Santa Clara –
Santa Clara – On National Tight Ends Day, George Kittle made history with his 503th career catch, while his touchdown reception marked the 175th catch by a tight end this season. The 49ers claimed their fourth win of the season by defeating the Dallas Cowboys 30-24 on Sunday Night.
Kittle had an impressive performance with six receptions for 128 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown in the third quarter. This marked his 8th-consecutive season with 500 or more reception yards. Kittle joins former TE Rob Gronkowski and Hall Of Fame TE Ozzie Newsome as the only tight ends in NFL history to register 500-or-more reception yards in each of their first eight career seasons.
Today’s game marked the 105th game of Kittle’s career. In 105 career games, he has registered 500 receptions for 6,777 yards. and 43 touchdowns. Kittle’s six receptions on the night make him the 4th-fastest TE in NFL history to reach 500 career receptions surpassing former TE Jimmy Graham.
“Kittle’s the man,” said head coach Kyle Shanahan. “Especially on his holiday, he usually does better. But there were a couple of things in the first half, and he, just like Brock, missed. A couple he would’ve loved to have back, and he came back in the second half and just played as good as you can.”
After a slow start in the first half, the Niners came alive in the second, scoring three touchdowns. Rookie Issac Gerendo also made his mark, recording his first NFL rushing touchdown with a 4-yard run in the third period and rushing for a notable 85 yards.
“I think he’s learned from each run he’s gotten,” Shanahan said on Guerendo. “There are a couple runs earlier in the year that he did alright on, but we grade him pretty hard, everybody pretty hard. And he had a couple, like, four-yard runs we thought he could have got seven yards on. We go pretty hard on him. And then you watch how he takes that to practice and everything we’ve really kind of been pushing him with, he’s been real coachable, he’s not a sensitive guy, he’s real detailed, and he’s very poised for a rookie. Things aren’t too big for him, and he didn’t get a lot of preseason, but once he got healthy there and throughout this year, I feel he’s gotten better each week.”
Brock Purdy also deserves a nod, finishing 18-of-26 for 260 yards and one touchdown. He also scrambled for 56 yards and scored on a 2-yard touchdown in the third, pushing the score to 27-10. Despite a slow start, Purdy and the offense put the Niners on the board early with a 50-yard field goal by Mitch Wishnowsky, making it 3-0 in the first quarter.
“Yeah, definitely had some missed opportunities,” Purdy said. “Obviously for big plays, but just completions in general in that first half, especially on third downs. I was just being real with myself and knew that I had to be better, especially for our team. Defense was doing a great job in that first half and I feel like we just stalled on third downs and a lot of that was on me. Went in at halftime, and just talked about our plan for the second half, and from my mindset, it was like ‘I’ve got to get back to basics and just keep things simple in my mind and still playing with conviction but being aggressive and just trusting in my guys.’ And so, that was the mindset. I thought we went out and for the most part, executed a lot better.”
The 49ers defense held the Cowboys scoreless in the first quarter, but Dallas responded in the second with a 1-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Elliott, taking a 7-3 lead. Brandon Anger then kicked a 29-yard field goal, extending their lead to 10-3. Aaron Carlson closed the half with a 44-yard field goal, narrowing the score to 10-6.
The Niners offense registered 223 rushing yards on the night, marking the 2nd game this season with 220 or more rushing yards. [228 rushing yds. at Sea. (10/10/24)]. The 49ers’ two games this season with 220-or-more rushing yards are the most by the team in a single season since they registered three games in 2019 with 220-or-more rushing yards.
“Small, consistent steps in the right direction lead to great results and this was just one step. It’s a long season,” Kittle said. “We were 5-3 last year going into the Bye and 4-4 this time. I think we all wish our record was a little bit better, but that’s just where it is. That’s our reality. Getting a win tonight was huge, and it gives you confidence. I think there’s a lot of things that we’re going try to clean up, myself included. I think we’re taking steps in the right direction.”
By the fourth quarter, the Niners held a comfortable 27-10 lead. However, Dak Prescott rallied, connecting with CeeDee Lamb for two touchdowns from 7 and 20 yards out. With 3:32 remaining, Carlson kicked a 41-yard field goal to secure the 49ers’ victory. Prescott finished the game 25-of-38 for 243 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
“I was frustrated we made it a game when it didn’t need it to be, especially defensively,” said Fred Wrner on allowing the Cowboys to score. “Freebies, they didn’t have to earn it. 88 [Dallas Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb] is wide open, their best player. We can’t let that happen. We put ourselves in that situation, so we had to get ourselves out. It was about going out there and finishing the game, and we did that.”
Photo by 49ers/Twitter
