San Francisco 49ers 30, Dallas Cowboys 24: Grades

Kyle almost Kyled.

Oct 27, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Isaac Guerendo (31) carries the ball against the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

SANTA CLARA -- The San Francisco 49ers just hung on to beat the Dallas Cowboys 30-24. Here are the 49ers' grades for this performance.

QUARTERBACK: A

Brock Purdy started out shaky in the first half as he stood still in the pocket like a statue and missed passes he typically would complete. But something in him changed in halftime, and in the second half he was close to unstoppable, particularly as a rusher. He finished the game with 56 rushing yards and a touchdown. If teams are going to play man-to-man coverage against him, he can beat them with his legs as he did tonight. He cannot win consistently if he stands in one place. He needs to use his legs.

RUNNING BACKS: A-MINUS

Jordan Mason reaggravated his shoulder injury and left the game early, which could have been a death blow to the 49ers' run-first offense. Fortunately for them, Isaac Guerendo stepped up and gained 85 yards and a touchdown. He also missed a block that led to a crushing sack for Brock Purdy on the 49ers' final possession of the game. That was scary.

FULLBACK: C-MINUS

Kyle Juszczyk had one rushing yard, six receiving yards and a holding penalty, which means he produced negative 3 net yards. A big night for him.

WIDE RECEIVERS: B

Deebo Samuel had a 47 yard catch while lined up at running back and matched up against a linebacker. Besides this play, he didn't do much other than catch a few screen passes, drop a couple balls and leave the game with a rib injury. Rookie Ricky Pearsall caught all four of his targets and gained 39 yards on a jet sweep. He's a weapon in the run game.

TIGHT ENDS: A.

George Kittle has been the MVP of the offense this season. Tonight, he had 6 catches for 128 yards and one touchdown. He's on his way to his third first-team All pro season, which means he's probably a future Hall of Famer. His backup, Eric Saubert, committed a holding penalty that negated a long touchdown catch by Samuel.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: A.

They gave up just two sacks and paved the way for 223 yards on the ground. Granted, the Cowboys were missing their best defensive linemen, but the 49ers' O-line still took care of business.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: B-PLUS

Nick Bosa and Sam Okuayinonu each recorded one sack and collectively this group shut down the Cowboys anemic running game. Okuayinonu in particular has been a revelation this season. He's decidedly better than Leonard Floyd.

LINEBACKERS: B-PLUS

Fred Warner was excellent as usual. De'Vondre Campbell played his best game of the season probably because the Cowboys don't have a fast running back who can make Campbell run. And Dee Winters left the game with a concussion.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: B

Deommodore Lenoir was outstanding -- he intercepted Dak Prescott yet again. You'd think Prescott would know who Lenoir is by now. He has been the most improved player on the 49ers this season and one of the MVPs of the defense. The 49ers can't extend his contract soon enough. Meanwhile, Charvarius Ward struggled, particularly in the fourth quarter. First, he committed a 19-yard pass interference penalty on 3rd and 10 which bailed out the Cowboys and gave them an automatic first down. Then the 49ers replaced him with Isaac Yiadom for a few plays. When Ward returned, the Cowboys were in the red zone, and he promptly gave up a touchdown catch because he was playing zone coverage while the rest of the defense was playing man to man. Which means Ward made a mental mistake. Then on the next drive, safety Ji'Ayir Brown ran into rookie cornerback Renardo Green and gave up another touchdown catch. Closing out games is such an issue for the 49ers.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A

They didn't give up a touchdown for a change and Anders Carlsen made all of his kicks. This unit deserves a parade.

COACHES: C-PLUS

The 49ers came out flat and were losing at halftime. Then Kyle Shanahan made the right halftime adjustments and the 49ers reeled off 24 unanswered points. That was Good Kyle. Then the 49ers almost gave away a 17-point fourth-quarter lead. That was Bad Kyle. With 3:25 left and the 49ers leading by just 6 points, the offense faced 2nd and 3, and for some strange reason, Shanahan called a pass. No one blocked DeMarvion Overshown who blindsided Purdy and sacked him. The 49ers are extremely lucky that Purdy didn't fumble. There was absolutely no reason to pass in that situation. Which means Kyle almost Kyled. You know exactly what I mean. Fortunately for the 49ers, Dak Dak'd harder than Kyle ever could Kyle.