Week 2 Recap: Dallas (27) @ SF (24)

This match-up may have been a sure-thing win for Dallas on paper, but when it came down to it, The Cowboys needed everything they could muster to pull off a victory, including an overtime field goal.

The opening drive seemed like something straight out of last season, 14 plays, wasting 2 timeouts and driving all the way to the 3 yard line when newbie, Dan Bailey, missed the 21 yard field goal. What a whammy.

The rest of the first half was almost as bad... The 49ers managed two touchdowns which started the despair with a score of 0-14 and a real possibility of losing to a mediocre San Fransisco team. Dallas' offense just couldn't get rolling, with a 3 and out, after 3 and out, after 3 and out. Luckily late in the second quarter, Romo connected with Miles Austin on a slant for a 53 yard TD which brought the game back within reach at 7-14 going into the half.

To start the third quarter, things started looking rough again, Romo appeared to be out for the rest of the game with a fractured rib which he apparently injured early in the game (also Felix Jones was hampered with a dislocated shoulder.) Kitna came in the game and ended his drive with an interception. Alex Smith followed suit and threw an interception on the next drive and thankfully Kitna took advantage of great field position and threw a 5 yard touchdown pass to Miles Austin, tying the game up at 14.

San Fran and Dallas went back and forth, 49ers punted and then the next drive, Kitna was driving down the field nicely when he threw another interception. Alex Smith responded with a touchdown pass putting the 49ers back in the lead 14-21.

Something special happened after that... Tony Romo, who sideline reporters were telling us would be out for the rest of the game, asked for his helmet and then marched onto the field. Although his first series back resulted in a punt, you could tell the team was influenced by his courage.

Heading into the 4th quarter, San Fransisco managed a field goal and took a 14-24 lead. Romo came back in again and drove down the field, ending with an amazing Miles Austin dive for a 25 yard touchdown. 21-24.

The defense held strong and forced a 49ers punt and Romo came in driving down the field once again, thanks to some clutch catches by Miles Austin and none other than '4th and long' reality show winner, Jesse Holley. They were not able to put up 6 on the drive, but Dan Bailey redeemed himself from the missed 21 yard field goal by knocking threw a 48 yarder with :04 left on the game clock and sending them into overtime.

Dallas lost the coin toss and was forced on defense to start OT. The defense held up yet again, forcing SF to punt. On the first play of the drive for Dallas, Romo connected with a streaking Jesse Holley, who ran for 77 yards and ended up on the 1 yard line. Although they were tempted to run it in, they decided the smart move would be to kick a field goal. Dan Bailey, who missed the first 21 yard field goal of the game lined up ready to kick the game winning 19 yard field goal, and... SUCCESS, it was good. Dallas 27 - SF 24.



Other Things I Forgot to Mention:

- Jason Witten, for the second straight game, had over 100 yards receiving.
- Sean Lee led the team with tackles again, racking up 8 tackles and 2 assists... he currently leads the NFL in tackles through 2 games.
- Demarcus Ware added 2 more sacks to the 2 he had last week. Jason Hatcher also had 2 sacks. Anthony Spencer and Jay Ratliff each had 1.
- Miles Austin had a career day with 3 TD's and 143 yards, but he re-injured his hamstring and didn't play in OT.
- Felix Jones separated his shoulder early in the game but still played throughout, although the running game was not very effective regardless.
- I'm sure there's more but that's all I remember right now...