SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Dallas Cowboys are veering toward danger.

Sunday’s 30-24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers dropped the team to 3-4, their worst seven-game start to a season since 2020.

A challenging slate awaits the Cowboys, who are scheduled to play opponents with winning records each of the next four weeks, and playoff contention could spiral out of grasp if coach Mike McCarthy’s squad doesn’t begin to show improvements soon.

Beyond the record, the Cowboys’ minus-48 point differential on the season presents concern. Quarterback Dak Prescott has thrown multiple interceptions in three straight games for the first time in his career, and the defense has shown a tendency to allow struggles to snowball.

Let’s take a look at what folks in Dallas and around the country have to say about the Cowboys after a loss to the 49ers.

From ESPN’s Todd Archer: “With Sunday’s 30-24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Cowboys are 3-4 and closer to the bottom of the NFC than a Super Bowl contender at the moment.”

From The Dallas Morning News’ Tim Cowlishaw: “Incompletions weren’t Dak’s biggest problem Sunday night in Santa Clara, Calif. I’m not sure his two interceptions that raised his season total to eight were his biggest problem, either. … Dak’s biggest problem is he can’t run.”

From The Athletic’s John Machota: “Barring something very unexpected, what you see is what you get with this year’s Cowboys team. And that doesn’t look like it will be enough for another playoff appearance.”

From NBC’s Andrew Grief: “Dallas is in a dire position at 3-4 entering next week’s road game at Atlanta. Prescott is the first Cowboys quarterback to throw multiple interceptions in three consecutive games since 1992.”

From the Associated Press: “The week off for the Dallas Cowboys did little to solve the litany of problems that have a team that won 12 games in each of the past three seasons struggling for a playoff spot in 2024 after losing 30-24 to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.”