SAN FRACISCO — This is the live blog for the Niners vs. Dallas game. I will be updating this frequently throughout the game.
1:03 San Francisco wins the toss, defers to Dallas. Dallas will get the ball first. The Niners won the toss and deferred last week as well.
1:06 Miles Austin drops a deep pass and he was wide open. Carlos Rogers thought he was in a zone coverage but he had no help over the top. Donte Whitner was late getting to the sideline, he was worried about Jason Witten over the middle.
1:07 On 3rd & 9, Ahmad Brooks hits Romo as he throws, but he completes the pass to Jason Witten for a first down. Carlos Rogers was in coverage.
1:09 Felix Jones is injured on the field. He rushed for four yards and then fumbled at the end of the run. Now he’s walking off the field on his own. Willis forced the fumble, but the Cowboys recovered it. Jones was holding his wrist.
1:16 On 2nd & 15, Tony Romo steps up in the pocket, gets hit around the ankles, throws to a wide open Jason Witten over the middle for a 22 yard gain. Donte Whitner was the closest Niner defender.
1:20 ON 3rd & 1 from the Niner 3, Tony Romo throws a jump ball to Miles Austin in the end zone, but it’s too high, and Austin can’t catch the ball. Rogers had the coverage.
1:21 Dan Bailey just missed a 21-yard field goal wide right. He kicked the ball and immediately threw his head down in disgust. Niners give up big yardage on the drive but no points. They take over at their own 20.
1:24 On 2nd & 10 Alex Smith throws to Braylon Edwards on a comeback route, but Edwards slips coming out of his break and the pass falls incomplete.
1:25 Next play, Alex Smith completes a 21-yard pass to Edwards over the middle. The Cowboys were in zone coverage, if you want to call that coverage. Edwards was wide open.
1:27 On 3rd & 2, Alex Smith play actions, rolls right, throws to an open Delanie Walker on the sideline, who drops the pass. Now the Niners have to punt.
1:29 The Niners tries to quick punt on Dallas, and the ref, Ron Winter, ran over and batted the snap out of the air. He announced that Dallas has the right “to match up.” Bizarre.
1:32 Braylon Edwards has a right knee injury and his return is questionable. That’s a big blow for the Niner offense. Look for a lot of Ted Ginn Jr. at wide receiver today.
1:34 49ers force a three and out. On 3rd & 9 Romo throws to Miles Austin, who’s being covered one-on-one by Carlos Rogers. Austin slips, Rogers is right there, and the pass falls incomplete. Niner ball at their 32 yard line with 3:34 to go in the 1st quarter.
1:36 On first down the Cowboys bring a big blitz, and Smith calmly gets the ball out quick to Ted Ginn Jr. over the middle. Gain of 8.
1:38 On 3rd & 1 the 49ers have one wide receiver and two tight ends, obviously a run formation. Still, Gore runs the ball up the middle and picks up 3 yards and first down. They couldn’t do that last week – pick up the short yards with a rush on third and short.
1:39 With Edwards and Crabtree both out of the game, expect lots of two tight end formations.
1:39 Now cornerback Tramaine Brock has a left hand injury and his return is questionable.
1:42 On 1st & 15 Alex Smith completes a shovel pass to Gore, who runs for 11 yards. Smith had Morgan wide open down field but didn’t see him. Still, the Niners got a good gain.
2nd Quarter
1:44 On 3rd and inches, Alex Smith hands it off to Anthony Dixon, who blows through the line and almost breaks away completely, but Bradie James tackles him by the ankles at the last minute. 1st down at the Dallas 41. The Niners are on the move.
1:44 Anthony Spencer comes unblocked and sacks Alex Smith for a 9 yard loss. Ran right threw Anthony Davis and Vernon Davis.
1:48 On 3rd and 10 Dallas shows blitz. Smith recognizes it, calls an audible, motions Gore to the left for added protection, then completes a long first down to Ted Ginn Jr. That was the play of the year so far for Alex Smith.
1:50 Two plays later, Alex Smith lines up in the shotgun and Goodwin fires the snap over his head. Smith, feeling confident after that pass to Ginn, picks up the ball and runs all the way around to the right, finds Frank Gore in the end zone and fires a pass to him. Gore doesn’t catch it, but he’s interfered with.
1:52 Two plays later, Frank Gore rushes up the middle for a 1 yard touchdown. 7-0 Niners. What an impressive drive. Alex Smith certainly has not shown a glass jaw so far.
1:59 On 3rd & 8 Vic Fangio calls a corner blitz, and Carlos Rogers blasts Romo in his blindside as he throws. The pass falls incomplete, and Romo lays on the field for a few seconds, slightly shaken up. Another 3 & out for the Niners D, which looks very strong. Definitely a better D than Dallas today.
2:04 On 3rd & 5 Alex Smith gets great pass protection and completes a 12-yard first down pass to Joshua Morgan.
2:07 Next series, 3rd & 5, Dallas bring another blitz, Alex Smith rolls right and hits Morgan again for a 10-yard first down. The Niners are outcoaching the Cowboys.
2:10 3rd & 6, Alex Smith lines up in the shotgun and throws to his first read, Kyle Williams, who makes an unbelievable catch in the end zone. Great hands, great job keeping his feet in bounds. The entire press box just gasped. 14-0 Niners.
