SUBSCRIBE to our emails here.

Another Thursday night NFC West banger

Wednesday night, I quickly scooped up the Los Angeles Rams’ defense in one of my fantasy football leagues.

“Wow,” I thought. “The San Francisco 49ers are down quarterback Brock Purdy, receivers Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk, and tight end George Kittle. This is going to be a blowout by the Rams.”

Welp, so much for that. A Mac Jones-led Niners squad marched over to L.A. on a short week, apparently bringing their entire fan base with them, and put on a clinic. It was the second week in a row that we got an entertaining, down-to-the-last-minute game from two NFC West teams. Let’s go over the key beats from Thursday night.

49ers dominate early: Jones looked tremendous early on in this game, in which he finished with 342 yards and two touchdowns. He fed WR Kendrick Bourne and running back Christian McCaffrey for most of the day — overall, Bourne ended up with 10 catches for 142 yards while McCaffrey earned 82 yards and a score in the receiving game. The Niners went up 14-0 in the second quarter, and were up 20-7 during the third.

Rams tie it up, but make a costly mistake: The Rams’ offense finally found its groove in the second half, with QB Matthew Stafford hitting WR Puka Nacua and RB Kyren Williams for touchdowns. L.A. had a chance to take the lead in the fourth, but a blocked extra point kept the game tied at 20. Later, down three points, the Rams had a chance to punch it in the end zone from the 3-yard line with just over a minute to go, but Williams fumbled at the 1. The Niners recovered and eventually punted, and L.A. managed to kick a field goal and send the game to overtime.

Questionable play-call in OT leads to Niners victory: S.F. earned the first possession of OT and managed to hit a field goal, going up 26-23. The Rams didn’t have much trouble marching down the field, but found themselves facing a fourth-and-1 situation at the Niners’ 11-yard line. Opting to go for it instead of playing for the tie, L.A. chose to run the ball up the middle despite the fact that the pass had been successful for the second half of the game. The 49ers made the stop and captured the win.

A four-step plan to save the Cowboys’ season

The Dallas Cowboys are 1-2-1, but if a few things had gone their way they could be sitting at 3-1. Their offense has been rolling through the first quarter of the season, though their defense has been one of the worst (if not the worst) in the league.

With that in mind, the ‘Boys do seem to have a good enough squad to make it to the playoffs. That was evident after tying with the Green Bay Packers, a team many have considered the Super Bowl favorite. Our guy Mauricio Rodriguez put together a four-step plan to save the Cowboys’ season and get them into the postseason.

Step 1: Cowboys win three of the next five, ideally four: “The Cowboys will need some cushion as the second half of the season will be much more complicated with a stretch of games against the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Chargers, and Washington Commanders. Compare that to the opponents leading up to the trade deadline: New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders, Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals. The Cowboys need at least three wins in the next five to even consider step two. But if they get them, they’ll earn the right to go shopping.”

Step 2: Make a big-time trade for Trey Hendrickson: “The Cowboys rank 32nd in the NFL allowing opponents to move the chains on third down 58% of the time! The second worst third-down defense in the NFL allows only a 51% conversion rate. It’s outrageous. The best way to improve that stat and get the defense off the field is getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Enter Hendrickson.

“‘It’ll take a Day 2 pick and probably a player in return to get Hendrickson out of Cincinnati’s grasp,’ A to Z Sports’ John Sheeran said last month. It’s a hefty price to pay but if the Cowboys are in a spot to compete at the trade deadline, Hendrickson should be their target. He’s expected to be the best edge rusher available via trade.”

Step 3: Get lucky with a DeMarvion Overshown early return: “‘I feel like I’ll be playing football before Thanksgiving with the team,’ Overshown told reporters in September. Last week, Overshown took part in coverage drills, via Dallas Morning News’ Joseph Hoyt. Overshown returning plus the addition of a high-end defensive end like Hendrickson would give the Cowboys a much improved defense, even if not a fully fixed one.”

Step 4: Hope Dak Prescott keeps playing at an elite level: “With a not-great-but-not-terrible defense, Dak Prescott’s high-powered offense would have a chance to see its high-scoring outings become wins, unlike last weekend’s 40-40 tie to the Packers.

“By that point of the season, the Cowboys would get starters Cooper Beebe, Tyler Booker, and CeeDee Lamb all back on the field. As long as Prescott keeps his elite play up throughout the regular season, the Cowboys would be in a position to win even against the toughest of opponents. To make the playoffs, however, chances are they’d need 10 wins. With a tie on their record, they’d have a solid tiebreaker for a wild card spot. Once in the postseason, it would be fair to call Brian Schottenheimer’s first year as head coach a success.”

Only A to Z Sports newsletter subscribers get the rest of this email, which has the latest NFL news and more.

Don’t miss out on our next full newsletter: SUBSCRIBE to our FREE weekly NFL newsletter to receive updates on your favorite NFL team and the rest of the league straight to your inbox.