Brock Purdy leads the 49ers past the Cowboys on “Sunday Night Football”: Key takeaways

By Matt Barrows, Jon Machota, Saad Yousuf and Hunter Patterson

The San Francisco 49ers withstood a late attack from the Dallas Cowboys to win 30-24 on “Sunday Night Football.” The Cowboys outscored the 49ers 14-3 in the final frame, but San Francisco's defense made the final stop and won the game as Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott was unable to reach his intended target, Jalen Brooks.

Brock Purdy went 18 of 26, throwing for 260 yards and a touchdown for the 49ers. Purdy also added 56 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on eight attempts. His only touchdown pass went to National Tight End's Day creator George Kittle, who finished with six receptions and 128 yards. Rookie running back Isaiah Guerendo 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 passes. Both touchdown passes went to receiver CeeDee Lamb, who caught 13 passes for 146 yards.

The 49ers improve to 4-4 with the win, while the Cowboys fall to 3-4.

San Francisco is picking up speed

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

The biggest will be Christian McCaffrey, who is expected to take part in his first training session in almost two months during the so-called “bonus” session following the bye in Week 9.

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

A defensive lineman, perhaps a defensive end, makes sense considering how weak the team is behind Nick Bosa and Leonard Floyd and the availability on teams that are out of the playoff race. – Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer

The 49ers continue to receive big contributions from the strong rookie class

One of Sunday's standout players was Guerendo, who replaced Jordan Mason in the first quarter after Mason suffered a shoulder injury in Week 6. Guerendo gained 85 yards and scored his first NFL touchdown from four yards out in the third quarter.

Due to Mason's injury, the 49ers were left with only two healthy tailbacks on the active roster, Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr., while Deebo Samuel also filled in throughout the game and logged the most snaps in any game this season. San Francisco also scored on a 39-yard run by Ricky Pearsall on a final drive.

Samuel, who was questionable after being hospitalized with pneumonia last week, finished with 15 on the ground and another 71 in the air. A 66-yard touchdown by Samuel was taken back due to a penalty. Samuel suffered a rib injury late in the game and did not play for the final eight minutes of the contest. The upcoming bye week should give Samuel's rib and Mason's shoulder a chance to heal.

And it gives McCaffrey another week to prepare for a Week 10 return in Tampa. – Wheelbarrows

What you see is what you get from Dallas

The Cowboys came out of their bye week last season and got back into the swing of things. They won six of their next seven. Sunday evening showed that that probably won't happen this time. The comeback attempt was nice, but ultimately the plays weren't executed when they were most needed. Maybe Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and DaRon Bland return and the defense improves.

But this really doesn't look like a team that's on the verge of getting hot and competing with the NFC's best. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones have been asked several times in recent weeks about potentially making moves at the trade deadline. Neither of them gave the impression that there was much interest.

So unless something completely unexpected happens, what you see is what you get from this year's Cowboys team. And it doesn't look like it will be enough for another playoff appearance. — Jon Machota, Cowboys beat writer

The Cowboys' third-quarter collapse

The Cowboys completely collapsed in the third quarter, turning a 10-6 halftime lead into a 27-6 deficit entering the fourth quarter.

The defense, which had held on by a thread in the first half, allowed three touchdowns in the third quarter. The Cowboys' offense, which left many points on the field in the first half, scored zero points in the third quarter, adding to the defense's woes thanks to a poor Prescott interception deep in the Cowboys' own territory.

This led to another fourth quarter surge in garbage time by the Cowboys that inevitably failed with the game on the line and a three-and-out. – Saad Yousuf, Cowboys beat writer

Required reading

(Photo: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images)