SANTA CLARA — The 49ers burst from their locker room Sunday night with a sensational display of urgency and productivity. Out of the halftime break, that is.
The 49ers flipped a 10-6 halftime deficit into a 27-10 lead by the fourth quarter, paving the way for a 30-24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys that leveled the Niners’ record to 4-4.
The game’s third-quarter pivot showcased touchdowns by Isaac Guerendo (4-yard run), George Kittle (2-yard reception) and Brock Purdy (2-yard run), as well as an athletic, third-down interception by Deommdore Lenoir.
Next up for the 49ers is a Week 9 bye, for the third straight season. That rest and reboot led to a 9-0 finish in the 2022 regular season and a 7-2 push last year. The 49ers, the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals are tied atop the NFC West with matching records; the Los Angeles Rams are 3-4.
The Cowboys fell to 3-4 in losing to the 49ers for a fourth straight season.
For Purdy, this was the bounce-back game he (and the 49ers) needed after his three-interception outing in the previous Sunday’s 28-18 home loss to Kansas City. In the third quarter alone, Purdy completed 7 of 7 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown, plus 37 yards and his 2-yard scoring surge up the middle for a 27-10 lead.
For Kittle, it was only fitting that a founding father thrived amid the NFL’s National Tight Ends Day festival. With 128 yards on six catches, he repeatedly found room the middle of the Cowboys’ defense. He also became only the fifth player in 49ers history to reach 500 career receptions, doing so on a 27-yard grab that set up Purdy’s touchdown run.
For Guerendo, he delivered a career-best outing once Jordan Mason exited in the second quarter with an aggravated shoulder injury. Guerendo (14 carries, 85 yards) could have scored a second touchdown but wisely slid short of the goal line on a 14-yard run, setting up a victory kneel-down to cap the victory.
In taking a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter, the 49ers still had to overcome past demons, having blown double-digit, fourth-quarter leads in losses this season to the Los Angeles Rams and the Arizona Cardinals, not to mention a fourth-quarter scare in their previous win Oct. 10 in Seattle.
Sure enough, Dak Prescott completed two touchdown passes to an unforgivably open CeeDee Lamb and made it a one-score game in the closing minutes. In between Dallas’ double scores, the 49ers got insurance points via Anders Carlson’s third field goal (in as many tries) for insurance points.
With three minutes left, the Cowboys got the ball back to try erasing the 30-24 deficit. Fred Warner nearly intercepted Prescott’s first-down throw, and then three incompletions ensued to give the 49ers the ball back with 2:43 to go.
Prescott finished 25-of-38 for 243 yards with two scores and two interceptions (the first pick was by Ji’Ayir Brown on the second series). Purdy was 18-of-26 for 260 yards and one touchdown, plus 56 rushing yards and a touchdown on eight carries, with no turnovers.
All four of the 49ers’ wins this season have come with them scoring at least 30 points. But for the second straight game, the 49ers scored only a pair of field goals before halftime, reflecting a combination of third-down inefficiency (2-of-6), penalties (six for 49 yards), and drops (two by Deebo Samuel).
Samuel, a week removed from a bout with pneumonia, produced 71 receiving yards (four catches) and 15 rushing yards (four carries) before exiting in the fourth quarter with injured ribs. (The 49ers’ only other casualty was linebacker Dee Winters with a concussion.)
In the first half, Carlson’s 44-yard field goal pulled the 49ers within 10-6 with 1:30 until halftime. That drive opened with 19- and 15-yard runs by Guerendo, who then had a 19-yard run nullified by a Kittle holding penalty. Guerendo was in for Jordan Mason, who went to the locker room after aggravating a left shoulder injury.
Dallas’ first-half lead could have been bigger had rookie defensive backs Malik Mustapha and Renardo Green not halted the Cowboys’ drive at the 10-yard line for Brandon Aubrey’s 29-yard field goal. After Mustapha broke up a pass in the end zone, he combined with Green for a third-down stop against tight end Jake Ferguson. That drive stayed alive when Dak Prescott had ample time for a 28-yard, third-and-4 conversion to the 13.
The Cowboys erased the 49ers’ 3-0, first-quarter lead with an Ezekiel Elliott 1-yard touchdown run 1 minute into the second quarter. That came a play after Charvarius Ward’s over-the-back pass-interference penalty in the end zone, following a pair of third-down conversions that overshadowed a Nick Bosa sack.
That Elliott score was the 10th rushing touchdown allowed by the 49ers. In 2011, their defense did not allow a single rushing touchdown through 14 games.
The 49ers immediately answered, only to have a 66-yard touchdown reception by Samuel nullified by a holding penalty against tight end Eric Saubert. That drive ended at the Cowboys’ 43-yard line with a fourth-and-3 drop by Samuel.
The 49ers converted their opening possession into a 3-0 cushion via Carlson’s wind-aided 50-yard field goal. Putting the 49ers in scoring position was Samuel’s 47-yard catch-and-run to the Cowboys’ 36-yard line, on a third-and-6 throw against the coverage of linebacker Eric Kendricks. A second-down holding penalty on Kyle Juszczyk stalled the drive in Dallas territory.
The 49ers defense forced a punt on the game’s opening series, initially allowing a 7-yard gain to Elliott before stopping two of his later runs for no gain, with Fred Warner providing a big hit on third-and-5.
For the seventh time in eight games, the 49ers defense produced an interception as safety Brown did the honors to end the Cowboys’ second possession. Dak Prescott, from the midfield logo, got off an arcing pass just before getting hit in the ribs by Bosa, and before KaVontae Turpin or cornerback Green could make a play on the ball, Brown rushed over to snare it at the 49ers’ 8-yard line near the sideline. That turnover led to no points, however.
Related Articles
Live 49ers updates: Niners take second-half lead over Cowboys despite Mason injury
49ers-Cowboys pregame report: Samuel, Kittle playing; familiar referee at hand
49ers’ veteran offseason additions look like whiffs through seven games
49ers’ 5 keys to beating rival Cowboys again at Levi’s Stadium
How to watch the 49ers vs. the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football