DALLAS — For one half, it appeared as though Jerry Jones, Mike McCarthy, and Dak Prescott were well on their way to earning some vindication at Levi’s Stadium, but a messy third quarter doomed the Dallas Cowboys as they fell to the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 30-24 in Week 8.
Don’t let the final score fool you, owner Jones will take the lead on that in the coming days. No, the game didn’t feel as close as the score turned out in the end and the Cowboys continued their spiral both on and off the field.
If fans hoped that the bye week would solve the teams’ problems, they were greeted with a rude awakening as the Cowboys proved once again that they just aren’t a very good team in 2024. No one should be surprised by what happened, this is who the Cowboys have shown to be, a mistake-prone team, who gives the ball away on offense, and one that cannot seem to make stops on defense.
Head coach McCarthy’s group did hold things together for the first 30 minutes of play, taking a 10-6 lead into halftime, but their miserable third quarter performance sealed the team’s fate, showing that San Francisco only needed the break in action at the half to make the adjustments that Dallas couldn’t piece together with a whole week of planning.
The 49ers took the ball to open the second half and went right down the field for a touchdown. It took just five plays for Dallas to lose the lead, and disaster lurked around the corner.
On their first possession of the third quarter, quarterback Dak Prescott made his second huge mistake of the night, throwing an ugly interception. Prescott did what he absolutely could not do in that situation, as he handed the 49ers the ball deep in Cowboys territory.
The turnover was the veteran QB’s third straight game with two interceptions, something that’s not acceptable and played a big role in the loss.
The first pick came in the first quarter with the Cowboys driving on the 49ers’ side of the field. On a first down play, Prescott elected to throw the ball up for grabs to a wide receiver in KaVontae Turpin, who wasn’t open and was being played over the top by a safety. The poor decision resulted in an interception and possibly cost the Cowboys points.
Prescott’s second turnover did cost the team, the 49ers took the short field and scored their second touchdown of the quarter to take a 20-10 lead. It took less than eight minutes to erase a solid first half of play from the Cowboys.
The 49ers also scored on their next series, making it a 21-0 quarter for Kyle Shanahan’s team. By the end of the third quarter, the damage had been done, the 49ers were leading 27-10 as the version of the Cowboys that had been embarrassed for much of the year decided to show up in the 15 minutes following halftime.
Dallas tried to mount a comeback, but it fell short when they got the ball back with just over three minutes left to play. A disastrous series of plays sunk the Cowboys, who folded in the game’s biggest moment.
After clawing their way back with two touchdown connections between Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, the Cowboys had an opening. Down six with 3:05 left on the clock and no timeouts, what followed was no laughing matter but pure comedy nonetheless:
● 1st-&-10: Prescott throws into triple coverage and almost ends the game with an unmade interception.
● 2nd-&-10: The 49ers pressure Prescott who gets rid of the ball out of bounds.
● 3rd-&-10: Prescott throws his best pass of the night as he drops the ball right into Turpin’s hands down the left sideline. However, Turpin drops it.
● 4th-&-10: Prescott gets forced out of the pocket and tries to fit the ball to Jalen Brooks, who couldn’t fight through contact and the ball fell incomplete, all but ending Dallas’ chances.
The possession that sealed the Cowboys’ fate served to show that nothing is really working for Dallas right now. After weeks of getting steamrolled, the Cowboys fought their way back, but after getting a second chance following a horrible pass, a dropped pass doomed a perfect throw from a struggling QB before the last gasp effort was a pass to a wideout who’d seen little playing time.
This is who the Cowboys are, a team that can’t seem to get out of their own way. Even a chance to win the game felt like a gift, which they erased in four fruitless plays.
Dallas won’t compete in many games when Prescott looks so lost. Thus far, the 2024 season looks to be one of the worst for the franchise signal caller. Prescott simply doesn’t look comfortable and isn’t seeing the field well. Some of that could be due to the inexperienced offensive line providing uneasy protection. Some of it could be due to a lack of a run game or playmakers. Whatever the case, Prescott is paid to work through these issues and has instead been contributing to the losses.
With the lack of offseason moves, by not adding a better running back or receiving options, Prescott is being tasked to be the same player he’s been for the offense without the complementary parts, and it isn’t happening this year. Ultimately, there’s no superhero play from Prescott that can guide a team that makes too many mistakes and doesn’t have the depth of talent to make up for it.
Aside from Lamb, there isn’t a strong enough receiver to take attention away, and the running game is the league’s worst unit. The team elevated veteran running back Dalvin Cook for the contest and gave him just seven touches, which he turned into 22 total yards. The Cowboys had just 56 yards on the ground, rushing for a measly 2.9 yards per carry.
Meanwhile, a defense that has looked poor since Week 1 continued to struggle in Week 8. The 49ers ran for 223 yards and totaled 469 yards against coordinator Mike Zimmer’s unit, who couldn’t get pressure on QB Brock Purdy.
Jones’ off week dog and pony show was a nice distraction, but these Cowboys are who they are, a bad team that didn’t fix much during their bye week. The loss to the 49ers was just the latest glimpse at the fate for Dallas during an increasingly unpleasant season.
If there were any doubts about where the Cowboys are headed this year, they went out the window with their latest season-defining loss to San Francisco.
Do you think the Cowboys will be able to recover from a loss that dropped them below .500? Share your thoughts with Ben on X (formerly Twitter) @BenGrimaldi.
