Niners Nation
The 49ers have seen multiple leads erased this season. That needs to change in the second half.
The San Francisco 49ers pulled off a 30-24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday, improving to 4-4 ahead of their bye week, which comes at a much-needed time as the team nurses a number of injuries.
It was a game where the 49ers came out slow, losing 10-6 at halftime, but exploded with a 21-point third quarter to give the team a comfortable lead heading into the final quarter.
But, as the team has done on numerous occasions this year, the 49ers found themselves in a competitive game in the final moments, as Dallas sprung back with two touchdown drives in the fourth to put themselves within one score, even getting the ball back with 3:05 left with a chance to win the game.
Ultimately, the defense, who had given up back-to-back 70-yard touchdown drives, held together, forcing a turnover on downs, and San Francisco ran the clock out for their fourth win of the season.
Losing leads in the fourth quarter has been a theme for San Francisco this year, as they’ve really struggled to finish games, leading to a sub-optimal record at 4-4 thus far. In fact, San Francisco is just 1-3 in one-score games this year, with their lone win coming this weekend against the Cowboys at home.
Back in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams, the 49ers were in a prime position to put the game away. They entered the fourth quarter up a touchdown with the ball, driving deep in Los Angeles territory. San Francisco ultimately went up two scores, kicking a field goal in the red zone to go up 24-14 with just under 12 minutes left in the game.
From there, the collapse started. San Francisco gave up a field goal, missed one of their own, gave up a touchdown, punted, and gave up the game-winning field goal on the ensuing drive to lose 27-24 in one of the ugliest regular-season games of the Kyle Shanahan era.
A similar story followed just two weeks later, as the 49ers seemed in control against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5, going into halftime with a 23-10 lead. San Francisco had a chance for even more points, but three field goals gave them a comfortable 13-point lead at halftime.
From there, the collapse started, similar to in the Rams game. San Francisco had an interception and a turnover on downs, but still entered the fourth quarter with a 23-13 lead as Arizona was driving down the field.
The Cardinals ultimately scored a touchdown to make it a one-score game, to which the 49ers responded with a fumble in the red zone. Arizona promptly drove down the field for the go-ahead field goal, and San Francisco couldn’t recover, as Brock Purdy threw an interception that sealed the deal for the 49ers.
Those were two ugly losses where San Francisco had the game firmly in their hands, but couldn’t...
