49ers Bring Thin Cornerback Room, New Receiver to Dallas Cowboys Matchup

The San Francisco team coming to Arlington on Sunday looks different from the one Dallas expected a few weeks ago. It has a new veteran receiver who is still learning the playbook, and both of its starting cornerbacks were off the practice field. Thursday's daily roundup from Niners Nation (SB Nation) switched the 49ers' focus to the Dallas Cowboys, and the injury report is the main news for Dallas.

Cornerbacks Deommodore Lenoir and Green did not practice. That leaves San Francisco with rookie Ephesians Prysock and Nate Hobbs, who was a full participant and is now in line for real snaps. Hobbs had only a short training camp with the team. Kyle Shanahan praised his ability to play both inside and outside. The 49ers also brought cornerback Jack Jones back to the practice squad. They had released him after a 29-20 loss to Atlanta on Oct. 25. According to NBC Sports Bay Area, Deebo Samuel and CJ West are set to return to practice, while receiver Mike Evans is still out.

At the deadline, San Francisco traded with Indianapolis for Keenan Allen, a few days after Dallas won at Lucas Oil Stadium. Allen told the San Francisco Chronicle that he knows the concepts in Shanahan's offense but not the terminology, and that he will have to "flip everything in the brain" to learn it. Shanahan said Allen's head was probably spinning on his first day. That makes it unclear how much of the offense Allen can run by Sunday.

What it means for Sunday

Dallas is 4-5 after winning 27-23 at Indianapolis, and the season has gone back and forth. The Cowboys have not won two games in a row since the opener, a loss. Their wins and losses have alternated for most of the year. The bigger concern is home games. Dallas is 3-2 on the road and 1-3 at AT&T Stadium, where it lost to Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Arizona. Two of those losses came by three points.

Dallas has been involved in high-scoring games all season. It averages about 27.3 points and allows about 26.2. Its offense has topped 30 points four times, which matters against a secondary this short-handed. The market expects points too. The total is 55.5 at Novig and 56 at BetMGM.

San Francisco is favored. On this site's board, which tracks 12 venues, Novig lists the 49ers at -199 on the moneyline and Dallas at +194. Novig has San Francisco favored by 3.5 at -111, with the Cowboys +3.5 at +104. The best Dallas spread anywhere is BetMGM's +4.5 at -110, a full point more than Novig. Sportsbook hold on the spread runs from 2.9% to 5.0%, so the venues are fairly close on price but differ on the line.

For comparison, Dallas is favored by 7.5 at home against Tennessee on Nov. 22. Novig lists the Cowboys at -471 for that game, and Kalshi's -430 is the best price on Dallas. A win over San Francisco would get the Cowboys back to .500 before a game the market expects them to win easily.