Cowboys left reeling following blowout loss to 49ers

Forget the fast starts and blowout victories early in the season for the Dallas Cowboys.

With a healthy Dak Prescott, they have rarely, if ever, looked more out of touch with the NFL’S elite than they did in a 42-10 loss to San Francisco on Sunday night.

Suddenly, the Cowboys take a rather ordinary 3-2 record into another trip to the West Coast, against the Chargers next Monday night.

Two games after that, Dallas has to visit the team now two games up in the NFC East: defending NFC champion Philadelphia, which has the same 5-0 record as the 49ers.

“I just had a quick reflection on the five games that we played in,” coach Mike Mccarthy said. “It’s been a wide range of performance, as wide as a range that I could ever recall in a five-week period. The biggest thing is for us to be accountable. It was clearly humbling, but it is one game.”

The Cowboys were supposed to see where they stood against a Super Bowl contender that knocked them out of the playoffs each of the past two seasons.

Now, doubt about Dallas’ legitimacy will linger for weeks, at least until the first Sunday in November and the first of two meetings with the Eagles.

Dallas enjoyed a 95-point differential in its first three wins, highlighted by dominant defensive showings while the offense essentially went along for the ride.

But Sunday night was all Brock Purdy and the 49ers. Purdy threw three of his four touchdown passes to tight end George Kittle and San Francisco’s defense hounded Prescott all night with three sacks and three interceptions in the blowout victory.

“It felt good, especially going against the No. 1 defense in the league,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “Obviously, that’s a big test for Week 5 of the year. I think we pass that test with flying colors. But we’re going to get tested again.”.

The Niners led 14-0 before Dallas got its initial first down and were never really threatened on the way to matching a franchise record with their 15th straight regular-season win and earning their fifth 5-0 start.

Purdy finished 17 for 24 for 252 yards and has not thrown an interception all season. He connected on a 19-yard TD pass to Kittle on the opening drive, a 38-yarder early in the second quarter on a reverse flea-flicker and then a 10-yarder to put the game away in the third quarter. INJURY UPDATES >> Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is expected to miss Sunday’s game against Jacksonville because of a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. Gardner Minshew will make his second start of the season . ... Jets offensive lineman Alijah Vera-tucker has a torn Achilles tendon that will sideline him for the rest of the season . ... The Bills lost both starting linebacker Matt Milano and starting tackle Daquan Jones indefinitely. Milano will require surgery to repair an injury to his lower right leg, and Jones will require surgery to repair an injured pectoral muscle . ... Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson did not practice Monday as he continues to deal with a right shoulder injury that sidelined him for one game before the bye week.