The San Francisco 49ers were projected to be one of the last teams standing battling it out for Super Bowl LIX in February, coming into the NFL season. Instead, it has been a roller coaster by the Bay, one that continued in their 30-24 victory over their arch rival going back decades, the Dallas Cowboys, on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 8.
Quarterback Brock Purdy did not flinch and was able to bounce back from a nightmarish first half to lead three touchdown drives in the third quarter alone and the Niners barely survived another fourth-quarter collapse with a defensive stand in the final moments that sealed the win.
“We’re a confident team,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “We know that we haven’t played up to our standard that many times in these first eight games. I don’t think that we were looking at this game to draw some newfound confidence. I just think that when we can run the ball effectively and not turn it over, the results today are what we can expect.”
Unable to dominate their opponents with their full stable of horses for weeks because of injuries and attrition to its offensive line, receivers and MVP candidate and running back Christian McCaffrey who has not played all year because of tendentious in both knees, the 49ers (4-4) waded through a six-point first half and trailed, 10-6, to the Cowboys after 30 minutes of play.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut in the third, the 49ers revved up their engines and scored 21 points behind the play of tight end George Kittle on National Tight End Day, which was an idea he came up with, while holding Dallas (3-4) scoreless to jump to a 27-10 lead that lasted until eight minutes were left in the fourth quarter.
Purdy had a touchdown run and threw a touchdown pass during the 21-0 third-quarter blitz that turned a 10-6 halftime deficit into a 27-10 commanding lead.
“I saw the rest of our team was clicking and I just had to do my job,” Purdy said. “Third quarter, I came out and kept it simple, but also played aggressive.”
Was the ballgame over? No, not by any stretch of the imagination, because it was nearly Dallas’ game. Back-to-back touchdown passes from signal caller Dak Prescott, who had thrown two horrible interceptions earlier to CeeDee Lamb, pulled the Cowboys within sic, 30-24, with 3:32 remaining. After a critical stop, Dallas had the ball and a chance for a go-ahead score, but their drive went literally nowhere fast over four plays, and the 49ers found a way to hold on.
“I was frustrated. We made it a game when it didn’t need to be,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “We put ourselves in that situation so we had to get ourselves out. It was about going out there and finishing the game and we did that.”
Lamb finished with 146 yards on 13 receptions; of Prescott’s 38 pass attempts, 17 went in Lamb’s direction. Kittle, meanwhile, was targeted just seven times, but he made the most of them hauling in six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown. A balanced 49ers offense also carved up the Cowboys, running for 223 yards to just 56 for the Cowboys, continuing their one-dimensional and pass-heavy offense for the season and two touchdowns.
The 49ers now have a chance to get healthy go into a bye week. They have yet to win consecutive games this season and will next get their chance on November 10 against Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are also 4-4.
It is getting late at the halfway point for the Cowboys and they are on life support at 3-4 entering next week’s road game against Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons. Prescott is the first Cowboys quarterback to throw multiple interceptions in three consecutive games since 1992.
