Rapid Reaction: Dallas Cowboys

A few thoughts on the Dallas Cowboys' 28-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at AT&T Stadium:

What it means: Simply disastrous. The Cowboys know the defense will be limited but the offense can't simply give away games. That's what they did against the 49ers. On the first play of the game, Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith had a false start on his way to a poor outing. On the second snap, Pro Bowl running back DeMarco Murray had a fumble returned 29 yards for a touchdown. Two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo was intercepted three times in the first half. All of it led to a 28-3 halftime deficit and effectively sapped the energy out of the home opener. The Cowboys, coming off three straight 8-8 seasons and with expectations extremely low, could not have looked more incompetent.

Stock watch: On more than one occasion in the offseason -- training camp and preseason -- Romo said he believed he would be a better player after undergoing his second back surgery in less than a year. Maybe things will change in the final 15 games, but Sunday was one of Romo's worst. Romo has long felt he needed practice to be at his best, but he was limited in the spring, never practiced more than three straight days in camp and played only 50 official snaps in two preseason games. He was out of sync the entire day and took big hits as well, getting sacked three times. It was the seventh time he has been picked off three times in a half in his career and the first since Week 8 in 2012.