"Ah, that ain't half-bad right there," linebacker Fred Warner told reporters as he stepped up to the podium for his portion of the post-game press conferences.
Warner's San Francisco 49ers had just dismantled the Dallas Cowboys. It was billed as a clash of NFL heavyweights. It turned out to be a one-sided affair, with the 49ers dominating in every aspect, turning in a 42-10 victory.
"I knew it was our biggest game so far this year as far as nationally and just media-wise and the hype," head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game. "And sometimes you get worried your team might get too up for stuff. But just watching them all Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (in practice), they were so locked in all week. They didn't make too big of a deal of this game. They seemed so ready to go.
"And kind of from a coaching perspective, we didn't feel like we had to do much all week, but just coach them, show the film, put in a game plan, and our guys were ready."
In the 40-game history between the two teams, this victory marked the most decisive win, surpassing the 49ers' 45-14 triumph over the Cowboys in 1981. San Francisco could do no wrong. The Niners racked up 421 total yards compared to the Cowboys' 197 and secured a staggering 25 first downs to their opponent's eight.
"I thought that was our best complete game with all three phases," Shanahan said. "I thought our defense was amazing today, going against some real good players and a good offense there. And I knew that was going to be a challenge, and those guys were unbelievable. I thought it was their best game yet."
Both players and coaches maintained a level-headed perspective, recognizing that it's still a long season ahead.
"Honestly, we're just taking one day at a time, one game at a time," quarterback Brock Purdy said. "We're not trying to get caught up with what people are saying or how other teams are looking. It's a week-by-week kind of thing for us."
The defense played confidently, frustrating the Cowboys, who sought to avenge their previous playoff losses to the 49ers. Warner's confidence in his team's control of the game emerged early on.
"As soon as the offense went down on that first drive and scored, I was like, 'We got them,'" Warner admitted. "The way that they're operating right now is unbelievable. I've been a part of a lot of good teams since I've been here, but the way the offense is playing is unlike anything I've seen.
"That right there just lets me know as long as the defense is doing our job, we're always going to have a chance."
The 49ers are one of two remaining undefeated teams in the NFL, with the Philadelphia Eagles being the other. San Francisco is 5-0, the team's best start since 2019.
"Being 5-0 was important to us," running back Christian McCaffrey said. "Winning every week is important because we know we can. So, for us, it's one week at a time. It's preparing as best we can each week and just being 1-0 at the end of the week.
"That's (the Cowboys) a great team. Next week's a great team (Browns). You're going to play great teams every week in this league, and it's about going out there and playing the best on Sunday when the lights are on."
Shanahan was informed that the game marked the most one-sided contest in the history of their rivalry, proof of his team's dominance on both sides of the ball. The 49ers also dominated the turnover margin four to one. What does that kind of performance mean to the head coach?
"I mean, it sounds awesome when you say all that stuff, but absolutely nothing," Shanahan admitted. "If we would have lost this game, we would have been 4-1, and now we're 5-0. It's exciting, and all this is fun, but been in the NFL way too long, been 5-0 and haven't made the playoffs before. All that stuff really doesn't matter. I mean, the way people talked about it during the week, we didn't see it that way.
"I told our team last night, whether we win or lose this game, I expect it to make us better. If we go out there and play like we're capable of, we should feel that and be able to carry it on the next week and get better. And if we go out there and we get beat, as long as we do it the right way, I think it'll make us better going forward, after that.
"You want to be in games like this just leading up to it. You want to be battle-tested in every facet of stuff that can happen later in the season. I'm glad we did it the other way. Being 5-0 feels good, but it means nothing until you get to the end."
The offense, led by playmakers like McCaffrey, has been instrumental in the team averaging 33.4 points per game. While the defense received much acclaim last season, the offense is gaining its rightful recognition this year.
"We've had aspects since we've been here where we haven't been as strong, and the way [general manager] John [Lynch] and Kyle have built the team offensively, they could attack in any way," defensive end Nick Bosa shared. "You got [WR Brandon] Aiyuk, who could go deep. You got [WR] Deebo [Samuel]. You got Christian. You got [TE] George [Kittle].
"There's really no weakness. And then Brock is playing [like] one of the best quarterbacks in the league."
With his three trips into the end zone, Kittle tied a franchise record for the most touchdowns by a tight end in a single game. Vernon Davis had three in a loss to the Houston Texans in 2009. Still, the tight end praised the team effort.
"I think that's one of our best team performances," Kittle said. "On Sunday Night Football, it's my favorite night to play because everybody's watching. There's a ton of football just played, and everybody's sitting at home with their friends and family, either celebrating or mourning, but they're still watching that game. And for us to go out like that [was great].
"You talk about our defense. Fred Warner played a hell of a game tonight, an interception, force fumble, bunch of tackles. Our whole D-line was fantastic. And then you look at our special teams, [P Mitch] Wishnowsky just can't not punt it great. He's been fantastic. All those punts inside the 10 [yard line], inside the five. It's really difficult as an offense to do that, especially when you're coming out of the end zone, and our crowd's really loud.
"[Safety] George Odom is fantastic. He had all those tackles on special teams. He really sets a tone, gets the crowd going. And then every time you put the ball in one of our skill positions hands, they have an opportunity to score a touchdown.
"So we have a really good team. We're healthy, and we're clicking right now."
