Keenan Allen, Again: The Receiver Dallas Just Faced in Indianapolis Arrives Sunday in a 49ers Uniform
San Francisco traded a sixth-round pick to Indianapolis for veteran receiver Keenan Allen on Tuesday — which means the Cowboys will defend the same receiver in consecutive weeks, for two different teams. Allen caught four passes for 26 yards against Dallas on Sunday; on Sunday he returns with the NFC's best offense behind him.
FRISCO — Keenan Allen is the rare opponent who needs no introduction — because the Cowboys just spent a week preparing for him. San Francisco acquired the veteran wide receiver from Indianapolis in a trade on Tuesday, sending a sixth-round pick to the Colts, and Allen will now play Dallas in back-to-back weeks: last Sunday in a Colts uniform in Indianapolis, this Sunday in a 49ers uniform at AT&T Stadium.
The first meeting went Dallas's way. Allen caught four passes for 26 yards against the Cowboys in Sunday's 27-23 Dallas win — a quiet afternoon in what the reports describe as an inconsistent Colts offense. The second meeting comes with a very different supporting cast: San Francisco is 7-1, the best record in the NFC, ranks third in the league in scoring at 29.4 points per game, leads the NFL in red-zone efficiency at an 84.6% touchdown rate, and is quarterbacked by Brock Purdy, third in the NFL in passer rating at 109.8 with 17 touchdowns against five interceptions. Allen joins a receiver room that already includes Brandin Cooks and Mike Evans — with Evans questionable at best for Sunday, per NFL insider Mike Garafolo, which makes Allen's arrival timelier still.
For Dallas, the matchup is the season in miniature. The 4-5 Cowboys have not won consecutive games all year, made no trade at Tuesday's deadline, and will likely be without Jake Ferguson, Tyler Goodson and P.J. Locke for multiple weeks, with George Pickens and DeMarvion Overshown managing nagging injuries. The counters are real, too: rookie Caleb Downs became the first rookie in 39 years to record a sack and an interception in the same game, Quinnen Williams leads the NFL in tackles for loss with 14, and CeeDee Lamb — 10 catches, 195 yards and a touchdown against Indianapolis — ranks second in the league in catches with 70.
Sunday is just San Francisco's third road game of the season after a 5-0 home start, and it opens a three-game Dallas homestand. The strangest line on the scouting report is the simplest one: the receiver at the top of it wore the other team's colors seven days ago. Dallas held him to 26 yards the first time. The second time, he brings the NFC's best record with him.
