Brock Purdy leads 49ers behind Cowboys on 'Sunday Night Football': Key takeaways

Written by Matt Barrows, John Machota, Saad Yusuf and Hunter Patterson

The San Francisco 49ers withstood a late charge from the visiting Dallas Cowboys for a 30-24 victory on “Sunday Night Football.” The Cowboys outscored the 49ers 14–3 in the final frame, but the San Francisco defense made the final stop to win the game as Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott was unable to connect with his target, Jalen Brooks.

Brock Purdy was 18-of-26 throwing for 260 yards and a touchdown for 49. Purdy added 56 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on eight attempts. His only touchdown pass went to George Kittle, creator of National Tight Ends Day, who finished with six receptions and 128 yards. The rookie running back added 85 yards and his first career rushing touchdown for San Francisco.

Prescott threw for 243 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 25-of-38 passing. Two of his touchdown passes went to receiver C.D. Lamb, who caught 13 passes for 146 yards.

The 49ers improved to 4-4 with the win, as the Cowboys dropped to 3-4.

San Francisco is picking up speed

The 49ers went 4-4 in their bye week after outscoring the Cowboys 21-0 in the third quarter. The 49ers opened the game with touchdown runs by Gairendo and Purdy and a short touchdown catch by Kittle, who had 72 of his 128 receiving yards in the quarter. And there are reinforcements expected to come out of the bye.

The biggest will be Christian McCaffrey, who is expected to participate in his first practice in about two months during a so-called “bonus” session coming out of the Week 9 bye.

If all goes well, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year could make his 2024 debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10. The team could get kicker Jake Moody (ankle) back for that game and a pair of defenders a few weeks later, linebacker Greenlaw (Achilles) and defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos (knee). It's also possible the 49ers could make a trade before the Nov. 5 deadline.

A defensive lineman, perhaps a defensive end, makes sense given how light the team is behind Nick Bosa and Leonard Floyd, as well as how many are available on teams that have faded from the playoff race. — Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer

The 49ers continue to get big contributions from a strong rookie class

One of Sunday's standouts was Guerendo, who took over for Jordan Mason in the first quarter after Mason sustained a shoulder injury in Week 6. Guerredo gained 85 yards and scored his first NFL touchdown from four yards out in the third quarter.

Mason's injury left the 49ers with only two healthy tailbacks on the active roster, Guerredo and Patrick Taylor Jr. Along with that, Debo Samuel also had the most snaps throughout the game and of any game this season. San Francisco also got a 39-yard run from Ricky Pearsall.

Samuel, who was doubtful after being hospitalized with pneumonia last week, finished with 15 on the ground and another 71 through the air. A 66-yard Samuel touchdown was called back due to a penalty. Samuel suffered a rib injury late in the game and missed the final eight minutes of the contest. The upcoming bye week should give Samuel's ribs and Mason's shoulder a chance to heal.

And that would give McCaffrey another week to get up to speed for a Week 10 return in Tampa. – Barrows

What you see is what you get from Dallas

The Cowboys have hit their stride coming off of their bye week last season. They won six of their next seven. As seen on Sunday night, if you were holding out hope, it probably isn't happening this time. The comeback effort was nice, but ultimately the plays weren't made when they were needed most. Maybe Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence and DaRon Bland come back and the defense improves.

But this doesn't really look like a team that's going to get hot and keep up with the NFC's best. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones have been asked several times over the past few weeks about possible moves at the trade deadline. There doesn't seem to be much interest.

So barring something very unexpected, that's what you see with this year's Cowboys team. And it doesn't look like it will be enough for another playoff appearance. — John Machota, Cowboys beat writer

Cowboys third quarter down

The Cowboys completely fell apart in the third quarter, turning a 10-6 halftime lead into a 27-6 deficit as the fourth quarter began.

A defense that held by a thread in the first half gave up three touchdowns in the third quarter. The Cowboys' offense, which put a lot of points on the field in the first half, scored zero points in the third quarter and contributed to the defense's woes, thanks to a Prescott interception deep in the Cowboys' own zone.

That led to another fourth-quarter rally in garbage time for the Cowboys that inevitably fell short due to a three-and-out with the game on the line. — Saad Yusuf, Cowboys Beat writer