Red Dragon
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Cowboys Hang Tough, Outlast Niners 31-28 in OT
ARLINGTON, Texas - The Dallas Cowboys' 2014 season got off to a disastrous start on Sunday afternoon.
For one half.
The Cowboys' newly retooled pass protection had a disastrous debut, allowing Tony Romo to be sacked seven times - five in the first half alone. The Cowboys' quarterback, returning from back surgery, was besieged and frequently on the run in the face of a San Francisco defense keyed by its ferocious pass rush.
In a game billed by many as a lopsided mismatch in favor of the red and gold, the heavily favored Niners rolled to an early 21-3 lead and appeared unstoppable until Frank Gore was stuffed for no gain on 4th-and-goal at the Dallas one-yard line. The defensive stop appeared to finally give a much-needed shift in momentum to the home team, as the Cowboys strung together a consistent series on offense at last and found paydirt on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Romo to Witten to cut the deficit to 21-10 shortly before halftime.
The Cowboys struck again after the intermission when Dwayne Harris raced the kickoff return 100 yards for a score to trim the deficit to 21-17. The Niners answered right back, however, as Colin Kaepernick, who threw for 299 yards in the first half alone, found Michael Crabtree in the end zone on a perfectly arced 39-yard strike to extend San Francisco's lead to 28-17.
A Dallas field goal later, the Niners appeared poised to take a 35-20 lead but their drive ended abruptly with a fumble at the Cowboys' 5-yard line. Romo then led the Cowboys on a methodical 95-yard drive capped by a one-yard DeMarco Murray touchdown run to cut San Francisco's lead to 28-26. A two-point conversion on a throw by Romo to Gavin Escobar subsequently tied the game 28-28 outright.
The Niners had a chance to win in the waning seconds of regulation, but a 56-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right as time expired.
In overtime, the two teams traded possessions twice. The 49ers were once again poised to kick a game-winning 52-yard field goal, but a crucial false start committed by San Francisco pushed the ball back to the Dallas 39-yard line. The Niners elected to punt rather than attempt a risky 57-yarder.
Romo and the Cowboys offense made field position irrelevant though, anyway, marching downfield for the game-winning score, a 44-yard Dan Bailey field goal. The drive was aided by a 40-yard run by DeMarco Murray.
The Cowboys had faced plenty of questions about a Dallas defense that was among the worst in the league last season, and this game did little to dispel those concerns. San Francisco rolled up 30 first downs and nearly 500 yards of offense. The Cowboys managed to sack Kaepernick only once, who faced little pressure and converted third downs against the Dallas secondary with ease.
But it was the Cowboys' pass protection that caused the most concern. Romo was under pressure from the opening snap of the game and constantly harried into throwing the ball away. He finished with no turnovers but completed only 21 of 56 pass attempts. The 49ers used a potent mix of blitzes and defensive formations to sack Romo seven times.
For the Niners, this will be the one that got away. San Francisco held the ball for twelve minutes longer and advanced into Dallas territory on nine separate possessions, yet failed to come away with any points on three first-and-goal possessions. The 49ers were also flagged ten times for 113 yards.
A clash of two storied franchises with 10 Lombardi trophies combined, the Cowboys and 49ers have had a historical rivalry regarded by many as being one of the league's greatest. Dallas and San Francisco have clashed in the NFC Championship Game six times, more conference title game meetings than between any other two teams in the NFC.
Notes: Dallas scored touchdowns on drives of 99 and 95 yards..........Kaepernick finished the game with 371 passing yards but rushed for just ten yards, his lowest rushing outing since a December 2012 game against the Arizona Cardinals.........Dallas and San Francisco were 16-16-1 against each other heading into this game, with the Cowboys winning the previous three meetings in 2005, 2008 and 2011.
