49ers Open the Preseason With a Sloppy 17-9 Win Over the Cowboys

Earlier in the week, San Francisco 49ers' head coach Kyle Shanahan noted he'd prefer having just two preseason games to evaluate players. His comments foreshadowed an injury-laden game.

The 49er injuries started early in the game when tackle Shon Coleman was carted off the field with an ankle injury. Coleman was seeing his first live-action since the end of the 2017 season.

During an in-game interview, general manager John Lynch said that wide receiver Trent Taylor had surgery on a broken foot. Lynch noted the team expects Taylor to be back during the regular season.

In the post-game press conference, Shanahan said the surgery allows the injury to last four-to-six weeks, rather than eight-to-10.

Despite the injuries and 18 49er penalties for 216 yards, fans were treated to a sloppy San Francisco 49ers' preseason victory.

"Anytime you have a game where you have 18 penalties and the other team has five, you should look at it hard, and it's very hard to win that way," said Shanahan.

Quarterback Nick Mullens started for the 49ers behind an offensive line made up of second- and third-team players.

Veteran Wesley Johnson started at center in place of Weston Richburg, who is still listed on the physically unable to perform list.

Starting in place of guards Laken Tomlinson and Mike Person were left guard Daniel Brunskill and right guard Najee Toran. Sixth-round draft pick Justin Skule got the start at right tackle.

Toran left the game in the fourth quarter with a hand injury.

Mullens played the entire first half, finishing his day 11-for-17, 105 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He threw the interception on the 49ers' third possession.

Running back Brandon Wilds also saw action against Dallas, just hours after tendering a one-year deal with the 49ers. Wilds spent the 2016 training camp with Shanahan in Atlanta, though did not make the final cut.

Wilds had a long run up the middle, which set up a Jalen Hurd touchdown catch just before the five-minute mark in the second quarter. He finished the evening with six carries for 28 yards.

Third-year quarterback C.J. Beathard started the second half. His first possession was plagued by a handful of penalties, forcing the 49ers to punt at the 10-minute mark.

Later in the third quarter, he threw an interception to Dallas safety Donovan Wilson.

However, Beathard found Samuel running a vertical route up the left sideline with 1:30 left in the third quarter. The play gained 45-yards and set up Hurd's second touchdown catch of the game.

Shanahan was excited for Hurd's two-touchdown performance, and for capitalizing on opportunities.

"I thought both of them made some good plays, but I thought each one of them had a very bad play," said Shanahan. "I thought they threw a pick that was pretty easy to see. On Nick, the backside linebacker got it in zone, and for CJ a robber safety came down and got him. After that, I thought both of them played pretty well, and under a lot of duress, too."

Quarterback Wilton Speight took over for Beathard with roughly 7 minutes left in the game. On the previous series, Beathard took a big hit and got up from the turf shaking his hand. Shanahan confirmed Beathard hurt his thumb on the play.

Speight led a short drive which resulted in a 53-yard field goal from Robbie Gould.

Shanahan noted that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would play next week, and Beathard would play before Mullens.

The 49ers' offense racked up 340 total yards, with 89 yards on the ground and 251 yards in the air.

Samuel finished the night with two catches for 61 yards, and Hurd had three catches on five targets. He had 31 yards and two touchdowns.

"The game is not too big for Deebo," said Shanahan. "He's very competitive, he's a good wide receiver, and he's one of the more physical guys out there."

It was the same story for the defense, entering the game with few of the projected starters on the field.

Dallas was without the two-time rushing yards leader Ezekiel Elliot, allowing the 49ers to hold Dallas to 55 rushing yards.

Rookie linebacker Dre Greenlaw notched three tackles in a row during the Cowboys' first possession. In the second quarter, he drew a roughing the passer flag but followed it up with a textbook tackle-for-loss.

"He (Greenlaw) always seems to be around the ball in the run game and the pass game," said Shanahan. "From what I saw, he made a few plays out there, and I'm sure I'll see a little more when I watch the tape. It seemed pretty encouraging how he played tonight."

Greenlaw finished the game with five tackles, including one for a loss.

Late in the third quarter, defensive back Antone Exum Jr. strip-sacked Dallas quarterback Mike White, and the ball was recovered by 49er defensive lineman Jamell Garcia-Williams.

Unfortunately, the 49ers were flagged for an illegal contact penalty, nullifying the turnover.

Shortly after, safety Adrian Colbert was ejected from the game for a hit to a defenseless receiver.

Shanahan was asked about Colbert's hit after the game.

"We just gotta learn from it," said Shanahan. "I saw it live and it did seem like his helmet hit his chest and he led with his helmet, which is a penalty. It's unfortunate he got ejected. I know his intent - it's a bang-bang play, and he's playing fast and trying to stop them on third down. By no means is he trying to do that. But it's tough to run that fast and tackle people and keep your head back.

"We gotta learn from it, we gotta coach it, but it was tough for him to get ejected there."

The 49ers' defense finished strong, despite the multiple penalties. Halfway through the fourth quarter, 49er linebacker LaRoy Reynolds stripped the ball from White, which was recovered by Damontre Moore.

Dallas was able to reach deep into 49er territory and threatened to score, but the 49ers' defense shut Dallas down on four straight goal-to-go situations.

The 49ers have a few days off before traveling to Denver to hold a series of joint practices with the Broncos. Both teams face off on Monday, August 19 at 5 pm PDT.

• Bret Rumbeck
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  Bret Rumbeck
  Bret Rumbeck has been writing about the 49ers since 2017 for 49ers Webzone and 49ers Hub. He is a Turlock, CA native, and has worked for two members of the US House of Representatives and one US Senator. When not breaking down game film, Bret spends his time seeking out various forms of heavy metal. Feel free to follow him or direct inquiries to @brumbeck.
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