Field Level Media
Dec 20, 2020
Andy Dalton passed for 209 yards and two touchdowns and the Dallas Cowboys scored 24 points off turnovers in a 41-33 victory Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers in Arlington, Texas.
The Cowboys (5-9) won back-to-back games for the first time this year. The 49ers (5-9) committed four turnovers and have lost three straight games and six of their last seven.
Nick Mullens completed 21 of 36 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns for San Francisco but threw two costly interceptions in the fourth quarter.
Donovan Wilson intercepted the first one, setting up a 46-yard Greg Zuerlein field goal that put Dallas up 27-24 with 10:08 to play.
Two plays after Anthony Brown registered the second pick, Tony Pollard broke off a 40-yard touchdown run for a 34-24 lead with 2:27 remaining.
San Francisco's Robbie Gould made a 31-yard field goal -- the 400th of his career -- with 40 seconds left, but CeeDee Lamb recovered the onside kick and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown.
After replacing Mullens, C.J. Beathard heaved a 49-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne on the game's final play.
Starting in place of leading rusher Ezekiel Elliott (calf injury), Pollard rushed 12 times for 69 yards with two touchdowns and added six catches for 63 yards.
Dallas scored the game's first 14 points off two early turnovers by San Francisco.
Pollard punched in a 1-yard touchdown run five plays after Richie James fumbled on a punt return, and Michael Gallup caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Dalton five plays after DeMarcus Lawrence stripped Mullens and Aldon Smith made the recovery.
San Francisco answered with two short TD passes by Mullens wrapped around a 48-yard Zuerlein field goal.
Jordan Reed caught a 5-yard touchdown with 12 seconds left in the opening quarter and Brandon Aiyuk caught a 2-yard flip pass on fourth down with 5:00 remaining in the half. Both scoring drives covered 75 yards in 13 plays.
On its first second-half possession, San Francisco knotted the score at 17 on Gould's 41-yard field goal.
Dallas made it 24-17 midway through the third quarter on a 12-yard touchdown catch by Dalton Schultz, one play after Dalton connected on a 45-yard pass play to Lamb.
The 49ers tied it again at 24-24 on Jeff Wilson's 1-yard touchdown plunge with 2:08 left in the third quarter.
--Field Level Media