49ers’ national anthem protest shrinks by one before game with Cowboys
San Francisco’s national anthem protest got smaller, by one, on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
Running back Mike Davis, who held his fist in the air last week in Seattle, did not do so before the start of the game with the Dallas Cowboys.
Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid and Eli Harold knelt as they did last week. Keith Reaser, Antoine Bethea, Rashard Robinson and Jaquiski Tartt raised their fists. The group is protesting racial injustice, especially police brutality issues, in the United States.
The Cowboys won the game 24-17.
Kerley’s catches
Two of the 49ers’ three starting receivers, Torrey Smith and Quinton Patton, finished with a single catch. The third, slot receiver Jeremy Kerley of TCU, led all receivers with six catches for 88 yards and a touchdown.
Kerley, in his sixth NFL season, joined the 49ers via a trade with Detroit in August for reserve offensive lineman Brandon Thomas.
Kerley’s score came on a 33-yarder in the first quarter.
Rookie receiver Aaron Burbridge caught his first NFL regular-season pass for 5 yards on the 49ers’ opening drive.
Bowman’s injury
Linebacker NaVorro Bowman, the leader of the 49ers’ defense, was carted into the locker room after suffering a lower leg injury in the third quarter. He left the stadium with a walking boot covering the Achilles’ tendon area of his leg and will receive an MRI exam at Stanford Hospital that will clarify his injury.
“It stinks. It’s really, really bad,” left tackle Joe Staley said. “NaVorro is a captain for us, one of our team leaders. We’re going to have to have a guy step up. That’s a huge role to fill. You can’t really replace a guy like NaVorro, but we have to have guys step up and be ready to go.”
Another major figure on the 49ers’ defense this season, first-round draft pick DeForest Buckner, went to the ground on the Cowboys’ final drive of the game. Like Bowman, he had to be helped off the field and left the stadium using crutches and with a walking boot on his lower leg.
Robinson shines
Cornerback Rashard Robinson, whom the 49ers drafted two spots ahead of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, made his first NFL start Sunday and emerged with three pass break-ups and five tackles.
Robinson had been competing with Keith Reaser to replace Jimmie Ward, who suffered a quadriceps injury a week earlier in Seattle. Reaser played several snaps as the team’s nickel cornerback.
“He just had a really good practice and we kind of put [the decision] on practice,” Kelly said of Robinson. “I thought he stepped up and did some nice things.”
This story was originally published October 2, 2016 at 9:41 PM with the headline "49ers’ national anthem protest shrinks by one before game with Cowboys."