The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers clashed in a thrilling game tonight, showcasing the Cowboys determination and grit only in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys and 49ers entered the game missing several key players due to injuries.
The 49ers were without Brandon Aiyuk, Christian McCaffery, and Deebo Samuel, who had recently been sick with pneumonia. The Cowboys were without Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Rico Dowdle, who was ill when he landed in California.
With records of 500 or below, this game was crucial for both teams, as they needed a win to stay relevant in their conferences.
The rivalry between the two teams was intense tonight as the 49ers were embarrassing the Cowboys until the fourth quarter of the game.
The First Quarter
The first quarter kicked off with the Dallas Cowboys executing their trademark dink and dunk game plan. The script concluded with a Bryan Anger punt, a typical outcome for a first drive.
The San Francisco 49ers came out and were able to move the ball downfield with relative ease. Passes to Ricky Pearsall, Deebo Samuel, and a few rushing plays led the 49ers down to the Cowboys 32-yard line.
The drive ended with a 50-yard field goal, putting the 49ers up 3-0.
The Cowboys took over after the kickoff at their own 32-yard line. This drive was going well with passes to the recently elevated Dalvin Cook, CeeDee Lamb, and Jake Ferguson.
A Dak Prescott interception killed the drive. The interception was assisted by Nick Bosa in the face of Prescott as he released the ball that was intended for KaVontae Turpin.
The 49ers took over at their own 7-yard line.
The only thing the 49ers had to show on this drive was a 16-yard pass to George Kittle over the middle. The offense seemed to fizzle out as the defense put the clamps on.
Following the punt, which resulted in a large scuffle on the field between the two teams. The Cowboys took over at their 22-yard line.
Dak Prescott completed a pass to CeeDee Lamb for 6 yards, followed by an 11-yard completion to Jalen Tolbert that was negated by a Jake Ferguson holding penalty that looked like a wrestling take-down.
KaVontae Turpin rushed around the right end for 11 yards but fumbled. Luckily, it was recovered by the Cowboys. Dalvin Cook would have a couple of rushes, which did not get much.
The Second Quarter
CeeDee Lamb got involved on the drive with a 15-yard catch, followed by some vintage Zeke up the middle for 11 yards.
Prescott took a sack, which was followed by Elliott’s hard run up the middle for 5 yards. Then, Jake Ferguson caught a big pass over the middle.
The Dallas Cowboys came to play on this drive and showed a physicality and tenaciousness we haven’t seen from this team.
Ezekiel Elliott must have heard all the haters because he came to play this game and finished the drive with a touchdown on the goal line.
The Cowboys took the lead 7-3.
The 49ers would take over on their 34-yard line after the kickoff.
The first play of the drive would have been a long touchdown reception from Deebo Samuel down the sideline, but a holding penalty, luckily, got the play called back.
Ricky Pearsall was able to wrangle in a reception for a few yards, and a Deebo Samuel rush followed it up.
The Dallas defense decided to show up in the first half and stopped the 49ers offense on the drive with a turnover on downs.
The Cowboys started this drive with good field position at their 43-yard line.
The drive’s first play, Nick Bosa, was called for a neutral zone infraction.
A few short passes and then a long pass to Jalen Tolbert for 28 yards got the Cowboys into the red zone.
The drive stalled on two outstanding plays from San Francisco 49ers young player Malik Mustapha and ended with a Brandon Aubrey field goal.
The 49ers took over after the kickoff and a touchback at their own 30-yard line. The following two plays would be big running plays (15 and 19 yards) by 49ers running back Isaac Guerando.
A holding penalty put the 49ers behind the sticks, and they were unable to get to the first-down marker on the next few plays. The drive ended with a 49ers field goal, cutting the lead down to four, 10-6.
The Cowboys took over at their own 33-yard line with 1:24 left in the half.
A pass to Tolbert for six yards and two incompletions would end the drive.
The 49ers would get one more shot to get within one or take the lead after the punt from Bryan Anger.
A blown assignment by DeMarvion Overshown would result in a Brock Purdy scramble for the first down. A 30-yard gain would follow this up on a catch by George Kittle, who drug several players for several yards.
A fumble by Brock Purdy would take the 49ers out of field goal range, and an incompletion on the next play resulted in a punt by the 49ers.
