By Matt Barrows, Jon Machota, Saad Yousuf and Hunter Patterson
The San Francisco 49ers withstood a late charge from the visiting Dallas Cowboys to win 30-24 on “Sunday Night Football.” The Cowboys outscored the 49ers 14-3 in the final frame, but the San Francisco defense made the final stop to win the game as Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott was unable to connect with his intended target, Jalen Brooks.
Brock Purdy went 18-of-26, throwing for 260 yards and a touchdown for the 49ers. Purdy also added 56 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on eight attempts. His lone touchdown pass went to George Kittle, the creator of National Tight End’s Day, who finished with six receptions and 128 yards. Rookie running back Isaiah Guerendo added 85 yards and his first career rushing touchdown for San Francisco.
Prescott threw for 243 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 25-of-38 passing. Both of his touchdown passes went to receiver CeeDee Lamb, who caught 13 passes for 146 yards.
The 49ers improve to 4-4 with the win, as the Cowboys drop to 3-4.
San Francisco is picking up momentum
The 49ers go into their bye week at 4-4 with momentum after outscoring the Cowboys 21-0 in the third quarter. The 49ers broke open the game with touchdown runs by Guerendo and Purdy and a short touchdown catch by Kittle, who had 72 of his 128 receiving yards in the quarter. And there are reinforcements expected coming out of the bye.
The biggest will be Christian McCaffrey, who’s expected to take part in his first practice in nearly two months during the so-called “bonus” session coming out of the Week 9 bye.
If all goes well, the reigning offensive player of the year could make his 2024 debut in Week 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team also could get kicker Jake Moody (ankle) back for that game and a pair of defenders, linebacker Greenlaw (Achilles) and defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos (knee), a few weeks after that. It’s also possible the 49ers make a trade before the Nov. 5 deadline.
A defensive lineman, perhaps a defensive end, makes sense considering how light the team is behind Nick Bosa and Leonard Floyd as well as how many are available on teams that are fading out of the playoff race. — Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer
49ers continue to get big contributions from strong rookie class
One of Sunday’s standouts was Guerendo, who took over for Jordan Mason in the first quarter after Mason aggravated a shoulder injury sustained in Week 6. Guerendo gained 85 yards and scored his first NFL touchdown, from four yards out, in the third quarter.
Mason’s injury left the 49ers with just two healthy tailbacks on the active roster, Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. with Deebo Samuel also filling in throughout the game and logging the most snaps in any game this season. San Francisco also got a 39-yard run from Ricky Pearsall on an end around.
Samuel, who was questionable after being hospitalized with pneumonia last week, finished with 15 on the ground and another 71 through the air. A 66-yard Samuel touchdown was called back due to a penalty. Samuel suffered a rib injury late in the game and did not play the final eight minutes of the contest. The upcoming bye week ought to give Samuel’s rib and Mason’s shoulder a chance to heal.
And it will give McCaffrey another week to get up to speed for a Week 10 return in Tampa. — Barrows
What you see is what you get from Dallas
The Cowboys came out of their bye week last season and started hitting their stride. They won six of their next seven. Sunday night showed, just in case you were holding out hope, that’s probably not happening this time around. The comeback attempt was nice, but ultimately the plays weren’t made when needed most. Maybe Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence and DaRon Bland return and the defense improves.
But this really doesn’t look anything like a team that’s about to get hot and keep pace with the NFC’s best. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones have been asked several times over the last few weeks about potentially making moves at the trade deadline. Neither have made it sound like there is much interest.
So 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. — Jon Machota, Cowboys beat writer
Cowboys’ third-quarter collapse
The Cowboys completely collapsed in the third quarter, turning a 10-6 halftime lead to a 27-6 deficit when the fourth quarter began.
The defense, which was holding on by a thread in the first half, gave up three touchdowns in the third quarter. The Cowboys’ offense, which left a lot of points on the field in the first half, scored zero points in the third quarter and contributed to the defense’s hardships, thanks to a bad Prescott interception deep in the Cowboys’ own territory.
It led to another fourth quarter rally in garbage time for the Cowboys that inevitably fell short because of a three-and-out with the game on the line. — Saad Yousuf, Cowboys beat writer
(Photo: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images)
