Poised Cowboys rally to beat Niners 24-17

Poise is not just a description for rookie quarterback Dak Prescott.

It’s a description for the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys rallied from a 14-0 deficit to beat San Francisco 24-17 Sunday evening at Levi’s Stadium.

“That’s what this team is all about. That’s how we built this team,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “They fight through adversity. That was evident today.”

With the win, the Cowboys move to 3-1. They host Cincinnati next week.

“Nobody blinked,” Garrett said.

The Cowboys were missing several starters, including Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith and Orlando Scandrick.

Prescott completed 23 of 32 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns. He has thrown 131 passes without an interception. Rookie Ezekiel Elliott carried 23 times for 138 yards and one touchdown.

The Cowboys’ promising opening drive ended with Dan Bailey’s 47-yard field goal attempt sailing wide left. The Cowboys had moved from their 31 to the Niners 29. A third-down false start pushed them back to the 34 and a screen play to Lance Dunbar put them back at the 29, where Bailey missed only his second field goal attempt of the season.

The Niners answered with a 73-yard scoring drive. San Francisco converted three third downs on the drive.

The touchdown came on a 33-yard pass from Blaine Gabbert to TCU ex Jeremy Kerley for a 7-0 lead.

On the third play of the second quarter, Carlos Hyde score on a 3-yard run to push the Niners’ lead to 14-0.

After an exchange of possessions, the Cowboys drove 68-yards for a touchdown.

Aided by a third-down unsportsmanlike call against Jaquiski Tartt, the Cowboys closed the drive with Prescott throwing a 20-yard touchdown to Terrance Williams to make it 14-7 with 2:58 left in the first half.

Following a 26-yard San Francisco punt, the Cowboys took over at their 42 with 1:26 left.

It took 11 plays to reach the end zone. Prescott threw a 4-yard touchdown to Brice Butler to tie the game at 14-14 with 12 seconds to go. Prescott completed eight of 10 passes on the drive, including four to tight end Jason Witten.

San Francisco struck quickly in the third, starting with gains of 32 and 29 yards, but stalled at the Cowboys’ 18 where Phil Dawson’s 36-yard field goal put the Niners back in front 17-14.

But the poised Cowboys took their first lead of the day when Elliott scored on a 1-yard run. The touchdown capped an 78-yard, 10-play drive to make it 21-17 at the 1:08 mark.

After an exchange of possessions early in the fourth quarter, keyed by Morris Claiborne’s interception.

The Cowboys converted the turnover into a field goal and a 24-17 lead with 4:11 left. Bailey made a 22-yard field goal to set the stage for the stretch run.

The Cowboys stopped the 49ers final possession on a fourth-and-6 play when Claiborne knocked Torrey Smith out of bounds after a 3 yard reception.

The Cowboys ran out the clock with a 47-yard catch and run by Cole Beasley.

This story was originally published October 2, 2016 at 6:32 PM with the headline "Poised Cowboys rally to beat Niners 24-17."