Maiocco’s 49ers Report Card: Team grades in chaotic win over Cowboys originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SANTA CLARA – The 49ers’ game on Sunday night seemed to be a perfect reflection of their 2024 NFL season so far.

The 49ers had their moments. And there were times when they were just bad.

But they were good enough long enough to escape with a 30-24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys at Levi’s Stadium, increasing their season record to 4-4.

Now we’re heading into the bye week, there are nine games left in the regular season and all goals for the season have yet to be determined.

“Getting a win tonight was huge,” 49ers tight end George Kittle said. “It gives you confidence. We’re going to try to clean up a lot of things, but I think we’re taking steps in the right direction.”

Here’s the 49ers’ report on their Week 8 win over the Cowboys:

Rushing offense

The 49ers spread out their production in the run game, with seven different players gaining a total of 223 yards against one of the NFL’s worst run defenses.

Rookie Isaac Guerendo took over for Jordan Mason, who left the game with a shoulder injury. Guerendo gained 85 yards and a touchdown on 14 rushing attempts. He finished the game with a 14-yard run on a third-and-2 play and wisely slid downfield at the 3-yard line.

Quarterback Brock Purdy also made plays with his legs. He gained 56 yards and a touchdown on eight rushing attempts, including a kneel-down to run out the clock.

Even rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall got in the game with a 39-yard gain on a jet sweep play. The 49ers averaged 6.2 yards per carry on 36 rushing attempts.

Grade: A

Passing attack

It was a big comeback game for Purdy, who had a solid performance just a week after the worst statistical game of his NFL career.

Purdy completed 18 of 26 pass attempts for 260 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions and a passer rating of 114.3.

Kittle had a big game, catching six passes for 128 yards and a touchdown on National Tight Ends Day, a quasi-holiday he helped create.

Deebo Samuel had a solid game with four balls for 71 yards. In the first half, a 66-yard touchdown pass was wiped out by tight end Eric Saubert’s penalty.

The 49ers converted eight of their 16 third-down opportunities.

Grade: B-plus

Rushing defense

The 49ers slowed the Cowboys’ rushing attack, who entered the night with a league-low average of 77 yards rushing per game. Dallas managed just 56 yards on 19 rushing attempts.

Ezekiel Elliott was the Cowboys’ leading rusher with 34 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

Linebacker Fred Warner led the 49ers with eight tackles, including one for a loss. De’Vondre Campbell had one of his better games with seven tackles.

Grade: A

Appropriate defense

A few failed coverages late in the game gave the Cowboys an opportunity for a comeback, with CeeDee Lamb catching 13 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

Previously, the 49ers pass defense did a lot against Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense. Nick Bosa put pressure on Prescott, who forced an interception from safety Ji’Ayir Brown in the first half.

Deommodore Lenoir beat Prescott in the third quarter. Prescott had a passer rating of just 79.2 as he completed 25 of 38 passes for 243 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Bosa and Sam Okuayinonu registered sacks and both players had three quarterback hits each.

Grade: B

Special teams

In a season full of special teams blunders after another, the 49ers played a pretty clean game.

The 49ers’ coverage units limit return man KaVontae Turpin to punt returns and kickoffs. Turpin had just one punt return for 13 yards and averaged just 23.0 yards on five kickoff returns.

Rookie Jacob Cowing averaged a respectable 11.0 yards on two punt returns and Patrick Taylor averaged 29.5 yards on two kickoff returns.

Kicker Anders Carlson was 3 of 3 on his field goal attempts, shooting from 50, 44 and 41 yards. The only mistake was a kickoff that went out of bounds, giving the Cowboys possession at the 40-yard line.

Grade: B

Coaching

After a lackluster first half, the 49ers turned things around in the third quarter, outscoring Dallas 21-0 and taking complete control.

But then the 49ers let the Cowboys get right back at it. Early in the fourth quarter, the 49ers were loaded with second-and-1s. On third-and-1, coach Kyle Shanahan decided not to run the ball and Purdy’s pass was incomplete.

The pass defense suffered some disappointments in the fourth quarter with busted coverages that allowed the Cowboys to get back into the game.

The 49ers were good enough to win, but they were anything but a crisp unit from start to finish.

Grade: C-plus

In total

The 49ers were good enough in the third quarter to overcome a slow start and a near-disastrous fourth quarter.

That can work against a weak team like the Cowboys, but it’s simply not good enough if that team has any hope of making a breakthrough in the second half of the season.

The 49ers have been down this road before, suffering similar-looking losses to the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals earlier in the season. They came away with a mixed performance against Dallas.

Grade: B-minus