Turnovers and Penalities Hurt the Dallas Cowboys in Loss To San Francisco 49ers

The Dallas Cowboys showed positive signs on Saturday night against the San Francisco 49ers, but silly penalties and a costly fumble gave the Niners backups the opportunity to win the game and they took advantage scoring a late touchdown to win the game 20-13.

The Cowboys starters played well on both sides of the ball, but still could use improvement. Tony Romo went 11-17 for 125 yards but threw an interception on an ill-advised pass. Felix Jones showed why he the ball needs to be in his hands often as he had the only Cowboys touchdown and almost had a 94-yard run for another one but was tripped up by the last defender.

Tashard Choice and Marion Barber did the bulk of the work on the ground combining for 102 yards on 21 carries.

Miles Austin led all receivers with three catches for 44 yards but had a costly drop and stumbled on a route that almost led to an interception.

Kevin Olgetree is making his case for a roster spot and played with the first team offense and produced with two catches for 36 yards.

Martellus Bennett had three catches for 31 yards but looked unfocused most of the game. 

The never-should-happen play came when Leonard Davis was called for a holding penalty on a 49-yard field goal attempt by Nick Folk in the first quarter pulling the Cowboys out of field goal position.

The Cowboys blitzed a lot more in this game and produced three sacks as well as holding Shaun Hill to a 4.6 yards per pass average. Terence Newman and Orlando Scandrick did a solid job against the Niners receivers and the starting defense held the Niners to three points.

In the second half things went south for the Cowboys. Receiver Isaiah Stanback fumbled after a reception, and with he way Ogletree has been playing I'd be surprised if Stanback makes the final roster. DeAngelo Smith was called for a horse collar tackle, which is kind of ironic considering his jersey is No. 31, which was Roy Williams' number.

A botched snap between Cory Procter and Jon Kitna ended a promising Cowboys drive and Courtney Brown's pass interference in the fourth quarter was one of the main plays on the Niners game winning touchdown drive.

The Cowboys special teams units showed a huge improvement over last week. Folk hit two field goals showing that he's getting his strength back after hip surgery. The Niners long on kick returns was just 21 yards and they didn't have a return in four punts by Mat McBriar.

However the Cowboys are running out of special teams players as backup safety Mike Hamlin broke his wrist and will be out six weeks. Also, Allan Ball and linebacker Jason Williams were injured in Saturday's game.

The Cowboys have one more game against the Minnesota Vikings to work out the kinks before going to Tampa Bay to start the season. Check back tomorrow for the Cowboys injury update.