Instant analysis of the 49ers' 30-24 comeback win over the rival Cowboys

SANTA CLARA – The 49ers stormed out of their locker room Sunday night in a sensational display of urgency and productivity. At least outside of half-time.

The 49ers turned a 10-6 halftime deficit into a 27-10 lead in the fourth quarter, paving the way for a 30-24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys that leveled the Niners' record at 4-4.

The game's pivot in the third quarter featured 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 bye in Week 9, for the third straight year. That pause and restart led to a 9-0 finish in the 2022 regular season and a 7-2 push last year. The 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals sit atop the NFC West with matching records; The Los Angeles Rams are 3-4.

The Cowboys lost 3-4 to the 49ers for the fourth time in a row.

For Purdy, this was the comeback game he (and the 49ers) needed after his three-interception effort in last 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 a 2-yard score up the middle for a 27-10 lead.

For Kittle, it was only fitting that a founding father thrived during the NFL's National Tight Ends Day festival. With 128 yards on six catches, he consistently found space in the middle of the Cowboys' defense. He also became just the fifth player in 49ers history to reach 500 career receptions, doing so with a 27-yard grab that set up Purdy's touchdown run.

For Guerendo, he delivered the best performance of his career when Jordan Mason left in the second quarter with a serious shoulder injury. Guerendo (14 carries, 85 yards) could have scored a second touchdown, but he wisely slipped just beyond the goal line on a 14-yard run and set up a kneel-down to cap the win.

With a 17-point fourth-quarter lead, the 49ers still had to overcome the demons of the past, having blown double-digit fourth-quarter leads in losses to the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals this season, not to mention a fourth – Quarter terror in their last win on October 10th in Seattle.

In fact, Dak Prescott completed two touchdown passes to an unforgivably open CeeDee Lamb, making it a one-score game in the final minutes. In between Dallas' double scores, the 49ers secured insurance points with Anders Carlson's third field goal (in as many attempts).

With three minutes left, the Cowboys got the ball back and tried to make up the 30-24 deficit. Fred Warner nearly intercepted Prescott's first-down throw, and then there were three incompletions that gave the ball back to the 49ers with 2:43 left.

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 a touchdown, plus 56 rushing yards and a touchdown on eight carries, with no turnovers.

In all four of the 49ers' wins this season, they scored at least 30 points. But for the second straight game, the 49ers made just two field goals before halftime, due to a combination of third-period inefficiency (2 of 6), penalties (six for 49 yards) and drops (two by Deebo Samuel). .

Samuel, who was sidelined for a week with pneumonia, managed 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 brought the 49ers to within 10-6 with 1:30 left in the half. That drive began with 19- and 15-yard runs by Guerendo, whose 19-yard run was then nullified by a Kittle holding penalty. Guerendo came on for Jordan Mason, who went to the locker room after sustaining a more serious left shoulder injury.

Dallas' first-half lead could have been larger if rookie defensemen Malik Mustapha and Renardo Green hadn't stopped the Cowboys' advance at the 10-yard line with Brandon Aubrey's 29-yard field goal. After breaking up a pass in the end zone, Mustapha combined with Green on a third-down stop on tight end Jake Ferguson. That drive held up when Dak Prescott had enough time for a 28-yard third-and-4 conversion to the 13-yard.

The Cowboys erased the 49ers' 3-0 first quarter lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Elliott a minute into the second quarter. This came after Charvarius Ward called a pass interference penalty over the back in the end zone after two third-down conversions overshadowed a Nick Bosa sack.

This Elliott score was the tenth rushing touchdown allowed by the 49ers. In 2011, their defense did not allow a single rushing touchdown in 14 games.

The 49ers responded immediately, only to have a 66-yard touchdown reception by Samuel wiped out by a holding penalty on 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 first possession into a 3-0 lead on Carlson's wind-assisted 50-yard field goal. Samuel's 47-yard catch-and-run to the Cowboys' 36-yard line put the 49ers in scoring position with a third-and-6 throw against linebacker Eric Kendricks' coverage. 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 Elliott a 7-yard gain before stopping two of his later runs for no gain, with Fred Warner scoring big on third-and-5.

For the seventh time in eight games, the 49ers' defense threw an interception, while safety Brown did the honors of ending the Cowboys' second possession. Dak Prescott, from the midfielder's logo, made an arcing pass just before he was hit in the ribs by Bosa, and before KaVontae Turpin or cornerback Green could play the ball, Brown rushed to take it at the 8-yard line to intercept the 49ers. Yard line near the sideline. However, this turnover did not bring any points.