NFL: Is 49ers Loss to the Dallas Cowboys a Morale Victory?

The Alex Smith-led San Francisco 49ers were not supposed to be competitive on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas was too skilled, too much a veteran team and just too talented for the young, upstart and immature 49ers.

What should have a shoo-in victory for the Cowboys instead, turned into a battle to save face to what would have been a nightmare experience for the Cowboys had they fallen to 0-2, especially with the 2-0 Washington Redskins headed to town next Monday night.

Down 14-0, Dallas caught the first of many breaks, as 49er linebacker Ahmad Brooks was hit with an offsides penalty on a missed third-down conversion. Instead of a Cowboy punt, Dallas got a new set of downs.

Just a couple of plays later, 49ers corner Tramaine Brock slipped and fell, allowing Miles Austin to run 53 yards untouched into the end zone.

With Tony Romo out to start the third quarter, and for what appeared to be the entire game with fractured rib, Jon Kitna entered and things quickly got out of hand for the Cowboys.

After a gift interception overthrow by Kitna, the 49ers returned the favor with an interception of their own. A corner touch pass to Austin later, and the game was tied at 14 apiece.

With 11 minutes left in the 4th quarter, the 49ers kicked a 55-yard field goal to take a 10-point lead, however, a personal foul was called against the Cowboys for jumping on their teammates trying to block the kick.

Instead of taking the first down and running the clock down, the 49ers elected to keep the points. From that point on, the Cowboys destroyed the 49ers.

Without both their starting wide receivers (Michael Crabtree was out and Braylon Edwards was hurt and missed most of the game), and with no running game, the 49ers were in position to beat America's team.

Smith put up solid numbers considering that he played without his top two receivers. Tight end Vernon Davis had just two catches for 18 yards, and running back Frank Gore had just 47 yards rushing on 20 carries.

Having not been sacked the previous week, Smith was dropped six times, including twice by DeMarcus Ware.

In the end, the 49ers lost a game they should have won. They had more than enough chances, but failed to close the door on the Cowboys.

It was the kind of game that was disappointing, but also something to get excited about.

If this 49ers squad, including Smith, could play solid enough to compete with a much better and more talented squad in Week 2 of the season, without their top wideouts, imagine the growth of this San Francisco team down the season.

The NFC West is wide open this year, ripe with inexperience and consistency.

A heart breaking loss like Sunday's against the Cowboys could actually provide the kind of morale victory that help a team's confidence down the road. For the young and upstart 49ers, only time will tell if Sunday's 27-24 overtime loss to the Cowboys was such a game.