The punt was to the Cowboys one-yard line and Dak Prescott came out and took a knee to go to the half.
The score at the half was 10-6.
The Third Quarter
The third quarter began, and the Dallas defense returned to what we know and loathe: giving up big plays.
George Kittle had a 43-yard reception to put the 49ers at the Dallas Cowboys four-yard line, which Isaac Guerendo finished up with a rushing touchdown.
The Cowboys would try some trickery on the ensuing kick-off with a flip from KaVontae Turpin to C.J. Goodwin. The play was penalized for a forward pass.
Dak Prescott’s only positive play on this drive would be a six-yard pass to CeeDee Lamb, which was quickly followed by a Prescott interception. This gives Dak Prescott three consecutive games with multiple interceptions.
The Isaac Guerendo show would continue with a big catch by the youngster for the 49ers.
The 49ers would march down the field and score on a George Kittle reception after an obvious pick play by the receiver that sprung Kittle for the wide-open catch.
San Francisco took the lead 20-10.
The Cowboys started the drive after the kickoff at the 26-yard line.
The first play of the drive was a 6-yard run by Ezekiel Elliott. Followed by an overthrown pass due to pressure from the 49ers defense.
On 3rd and 4, Dak Prescott saw heavy pressure and threw the ball away.
The San Francisco 49ers offense picked up steam on the next drive and made the defense look goofy for a few plays. A third-string running back looked like a one; the quarterback ran at will, and George Kittle with big plays whenever he wanted.
The 49ers marched it down to the goal line, and Brock Purdy finished the drive with a quarterback sneak and a touchdown. The game looked to be well out of hand at this point.
The 49ers had three touchdowns in the third quarter to give them a 27-10 lead over the Dallas Cowboys.
Dallas would take over after the kick-off went out of bounds. They would start at the 40-yard line.
The quarter’s last play would be a five-yard run by Dalvin Cook.
The Fourth Quarter
The first play of the quarter was a one-yard run by Dalvin Cook. The next play was a sack leading to fourth down.
The offensive line needs a significant upgrade in the offseason to give this team a chance of winning games. Pressures, sacks, and a lack of push for running plays have led to more than enough failed plays.
The 49ers took over, and the defense held their own, forcing a punt.
The Cowboys would take over and seemed to fizzle out until a pass interference call bailed the Cowboys offense out.
From there, the Cowboys offense would accomplish an incomplete pass, a terrible read by Dak Prescott throwing three yards behind CeeDee Lamb who wasn’t even looking. The drive would continue after a check down pass to Jake Ferguson, then a first down pass to Jalen Tolbert.
A beautiful diving catch by CeeDee Lamb put the Cowboys inside the ten-yard line.
Blown coverage led to a CeeDee Lamb touchdown in the corner of the end-zone.
The play kept the Cowboys alive in the game, narrowing the score to 27-17.
San Francisco would take over with about seven minutes left in the game. After an onside kick attempt was declared in the game.
The 49ers would try to waste some of the clock in the game with several running plays. The second running play was a 39-yard run by a man who was shot in a robbery attempt several weeks ago.
The Cowboys defense would hold on to force a field goal. The score was 30-17.
The next drive is what the offense needed. Two big pass plays to CeeDee Lamb, who is amazing after the catch and taking contact.
Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb single-handedly got the Cowboys back in the game with a big pass and catch for the touchdown.
That reception gave CeeDee his first 100 yard receiving game on the season.
Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers would take over and begin the drive with the Cowboys in good coverage, but Purdy would get a 7-yard run.
The next play, DeMarvion Overshown would get through the blockers and sack Brock Purdy for a seven-yard loss.
The Dallas Cowboys defense would get a big stop with a great open field tackle by Malik Hooker.
Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys offense would take over at their 25-yard line, and he threw it to two San Francisco defenders who nearly intercepted the pass.
A big throw to KaVontae Turpin bounced off of his face-mask for the incompletion.
The next play was an incompletion to Jalen Brooks, who fell after getting his feet tangled with the cornerback.
San Francisco took over with 2:43 left in the game. The play call was a run to get the game to the two-minute warning.
Isaac Guerendo would ice the game with a first down run and slide to keep the clock running.
The game would end on a kneel down.
The final score was 30-24 and the San Francisco 49ers got the big win.