SF 49ers can’t overcome turnovers in crucial loss to Cowboys

For the second week in a row, key turnovers by the SF 49ers derailed any chances of a win, this time against a lowly Cowboys defense.

Any thoughts about the SF 49ers possibly being a playoff team this season seemed to take a massive hit in a must-win Week 15 game against the Dallas Cowboys, particularly early when things unraveled for the Niners in too-quick fashion.

The 41-27 Week 15 defeat on the road at the hands of the Cowboys revealed nearly every problem about San Francisco’s offense, while also highlighting just how much pressure the offensive ineptitude has put on coordinator Robert Saleh’s defense.

Both teams exchanged 3-and-outs on their opening possessions. But Dallas ended up forcing the first turnover when punt returner Richie James coughed up a return, setting the Cowboys up in the red zone, and that led to an early 7-0 Dallas lead with running back Tony Pollard rushing it in from 1 yard out.

Pollard, who was filling in for an inactive starter, Ezekiel Elliott, managed 69 yards on 12 carries for an average of 5.8 yards per attempt.

If the first turnover wasn’t bad enough, quarterback Nick Mullens being strip-sacked on San Francisco’s follow-up possession only put an exclamation point on the turnover woes head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad was enduring all season, again putting the Cowboys in prime scoring position.

That meant the SF 49ers committed at least two turnovers in eight consecutive games, which marked a woeful streak longer than any other dating back to 2008.

Dallas scored another touchdown off the second turnover, too, by the way to take a 14-0 early lead.

Shanahan committed to an uptempo offense the following possession, led by running back Raheem Mostert and ending with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Mullens to tight end Jordan Reed to make it 14-7:

Trailing 17-7 in the second quarter, running back Raheem Mostert continued his massive workload to help San Francisco get back in the game. Yet Dallas’ defense held enough backed up against the goal line to force a 4th-and-goal attempt from the 2-yard line where rookie wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk found pay dirt on a touchdown reception on quite the nifty play:

Aiyuk entered Week 15 with 660 receiving yards and needed 267 to reach a franchise record for a rookie receiver, 927, set by the Hall of Famer Jerry Rice back in 1985.

With 73 yards in the game, Aiyuk now trails Rice for that rookie receiving record by 194 yards with two games left to play.

San Francisco tied things up on its first possession in the third quarter. But Dallas answered back quickly with a touchdown of its own, stemming from a 45-yard catch by rookie wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and culminating in a 12-yard touchdown to tight end Dalton Schultz to make it 24-17.

Not a pretty two-play sequence by the SF 49ers defense, which saw safety Marcell Harris miss coverage on Lamb before cornerback Richard Sherman missed a touchdown-saving tackle on Schultz.

Yet the Niners’ subsequent 11-play drive was methodical enough, tying things up with a 1-yard run by running back Jeff Wilson Jr. after he relieved an injured Mostert.

Meanwhile, Mullens hadn’t thrown an interception during the game despite tossing one in each of the last five games. With just over 10 minutes remaining and buried deep in their own territory, Mullens continued that streak by getting picked off by Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson.

Fortunately for San Francisco, Dallas managed only a field goal off the turnover. But considering Mullens already had a 3.4 interception percentage entering the game — tied for worst among qualifiers entering Week 15 — it’s just one more mistake the SF 49ers could ill-afford to make.

The Cowboys scored 24 points off turnovers in the game, not unlike the Washington Football Team scoring two defensive touchdowns off Niners turnovers a week ago, which proved to be the difference in that game, too.

Yet Mullens’ second interception of the game late in the fourth quarter all but ensured San Francisco would lose it’s third consecutive contest, wiping any dim chances of both winning the game and getting into the postseason off the slate.

Even the SF 49ers’ last-gasp onside-kick attempt resulted in a Cowboys touchdown, although quarterback C.J. Beathard coming into the game late and tossing a 49-yard touchdown to wide receiver Kendrick Bourne was entertaining.

Injuries continue to bite the SF 49ers

Mostert’s injury was just one more setback to what’s been a franchise-record for players lost to injuries this season. He was already nursing a sore ankle and left in the second half.

Meanwhile, the Niners also lost EDGE Dion Jordan to a knee injury and safety Jimmie Ward to a concussion on a hit against Lamb. Early in the fourth quarter, it appeared as if San Francisco lost right tackle Mike McGlinchey, which was going to put more problems in front of Shanahan, as the team’s swing tackle, Justin Skule, was starting at right guard in the wake of other offensive line injuries.

While McGlinchey has taken a lot of heat this season for his pass-protection woes, the lack of other options mandated he get back into the lineup as soon as possible.

Fortunately, reports in the game stated he merely had the wind knocked out of him.

Yet the losses of Mostert and Ward, particularly, are going to make the SF 49ers’ final two games this season much more difficult to win.

And that’s only good for the “Team Tank” crowd with San Francisco’s 5-9 record.