2:15 Here’s Alex Smith’s line: 10 for 13, 103 yards, 1 TD, 124.8 rating. He’s playing the game of his life.
2:17 The Niners D forces Dallas into it’s third straight three and out. The Niners are dominating Dallas.
2:19 Backup end Jason Hatcher blows by Joe Staley and Mike Iupati to sack Smith. Loss of 9.
2:20 Next play, 3rd & 19, Alex Smith hands off to Frank Gore, who runs up the middle for a gain of 1. No surprise there. Here comes the ball control offense.
2:27 Miles Austin jooks Tramaine Brock at the line, catches a quick pass from Romo, jooks Reggie Smith down field, then sprints 53-yards for a touchdown. I doubt we’ll see anyone but Rogers cover Austin for the remainder of this game. And Reggie Smith doesn’t look right. He can’t change directions quickly. 14-7 Niners.
2:30 First play of the drive, Dallas brings the house and Smith completes a quick pass to Vernon Davis, who sheds two tacklers and runs 12 yards for a first down. Good run after the catch there for Davis.
END OF THE FIRST HALF
The Niners will get the ball to start the 2nd half.
Alex Smith’s passer rating for the first half was 116. 4.
Cowboys radio is saying that both Tony Romo and Jason Witten have bruised ribs.
3rd Quarter
2:49 The Niners offensive line had real trouble blocking for Alex Smith on that three and out to start the 2nd half. On first down Chilo Rachal got pushed back into the pocket, and on 3rd and long Anthony Spencer swam right around Joe Staley, forcing Alex Smith to step up and take a sack from Jason Hatcher.
2:51 Jon Kitna is in the game for the injured Romo, who’s been examined by four trainers on the sideline.
2:53 Jon Kitna completes a 12-yard pass to Jason Witten, who was being covered by nobody. First down Dallas.
2:54 Kitna completes a long pass to Ogletree, who broke away from Tarell Brown. Brown caught up, and Ogeltree stiff armed him in the face, a 15 yard penalty. Still, it’s a first down, and the momentum of the game has shifted to Dallas.
2:56 Jon Kitna throws ten feet over Jason Witten’s head, and Donte Whitner picks off the pass in the end zone. NaVorro Bowman had good coverage on the play. It looked like Dallas was going to tie the game, but now the Niners have reclaimed the momentum. They cannot afford to go three and out here.
3:01 Alex Smith throws an interception right to Dallas cornerback Alan Ball. Dallas ball at the SF 18. That pass right there is why the Niners ran the ball on third and long last week. Inexcusable pass.
3:04 Kitna completes a touchdown pass to Miles Austin in the back-right corner of the end zone. Madieu Williams was the closest Niner. Tie game. This is the time to judge Alex Smith’s “jaw.” How does he respond the series after throwing an interception?
3:08 Kendall Hunter picks the kickoff up at the 8 and returns it to the Dallas 49.
3:10 First play of the drive, Joe Staley gets beaten badly around the edge by DeMarcus Ware, who hits Alex Smith and almost forces a fumble. How did he hold on to that ball?
3:12 On 3rd & 12, Alex Smith throw underneath to Vernon Davis, who catches the pass but cannot turn upfield. He goes down easily. Another three and out for the Niners. Alex Smith is going to have to do much more.
3:19 On 3rd & 10, the Niners somehow forget to cover Jason Witten, and Jon Kitna hits him for a 20-yard gain. The Niners were in a zone coverage, if you want to call that coverage.
3:22 On third and five, Kitna targets Ogletree over the middle, but the pass gets tipped by Aldon Smith and Carlos Rogers, and Tramaine Brock picks the pass off.
3:23 Very next play, Alex Smith drops back, looks left, then looks right and hits Delanie Walker, who easily beat Anthony Spencer. Walker prances into the end zone after a 29-yard TD reception. 21-14 Niners. Beautiful play call. Big play for Smith too, who didn’t throw to the first guy he saw.
3:24 Tony Romo has a rib fracture, but he’s back in the game.
4th Quarter
Sorry for the lapse in coverage, my internet broke. It’s back, and so am I.
3:40 David Akers hits a 55-yard field goal. 24-14 Niners. That was the longest field goal in Candlestick history. 11:12 left in the 4th quarter. If Dallas is going to get back in this game they’re going to need to score some points on this drive.
3:46 Dallas center Phil Costa has left the game with a knee injury.
3:46 Ray McDonald pushes Kosier back into the pocket and then sacks Romo for a loss of five.
3:47 Another zone coverage, another big gain for Dallas. Romo hits Ogletree on a slant over the middle for a gain of 17 yards.
3:48 Another curious play call for the Niners D. Romo finds Austin matched up one-on-one with Tarell Brown. Austin easily beats him, catches the pass and picks up a first down.
3:50 On 3rd & 5 Romo throws to Witten, who’s covered beautifully by Carlos Rogers. Incomplete. Next play Romo throws to Witten again, who’s being covered by Whitner this time. Complete for 9 yards and a touch down.
3:52 Next play, another zone, Miles Austin gets past Carlos Rogers who thought he had help over the top from Madieu Williams, except he didn’t have help. Austin catches a 25-yard pass for a touchdown. The play is under review, but it looks like a touchdown to me. No part of Austin hit the ground as he lunged for the end zone. 24-21 Niners with 6:55 to go in the 4th quarter. 9 plays, 80 yards, 4:17 on that drive.
Comments are closed.