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SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys will renew their once-heated rivalry in Week 7 with the Niners still searching for their first win of the season. Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. PT from Levi's Stadium. Here's a look at three things to watch from a Niners' perspective in this matchup: Beathard's big day Rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard was able to put together a solid debut against Washington last week, though he benefited a bit from the element of surprise. Now, Beathard is preparing for his first NFL start against a team that has been able to prepare for him all week. On the flip side, Beathard has been able to spend all week working with the first team and developing timing with the top receivers as well as working within a game plan that coach Kyle Shanahan has put in just for him.  Beathard showed that he won't be overwhelmed by the moment against the Redskins last week, but it's still fair to wonder what kind of performance Beathard will offer in his first start. Dallas' defense is pretty straightforward, but it's also quite disciplined, and there's a good chance the Cowboys will try to get after Beathard and confuse him with things he hasn't seen yet.
Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence leads the NFL with 8.5 sacks through five games and could create problems for Beathard, although Shanahan points to Beathard's toughness as one of his greatest assets. “I think everyone, especially quarterbacks who are successful, has something besides just talent," Shanahan said. "I think you’ve got to have the ability to throw in this league to make it, and not many people do at this level. It’s the other intangibles that separate everyone who can handle the pressure, who can do it week in and week out, who can handle the highs and lows and recover through adversity and things like that. I think he’s shown that throughout college. Just being around the guy, I think you have a very tough person physically and mentally. Those are his biggest strengths.” In a bit of a coincidence, Beathard will make his first start in front of legendary Niners quarterback Joe Montana, who will be in attendance for "Dwight Clark Day." As a fellow third-round pick, Beathard would love to make a strong first impression in front of Montana. Striking a balance One surefire way to make Beathard's life easier in his first start is to jump-start a run game that has been dormant the past two weeks. After a hot start, the Niners have dropped to a tie for 20th in the league in rushing yards and 14th in yards per carry. But the bigger issue has been an offense that simply hasn't run the ball that much in the first six games. The 49ers' 136 rushing attempts are 20th in the league, which is sixth-fewest among teams that have played six games this year. Meanwhile, Niners quarterbacks have attempted 241 passes, second-most in the NFL. Some of that can be attributed to playing from behind so often, but the 49ers have been competitive in just about every game. Shanahan said he'd like to be more balanced moving forward but needs the right situations to present themselves. “I look at it as I want to be 50-50 in normal situations, which is normal first and second downs," Shanahan said. "So, I’m taking out two-minutes. I’m taking out third downs. We’re not going to be 50-50 run-pass in two-minute. We’re not going to be 50-50 run-pass in third-and-8. I think everyone knows that’s an extremely high throwing percentage, so you take all that out of the game and then first, second down, normal situations, are you balanced? That’s what always our goal is. Now, if you’re really bad on third down, you’ve really been struggling on third down, which we have, those are pretty much 80 percent passes, unless they are all short yardage. "If you’re not staying on the field, and you’re throwing every third down, how are you going to have a good run-pass ratio? Only if you run it every first and second down and you throw it third down. So, if you’re going to struggle on third down, it’s going to be really hard for us to have the ratio that I want. So, we’ve got to stay on the field longer, we’ve got to move the chains, we’ve got to have some longer drives, less three-and-outs, and then I think that ratio will be where I want it to be." Pressuring Prescott The Cowboys' offensive line is considered one of the best in the NFL, but so far this season that group hasn't exactly lived up to that reputation. ESPN Stats & Information has the Cowboys front five controlling the line of scrimmage on 49 percent of dropbacks, which ranks 16th in the league. And Pro Football Focus ranks the Cowboys' line 14th in average player grade. So far this season, the Niners' defense has struggled to generate pass rush against better lines, such as Washington, the Rams and Carolina, but has been dominant against lesser groups such as Seattle and Arizona. That's left the Niners controlling the line of scrimmage on defense 52.5 percent of the time, which ranks 12th in the league. Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott is second in the NFL with a total QBR of 78.1 and has been sacked just seven times, fourth-fewest in the league. Prescott is another mobile quarterback on the Niners' slate, and if they are to spring the upset, they'll need to not only get after Prescott but bring him down before he can work his magic.
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