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Cowboys vs. 49ers: The good, bad and ugly from preseason Week 1

By Peter Panacy

SANTA CLARA, CA - AUGUST 09: Leighton Vander Esch #55 and Justin March-Lillard #53 of the Dallas Cowboys tackles Marcell Harris #49 of the San Francisco 49ers in the second quarter of their NFL preseason football game at Levi's Stadium on August 9, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - AUGUST 09: Leighton Vander Esch #55 and Justin March-Lillard #53 of the Dallas Cowboys tackles Marcell Harris #49 of the San Francisco 49ers in the second quarter of their NFL preseason football game at Levi's Stadium on August 9, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CA – AUGUST 09: Rod Smith #45 of the Dallas Cowboys gets tackled by Jaquiski Tartt #29 of the San Francisco 49ers in the first quarter of their NFL preseason football game at Levi’s Stadium on August 9, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – AUGUST 09: Rod Smith #45 of the Dallas Cowboys gets tackled by Jaquiski Tartt #29 of the San Francisco 49ers in the first quarter of their NFL preseason football game at Levi’s Stadium on August 9, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

The Ugly

San Francisco’s first-team units didn’t look particularly great. And a number of injuries began to pile up early, which is about as ugly as it gets during the preseason.

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Injuries Galore

Solomon Thomas was one injury of note. Swing tackle Garry Gilliam suffered a head injury too. Linebacker Malcolm Smith, who was playing his first game in a 49ers uniform after missing all of 2017 (including the preseason) with a pectoral injury, exited with a hamstring issue.

Backup running back Matt Breida suffered a shoulder injury too.

Yet the worst of them all was tight end George Kittle, who appeared to suffer a serious collarbone injury. News is still pending, as this article is being written, but Kittle’s reaction coming off the field was consistent with those kinds of clavicle breaks.

Seeing how Kittle fell on his right arm, it’s not hard to see why.

Kittle was considered a prime breakout candidate for San Francisco this season, so one can only hope it’s nothing too serious.

The 49ers have a day off today, followed by a players’ day off Saturday. They’ll resume training camp practice on Sunday, Aug. 12 in preparation of their preseason Week 2 bout against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium, which kicks off Saturday, Aug. 18 at 8 p.m. ET.

dark. Next. Cowboys vs. 49ers: Live thread and analysis

And, as always, be sure to stay tuned to Niner Noise for all your training camp and preseason Niners breakdowns and analysis.