Dak Prescott calls Dallas Cowboys' defeat to San Francisco 49ers his 'most humbling loss'

Dak Prescott described the Dallas Cowboys' 42-10 blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night as "the most humbling game I've ever been a part of".

The Cowboys quarterback who had thrown just one interception entering the game, threw three on consecutive second-half drives. He finished 14-of-24 passing, for 153 yards and a dismal 51.6 rating.

The Dallas offense mustered just 197 yards and did not have a first down until their fifth drive and, of the 11 possessions with Prescott at QB, nine of them lasted three plays or fewer.

"Didn't see it coming," Prescott said after the loss that drops the Cowboys to 3-2 on the season. "Put everything into this and got punched in the mouth.

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"I called [the loss] a couple weeks ago against Arizona humbling . But this may be the most humbling game I've ever been a part of.

"Felt good about the preparation, felt good about everything, honestly, coming into this game, and they beat us in every aspect."

The 32-point loss was the Cowboys' worst against the 49ers in the teams' hallowed rivalry, which San Francisco now lead 20-19-1. It was also the largest of Prescott's career, going back to a 39-9 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in his second season as a starting quarterback in 2017,

"Obviously, they're further ahead than us right now," Prescott added on the 49ers. "We've got to close that gap and be ready.

"To get to where we want to get, we know we're going to have to go through this team and most likely come back to this place."

McCarthy labels heavy defeat as 'punch in the gut'

The defeat was also the second-worst loss of Mike McCarthy's head coaching career, beaten only by a 35-0 shutout against the New England Patriots in his first year with the Green Bay Packers in 2006.

"It's a punch in the gut, it's a kick in the ass, whatever phrase you want to put on it," McCarthy said. "We've been knocked down. They beat us in all three phases.

"We will clearly acknowledge it. I've never been a 'burn-the-tape' guy... We're going to go through it, make sure we're clear on exactly what the expectations are and make sure we're giving the players what they need to be successful.

"They played extremely well, and we did not.

"I thought we had taken a step as a team. I didn't see this coming. It clearly just shows where we are at."

Asked to assess Prescott's performance, McCarthy made it clear the issues that needed to be addressed were team-wide.

The defense, for example, which allowed a league-low 10.3 points per game through the first four weeks, and had allowed only two passing touchdowns, gave up 42 to the 49ers and four to quarterback Brock Purdy. The Dallas D had also recorded 14 sacks in their first four games but got to Purdy only once.

"I don't foresee a whole lot of winning grades coming out of this performance," McCarthy said. "I think the most important thing for all of us, and I expressed it, is just be accountable.

"It's clearly humbling, stating the obvious, but it is one game.

"Be accountable for what you did, and how you played. We've gotta clean our own house up."

What's next?

The 49ers next travel to face the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, while the Dallas Cowboys are also on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football, live on Sky Sports NFL on Tuesday, October 17, at 1.15am.

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