunday night 👀 @gkittle46
The grey undershirt simply displayed the words, “F*** Dallas” and went viral from Sunday night into Monday.
Kittle backed it up the controversial gesture in a major way, with all three of his catches resulting in touchdowns.
Dallas Cowboys star pass rusher Micah Parsons wasn’t thrilled when he saw Kittle post a photo of himself flaunting the shirt, along with videos of his 3-touchdown performance on Instagram after the game.
The dynamic tight end added the caption “3 piece chicken trendy for turning 30! SNF always a blast! Who lost to me in rock paper scissors again?”
Micah Parsons reacts to George Kittle’s “F–k Dallas” shirt from SNF 👀
(via The Edge with Micah Parsons)
“George Kittle had three touchdowns on us and he posted this thing to IG and said F**** Dallas,” Parsons responded on his own podcast on Monday.
“I just feel like he’s making it more personal than it has to be. Imma say this right now, laugh now, cry later. We got something for that. Just trust, if we see them again just trust. And we are going to put it just like that, I’m not going to say too much, but if we are going to make it personal we can make it personal, that’s cool.”
That’s a bold statement from Parsons, but will make things extra spicy if the two teams do in fact meet again with a lot more in the line later this season.
Micah Parsons Still Believes Cowboys Are as Good as 49ers
Last week ahead of the highly-anticipated NFC showdown, Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones acknowledged how good the 2023 49ers truly are.
“They (the 49ers) are, right now, probably the most likely team to go win the Super Bowl,” Jones said.
The outspoken owner then added a hint of confidence aimed at his team being able to be the other juggernaut in the NFC that could ruin San Francisco’s dreams when the playoffs come around.
“But in order for them to get there, they’ve got to go by us, hopefully two times, if that’s the way it falls in the playoffs and we’re in the playoffs, of course. The bottom line is, you’re playing the best.”
Now? It seems abundantly clear Shanahan and 49ers general manager have assembled the clear-cut top team in the NFC, and as of now, the entire NFL. The Cowboys had their chance to show they could at least compete with the very best, but didn’t come close.
Even after the 42-10 loss on national television, Parsons’ didn’t shy away from making a statement that has anyone who isn’t a Cowboys’ fan shaking their head.
“I don’t think they are a higher level than us,” Parsons told the media after getting dominating by the 49ers on Sunday night. “I think we are the same caliber playoff team, if not the same talent level as them. I just feel like we really need to reconsider some things, get together and fix some things. I feel like it was a few plays away. The score doesn’t really shape what happened out there.”
While there‘s no disputing Parsons is one of the top defensive players in the NFL, and as one of the Cowboys’ leaders maybe this was an attempt to keep morale high.
But the stat line and final score was actually a perfect representation of what took place on the field, despite what Parsons believes.
San Francisco outgained the Cowboys 421 yards to 197.
The 49ers forced four turnovers (three interceptions, one lost fumble) while committing one. They sacked Prescott four times while allowing just one of Purdy.
They dominated the ball while holding a 37:05-22:55 edge in time of possession. They averaged 6.4 yards per play to four for the Cowboys. They produced 25 first downs against just eight for the Cowboys and were in complete control, on both sides of the ball, from start to finish.
Will Cowboys & 49ers Meet in Playoffs?
There’s still a long season ahead, but barring a major injury or highly improbable collapse, it’s fairly safe to say the 49ers will be representing the NFC in the 2023-24 NFL postseason. They beat the Steelers, Giants, Cardinals and now Cowboys by two touchdowns or more.
Their only close contest came on Sept. 17 where they pulled off a 30-23 road victory over the Rams.
After five games, the 49ers appear to be the clear frontrunner to win the NFC West with a perfect (5-0) record that includes two division wins.
Still, when asked what the Dallas win means, Shanahan responded, “Absolutely nothing. If we would’ve lost this game, we would’ve been 4-1 and now we’re 5-0. I mean it’s exciting and all this is fun, but I’ve been in the NFL way too long, been 5-0 and haven’t made the playoffs before. All that stuff really doesn’t matter.”
The Cowboys are now (3-2), second in the NFC East behind the (5-0) Philadelphia Eagles.
The 49ers will likely be favored in every game they play the remainder of the season, and have some tough opponents like the Browns, Bengals, Buccaneers, Eagles and the Seahawks twice to close out their regular season.
At this point, it’s hard to see Shanahan’s squad finishing the year with more than four losses, and while anything can happen, there’s a reason Vegas has San Francisco as the clear-cut favorite to win the Super Bowl.
Dallas on the other hand is now (3-2) with an ugly loss to the Cardinals on their resume to add to the 42-10 drubbing against the 49ers. They are far from a lock to even make the playoffs at this point, and still have the Chargers, Eagles twice, Rams, Commanders twice, Seahawks, Bills, Dolphins and Lions on their slate along with the Panthers and another game agains the Giants.
While Dallas should be favored in at least half of those matchups, history has proven time and time again the Cowboys struggle when it matters the most.
For now, it seems like Parsons and company should be focused on next week’s matchup — where they have to fly to the West Coast — and take on a solid Chargers team (2-2), instead of talking about a potential rematch against the top squad in the league.
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Micah Parsons Reacts to George Kittle’s Controversial Shirt: ‘Laugh Now, Cry Later’