3 winners and 4 losers from the Dallas Cowboys’ humiliating Week 8 loss to the 49ers

It was another tough outing for the Dallas Cowboys. They gave it their all in the first 30 minutes, even going into the dressing room with a 10-6 lead at halftime.

Then the third quarter began and the San Francisco 49ers took over. They scored in no time to retake the lead. This left Dallas desperate, which is a recipe for disaster for this team.

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Turns, penalties and missed opportunities were the theme of the second half as the Cowboys fell to 3-4 despite a late comeback attempt. With that in mind, let’s identify Dallas’ winners and losers.

Jerry Jones is a confusing man. Last offseason, he extended the contracts of Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb despite each of them coming off career years. That’s after he struggled to give Michael Gallup a contract extension in 2022 after a torn ACL and one for Terence Steele in 2023 due to the same injury.

Steele, who signed a five-year extension worth $86.8 million, has developed into a solid starter at right tackle. The problem is that he hasn’t been the same player since he returned from knee surgery. This Sunday was another example of Steele struggling to get the job done.

To be fair, he was dating Nick Bosa, but at $17 million per season, Steele is expected to hold his own.

Bosa spent the evening in the Dallas backfield. He had just one sack, but added three quarterback hits, including one that resulted in a pick.

With Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Marshawn Niland and Sam Williams all injured, Dallas desperately needed someone to step in on their defensive line. On Sunday night, Chauncey Gholston did just that.

Goltson, a third-round draft pick out of Iowa in 2021, entered this game with 18 tackles and two sacks. He added five tackles to that total as his name was called all night. He even made a huge play that won’t show up in the stats.

With the score 7-3, Dallas appeared to give up a 66-yard touchdown run to Deebo Samuel. The poor coverage proved controversial as Gholston was held down by tight end Eric Sober. Golston would have put the ball in play if not for the reception, but it still pushed the offense back 10 yards. He also made back-to-back stops in plays on the same route, helping the defense force turnovers on downs.

George Kittle got his way with the Cowboys, and it’s a recurring trend. He seemed to be facing Donovan Wilson a lot this weekend and it wasn’t a fair fight. The worst example was on the first drive of the third quarter, when Kittle went 30 yards on a catch and run.

Not only did Wilson lose on the track, but he also failed to hit his guy. That’s been the norm for him this season, and maybe it’s time to see if Juanier Thomas is up to the job.

DeMarvion Overshown was able to stand out despite the loss. The sophomore linebacker was all over the field and made eight tackles. He also almost made a play that could have given his team the win.

Late in the fourth quarter, down 30-24, Dallas needed a stop to complete its comeback attempt. On a seven-yard run on first down, the momentum meter was pointing toward the 49ers, but Overshown turned it over in the blink of an eye. He flew into the San Francisco backfield and hit Brock Purdy from behind for a sack and a loss of seven yards.

Purdy nearly intercepted the ball, but somehow kept it. If he had lost the ball deep in his own territory, it could have set the Cowboys up for the win. However, it was a great play by Overshown that led to a punt and the last chance for Dallas.

The Cowboys are a team known for killing penalties, turning the ball over and making mistakes in key moments. Simply put, they don’t play smart football.

It all belongs to their head coach, Mike McCarthy.

Now in his fifth season, McCarthy continues to make baffling decisions. He made it on the first try as they decided to get the ball after winning the coin toss. It’s a common theme for McCarthy, who says he wants to “set the tone.”

This tone is usually a porous first drive and a fast hit. The same thing happened on Sunday, as they gained just 16 yards before giving the ball to the Niners, who drove down the field to take a 3-0 lead.

They also allowed the Niners to virtually set the tone in the second half, erasing a 10-6 lead with a 60-yard scoring drive that took just five plays. Every fan knew what would happen when McCarthy took the ball first, and he remains the only one not to grab the ball.

McCarthy also made it harder on himself by going into this game believing it would be a good idea to have Terence Steele block Nick Bosa one-on-one. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this won’t work.

Dallas could be a much better team if more thought was put into their planning. Or if they had to learn from the times they failed. However, that’s not how they operate, and that includes McCarthy.

The Cowboys’ offense didn’t produce much on Sunday, but CeeDee Lamb was one of the few exceptions. During his bye week, Lamb spoke about his slow start and the criticism he heard. He was honest and said he would get better. On Sunday he was there.

Lamb caught almost everything that came his way, even when the pass wasn’t perfect. That led to his first 100-yard game of the season, and he also scored two touchdowns, both in the fourth quarter.

Lamb finished the day with 146 yards and two touchdowns on 13 catches. It was an elite performance, but not enough to lead the team to an incredible comeback.

Week after week we heard Dak Prescott say he needed to be better. Week after week he continues to struggle.

We can no longer call it a decline because Prescott is having a terrible season. In seven games, he already has eight interceptions. To make matters worse, he has now gone three games in a row with at least two picks.

Even though interceptions happen, Dak turnovers are 100 percent avoidable. His first goal in this game is one example. With pressure right in his face, Prescott tried to penetrate deep toward KaVontae Turpin, who had several defenders around him. The pressure didn’t allow him to get as much air into the pass as he wanted, and Jiaire Brown went down with the ball.

He made another terrible decision in the third quarter. Trailing 13-10, Prescott rolled to his left and threw an ill-advised pass to third and fourth. Demodore Lenoir found himself in front of CeeDee Lamb, but Prescott still threw the ball, which never had a chance.

A late comeback attempt gave Dallas a chance to win, but Prescott again failed to make it. He nearly threw a pick on his first try before making three more incomplete throws to seal the loss. All four drive attempts were questionable decisions, especially a desperation bomb for Jalen Brooks of all people on fourth-and-10.

We can make any excuse we want. It’s true that Jerry Jones failed this offseason and didn’t put together a good enough roster. Dallas has also dealt with several injuries that have impacted them.

That being said, Prescott is the highest paid player in the league, so his team should be able to rely on him. That hasn’t happened, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a way to defend against poor performances and failures in difficult moments.

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