The 49ers’ Four Faces: Breaking Down Each Quarter Against Cowboys

Basketball is typically referred to as a game of runs with an up-and-down nature to its scoring. Obviously, it was not a basketball game, but Sunday night’s tilt between the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys was like a game of runs, especially in the second half.

After a first half that saw the two teams combine for 16 points, the 49ers got hot, scoring 21 points in the third quarter to take control of the game. Dallas responded with 14 points of its own in the fourth quarter, putting a scare into what ultimately was a 30-24 49ers win.

Sunday was a tale of two quarters, but the 49ers came out on top with momentum heading into the bye week. The win, in review:

Not to be outdone

Mike McCarthy is often criticized for his play-calling abilities, especially within the 49ers/Cowboys rivalry. On Sunday night, McCarthy wasted no time giving us our first head-scratcher of the game.

With the Dallas offense nearing midfield on its opening drive, it was faced with its first third down. Despite featuring a run game that’s the worst in the NFL, McCarthy called a run up the middle with fullback Hunter Luepke to combat a third-and-5. Predictably, the call didn’t work, with Fred Warner and Maliek Collins stopping Luepke at the line of scrimmage and forcing a punt.

San Francisco took the ball to start its night offensively and, like Dallas, made its way towards midfield. The 49ers got past the 50-yard line but faced a third-and-10 at the Cowboys’ 36-yard line. Facing a passing situation, Purdy appeared to check out of the original play call at the line of scrimmage. The audible at the line didn’t work, as Purdy switched to a run play, with Jordan Mason gaining four yards to force the fourth down.

Typically, when teams run on third down, it signals an intent to go for it on fourth down. The Mason run, however, did not set the 49ers up to go for it. Instead, the 49ers opted for a 50-yard Anders Carlson field goal to give San Francisco an early 3-0 lead.

The opening third-down play calls gave Sunday night an interesting start, but the 49ers at least got the better of the exchange with the quick lead.

A first half of missed opportunities…

And it was a quick lead the 49ers had plenty of chances to extend on in the first half but just could not get out of its way.

Penalties were a central theme in San Francisco’s first half, but two holding calls took two big plays off the board. After Dallas took a 7-3 lead with its first touchdown, the 49ers offense wasted no time to respond, with Purdy hitting Deebo Samuel deep for a 66-yard touchdown to take the lead right back. Except there was a flag on the play, and Eric Saubert was found guilty of a hold, taking the points off the board on a drive that would end with a turnover on downs.

Dallas would take the ball and extend its lead to seven with a field goal. Isaac Guerendo would lead on San Francisco’s ensuing drive, with Mason exiting with an injury. Guerendo would gain 19 and 15 yards on runs with the first two touches of the drive.

The running back would get a third carry in a row, taking it for another chunk gain into the red zone, but this time, a Kittle hold would wipe out the run. Instead of a 15-yard gain, it was a loss of ten, and the offense couldn’t get the yardage back, and settled for another Carlson field goal.

The 49ers had a chance to end its final drive of the half with points, with the offense nearing field goal range with time expiring. Facing a second down in Dallas territory, Purdy dropped back to throw but lost the ball during the throwing motion, an unforced fumble. Aaron Banks thankfully fell on the ball, but the loss of yardage knocked the offense out of field goal range, and San Francisco would enter halftime trailing by four.

San Francisco should have had a halftime lead, but the mistakes gave Dallas a slight advantage. Even Shanahan seemed annoyed during his halftime interview, and that energy was probably felt in the halftime team talk.