Next up: The Cowboys travel to LP Field in Nashville to play the Titans, while the 49ers return home to face the Bears in the inaugural regular-season debut of brand-new Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
Cowboys Hang Tough, Outlast Niners 31-28 in OT
ARLINGTON, Texas - The Dallas Cowboys' 2014 season got off to a disastrous start on Sunday afternoon.
For one half.
The Cowboys' newly retooled pass protection had a disastrous debut, allowing Tony Romo to be sacked seven times - five in the first half alone. The Cowboys' quarterback, returning from back surgery, was besieged and frequently on the run in the face of a San Francisco defense keyed by its ferocious pass rush.
In a game billed by many as a lopsided mismatch in favor of the red and gold, the heavily favored Niners rolled to an early 21-3 lead and appeared unstoppable until Frank Gore was stuffed for no gain on 4th-and-goal at the Dallas one-yard line. The defensive stop appeared to finally give a much-needed shift in momentum to the home team, as the Cowboys strung together a consistent series on offense at last and found paydirt on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Romo to Witten to cut the deficit to 21-10 shortly before halftime.
The Cowboys struck again after the intermission when Dwayne Harris raced the kickoff return 100 yards for a score to trim the deficit to 21-17. The Niners answered right back, however, as Colin Kaepernick, who threw for 299 yards in the first half alone, found Michael Crabtree in the end zone on a perfectly arced 39-yard strike to extend San Francisco's lead to 28-17.
A Dallas field goal later, the Niners appeared poised to take a 35-20 lead but their drive ended abruptly with a fumble at the Cowboys' 5-yard line. Romo then led the Cowboys on a methodical 95-yard drive capped by a one-yard DeMarco Murray touchdown run to cut San Francisco's lead to 28-26. A two-point conversion on a throw by Romo to Gavin Escobar subsequently tied the game 28-28 outright.
The Niners had a chance to win in the waning seconds of regulation, but a 56-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right as time expired.
In overtime, the two teams traded possessions twice. The 49ers were once again poised to kick a game-winning 52-yard field goal, but a crucial false start committed by San Francisco pushed the ball back to the Dallas 39-yard line. The Niners elected to punt rather than attempt a risky 57-yarder.
Romo and the Cowboys offense made field position irrelevant though, anyway, marching downfield for the game-winning score, a 44-yard Dan Bailey field goal. The drive was aided by a 40-yard run by DeMarco Murray.
The Cowboys had faced plenty of questions about a Dallas defense that was among the worst in the league last season, and this game did little to dispel those concerns. San Francisco rolled up 30 first downs and nearly 500 yards of offense. The Cowboys managed to sack Kaepernick only once, who faced little pressure and converted third downs against the Dallas secondary with ease.
But it was the Cowboys' pass protection that caused the most concern. Romo was under pressure from the opening snap of the game and constantly harried into throwing the ball away. He finished with no turnovers but completed only 21 of 56 pass attempts. The 49ers used a potent mix of blitzes and defensive formations to sack Romo seven times.
For the Niners, this will be the one that got away. San Francisco held the ball for twelve minutes longer and advanced into Dallas territory on nine separate possessions, yet failed to come away with any points on three first-and-goal possessions. The 49ers were also flagged ten times for 113 yards.
A clash of two storied franchises with 10 Lombardi trophies combined, the Cowboys and 49ers have had a historical rivalry regarded by many as being one of the league's greatest. Dallas and San Francisco have clashed in the NFC Championship Game six times, more conference title game meetings than between any other two teams in the NFC.
Notes: Dallas scored touchdowns on drives of 99 and 95 yards..........Kaepernick finished the game with 371 passing yards but rushed for just ten yards, his lowest rushing outing since a December 2012 game against the Arizona Cardinals.........Dallas and San Francisco were 16-16-1 against each other heading into this game, with the Cowboys winning the previous three meetings in 2005, 2008 and 2011.
Next up: The Cowboys travel to LP Field in Nashville to play the Titans, while the 49ers return home to face the Bears in the inaugural regular-season debut of brand-new Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
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