SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The score may not reveal it, but the Dallas Cowboys had a solid game against the San Francisco 49ers with several players making an impact on key plays. The 49ers trailed the Cowboys until the final 18 seconds of the game to win 24-21.
Dallas started the game better than they could have hoped for in perfect fashion, with Dak Prescott’s deep 30-yard pass down the sideline to Michael Gallup for a touchdown in the first drive of the game. On 10 plays, Prescott went three for three with 39 yards. Prescott has had difficulty at training camp with overthrowing some of the receivers and not being able to get past the goal line into the end zone, and many were questioning his abilities as a starting quarterback. Now, there is no doubt of his skillset on the field; he is a gamer. Prescott may not perform well during practice, but he shows up focused on game-day. That play set the tone and momentum for the Cowboys moving forward in the next three quarters offensively.
During the second quarter, Bo Scarbrough made an impact in the Cowboys’s ground game with several carries to take the boys down the field to the one-yard line, where he fought his way in the end zone for a TD. Scarbrough led the team in rushing yards with nine carries and 33 yards.
During the third quarter, Cooper Rush had a beautiful pass to Lance Lenoir in the corner of the end zone for a TD to make the score 21-10, with Dallas on top. The Cowboys put Mike White in for the majority of the fourth quarter, but Rush had a fantastic game with 15 for 23 and 145 yards. That play increased the Cowboys lead and gave both Rush and Lenoir some much-needed confidence.
On the defensive side of the ball, Antwaun Woods had great penetration in the defensive line, causing two turnovers for the Cowboys by Joe Thomas and Duke Thomas, putting Dallas’s offense back on the field with a chance to score. Joe Thomas was one of the leading defenders of the game with three tackles and two assists.
Taco Charlton had impressive pressure in pursuit of 49ers QB C.J. Beathard, and Charles Tapper had great coverage at the goal line, forcing the 49ers to kick a field goal instead of scoring a touchdown.
Even though the Cowboys did not win, they outplayed the 49ers through three quarters of the game, but penalties by the defensive line and cornerbacks on man-to-man coverage, gave the 49ers the win in the fourth quarter. San Francisco scored 14 points in the last quarter, by first downs handed to them by the penalties against Dallas. The Cowboys have to fix that issue before the regular season begins. Those are careless mistakes that will cost the game, and last night, for the Cowboys it did!
