Wrong direction:
After weeks of competitive games, S.F. is dismantled by the Cowboys.
Sunday’s game at Levi’s Stadium was an instant classic ... in the Titanic sense of the word.
The weather was beautiful: blue sky and sunshine, a breeze making it comfy-cool enough that even the Red Hole was half-full. Lots of sunshine, but not a ray of sunlight for the 49ers.
There was a whiff of history and drama in the air. The 49ers were throwing a celebration for Dwight Clark, and the gathering of the old guard, Joe Montana & Co., provided a reminder of how greatness can rise from the ashes.
And hope, there was that. The 49ers came into Sunday 0-6, but maybe the most competitive 0-6 team in NFL history, seemingly confident and on the verge of a breakthrough. Then: Cowboys 40, 49ers 10. Nothing went right, not even the 49ers’ touching halftime tribute to Clark. The TV folks elected not to show the ceremony, preferring to treat viewers to a talking-heads breakdown of a game that already had gone to hell.
On a day when the 49ers celebrated that long-ago January 1982 breakthrough win over Dallas, featuring The Catch, the Cowboys ran roughshod over 49ers’ dreams.
Oh what a glorious day for Jerry Jones, the Cowboys’ owner. His players all stood at attention for the anthem, literally toeing the (side) line as Jerry ordered them to do, then beat the snot out of the team that started all this protest stuff. Big win for mandatory patriotism. (Dallas defensive end David Irving did raise a fist after the anthem, which is the most insurrection that Jones will tolerate.)
I saw Jerry America sauntering out of the stadium after the game with his entourage. Very happy fellow.
I did not see 49ers CEO Jed York, but I can guess he was not smiling. Big season for York. He cleaned house, brought in a new head coach and general manager, and was well aware that a major rebuilding was ahead.
Through the 49ers’ 0-6 start, heads were high. Five straight losses by three points or fewer indicated that the 49ers, despite being so short on talent, could compete. Sunday was a setback.
York won’t be firing anybody after this season, regardless of the record. You can’t fire people who are on the first year of six-year contracts. York knew the rebuild would be painful, but Sunday was a gut punch. Up next are the red-hot Eagles (5-1). Then, opportunity — games against the Cardinals (3-4) and the Giants (1-6).
Adding to Sunday’s disappointment was the fact that rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard, making his first NFL start, didn’t make the 49ers instantly better, as is typically the hope with a new QB.
Beathard was 22-for-38 for 235 yards and a passer rating of 76.1. Didn’t remind anyone of Montana, or of the departed Colin Kaepernick, who had a 90.7 rating last season.
But that’s the past. For the 49ers, it’s all about the future, riding out the bumps on the way to happier times. On Sunday, they seemed to be looking to that brighter future through the wrong end of the binoculars.