49ers Squander 14-0 lead to Fall to Dallas

Week 4 - Since a dominant win in Week 1 at home against the Rams to open the season, the 49ers have yet to play again at their home field of Levi's Stadium and have yet to add another victory, entering Sunday's meeting with the (2-1) Cowboys on a two game losing skid at 1-2 on the year. But with rookie QB Dak Prescott and first round running back Ezekiel Elliott learning more and more and adapting quite well to the NFL week after week, these aren't the same exact Dallas Cowboy 49ers head coach Chip Kelly grew accustomed to facing while with the Eagles. With many claiming the Cowboys' season was done for the moment starting quarterback Tony Romo went down with a back injury during the preseason and was ruled out for 6-8 weeks, Dallas' crop of talented rookies have answered the call and have flipped the script to keep their season afloat.

After kickoff it was the home team who dominated most of the first half, as the 49ers jumped out to an early lead once Dallas' opening-drive resulted in a missed field goal by kicker Dan Bailey. The field goal attempt which went wide-left would mark the first time this season that Dallas failed to score on their opening-drive. For a team that's been terrible on third downs this year, the 49ers bucked the trend on their first offensive possession by scoring on a 33-yard touchdown on 3rd & 7 when QB Blaine Gabbert found a wide-open Jeremy Kerley who scored the easy touchdown and his first with the team to put San Francisco ahead early. After going 0-for-10 on third downs last week in Seattle, the Niners got off to a blazing start by going 6-for-6 on third downs in this one, including a touchdown ran in on 3rd & 1 by running back Carlos Hyde in the second quarter. But even with Chip Kelly's offense scoring touchdowns on each of their first two offensive possessions and Dallas facing their largest deficit of the season, the tables would be turned before the half as the Cowboys offense mustered up a pair of unanswered touchdowns of their own to tie the game at 14. With the 49ers winning an earlier challenge for Dallas having their foot on the goal line when recovering a punt that would've pinned the 49ers inside the 1-yard line, coach Kelly's decision not to challenge a punt return when Cowboys return man Lucky Whitehead's knee touched the ground after breaking a tackle, would haunt him for 11 costly yards. Then came a horrendous penalty call on the 49ers which would change the entire complexion of the game.

Facing a 3rd & 6 near midfield and yet to sniff the end zone, the San Francisco defense would come up with another stop to force a sack. What should've been a Dallas punt, turned into a momentum-swining first down as 49ers safety Jaquiski Tartt was called for "unnecessary roughness" for a baby push on Prescott while he was wrapped up. The 15-yard penalty and automatic first down would breathe new life back into the drive and allowed the Cowboys to score their first touchdown just three plays later as Prescott found receiver Terrance Williams streaking down the right sideline for a 20-yard touchdown. Making matters worse, a shanked punt on San Francisco's following drive would put Dallas in position to tie the game just before the half as the Cowboys rookie QB utilized his future Hall of Fame tight-end and the sideline to perfection in the 2 minute offense with a 1:50 remaining in the half. And with just 16 seconds to go, Prescott capitalized by connected with Brice Butler in the end zone for the game-tying touchdown.

With San Francisco's lead gone with the wind, the 49ers were in need of a jolt on offense and appeared destined for an equally fast start to begin the second half when Carlos Hyde rumbled for a 32-yard carry on the first play of the third quarter. Gabbert would follow that up with possibly the best placed pass of his career as he connected with tight-end Garrett Celek who hauled in a one-hander for a 29-yard gain on a throw that only the receiver could've caught. Unfortunately, it would be the last offensive highlight of the day for the Niners who had to settle for a Phil Dawson field goal which helped them retake the lead at 17-14. From there on the game would turn into the 'Zeke show as Elliott rushed for 50 yards on 7 carries on Dallas' following drive before finishing with 96 yards in the second half alone, capped off with a 1-yard touchdown to give the Cowboys their first lead of the game. After forcing Dallas to punt on their following drive and setting up shop near midfield thanks to a nice return from Kerley, the Niners gave the ball right back to their opponent as Gabbert went for the home run pass to Torrey Smith on first down and under-threw him as Dallas' Morris Claiborne came up with the easy interception. They would turn the turnover into three points as Bailey banged in a field goal to give Dallas a 7-point lead.

Facing four down territory, the 49ers would have one final chance as they faced a 4th and 6 call in which they would come up short as Gabbert threw shy of the first down marker and gaining only 3 yards on a pass to Smith. The game would then be iced on a 47-yard catch and go to Cole Beasley as Dallas came out on top, 24-17. Though he would have a close call during Dallas' opening-drive which almost saw 49ers Pro-Bowl safety Eric Reid come up with the first thrown interception of Prescott's career, the talented rookie saw his record streak of consecutive pass attempts without an interception to begin a career continue thru his first 131 career pass attempts as he threw for 245 yards and a pair of touchdowns without his star receiver Dez Bryant who missed the game with a knee injury. Elliott added a career-best 138-yards on the ground to best his former Ohio State teammate Carlos Hyde who rushed for 74-yards as the two met at midfield after the game to swap jerseys. With the loss, San Francisco fell to 1-3 on the year, but an even bigger blow than the loss itself would be the injury to Pro-Bowl linebacker NaVorro Bowman who left the game midway thru the 3rd quarter on a non-contact play. Bowman would be carted off the field with what later revealed to be a ruptured Achilles tendon which would rule Bowman out for the remainder of the season. While the injury opened the flood gates for Elliott to roam free through the middle in the second half, the bigger picture is that the 49ers will be without their emotional leader on defense going forward.

Week 5 Preview - Entering Week 4 with 8 takeaways thru the first three weeks (tied for 3rd most in the NFL), the 49ers failed to add a single takeaway in their loss to the Cowboys. They'll need to get back on track in the takeaway department if they plan to win on a short week when they host the (1-3) Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football. After dominating their way to a division crown just a season ago, the Cardinals have resembled anything but a division champion this season while struggling to the tone of back-to-back losses to the Bills and Rams. Still seeking their first road win of the year, the Cardinals will be without QB Carson Palmer who suffered a concussion in Week 4 as backup Drew Stanton gets the start. As for the 49ers who had little luck against Arizona in both meetings a season ago, the Cardinals are one of the teams who have struggled just as much as they have to begin 2016 and might have a chance to come up with their second win of the year. The 49ers will also be helped out a bit on the defensive front with Aaron Lynch returning from a 4-game suspension served for violating the league's substance abuse policy. If the offense struggles, expect an appearance from 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick.

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