SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Are this year's San Francisco 49ers like 2020 or do they have the grit of the 2021 squad?

That question was at stake before Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys. Would the 49ers suffer under the weight of all the injuries they suffered in the first half of the season – their fate in 2020, the last time they suffered a Super Bowl loss? Or would they stay afloat long enough to be as successful in the late season as they were the following season? At the halfway point of the year, the 49ers were just a mediocre team before they really took off and made it to the NFC Championship Game.

They seemed to find their footing again on Sunday against the Cowboys, especially during an explosive third quarter in which they outgained Dallas 167 yards to 16 and outscored them 21-0.

It was the most dominant game they have ever experienced this season, the closest they have come to their best-in-the-NFC 2023 self. And although they stumbled in the fourth quarter and had to hold on for a 30-24 win, the win puts them at 4-4 and a three-way tie in the NFC West, heading into a bye.

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In 2021, the 49ers began snapping up Deebo Samuel in the backfield, calling him a “wideback” and using his aggressive style to fuel their second-half surge.

Samuel was in that position again on Sunday.

At the beginning of the work week he was in the hospital with pneumonia. Kyle Shanahan said he was initially skeptical that Samuel, who was just released Tuesday, would be in uniform against the Cowboys. But he ran a little on Wednesday, took a few snaps in quick practice on Thursday, did a little more on Friday and on Saturday he told his head coach he felt great.

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When Sunday's game began, it looked like we were back in 2021. Samuel was back in the backfield, including on third-and-6 on the first drive when he rolled out in a pass pattern and was caught by a linebacker, Mychal Kendricks , was covered. Brock Purdy recognized the mismatch and hit Samuel for a 47-yard gain, setting up the first of three Anders Carlson field goals.

Called one for Deebo 🎯

📺 #DALvsSF on NBC
NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/CqR5KVGsvI

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 28, 2024

Samuel finished with 86 total yards, but also suffered a new rib injury that knocked him out of the contest in the fourth quarter. Still, teammates said having him on the field was a huge confidence boost, especially since the team was playing without Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings.

“We’re a different team when he’s on the field,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “I was so happy to see him out there today.”

In 2021, Samuel was one of the team's few playmakers. On Sunday he had help.

One was a familiar face. George Kittle was among the many 49ers who entered the game with an injury, a sprained foot that kept him out of Wednesday's practice. It was Kittle who helped the 49ers in the crucial third quarter, most notably with a catch-and-run play in which he fended off two tackles and gained 43 yards. The play set up Isaac Guerendo's 4-yard touchdown run, the first of the season for the rookie.

That was another theme Sunday — big contributions from the team's offensive rookies. Guerendo finished the game with 85 yards, including another slide just short of the end zone to run out the clock at the end of the game, while wideout Ricky Pearsall, filling in for Jennings, had 38 receiving yards in the fourth quarter and another 39 on an end run had.

Ricky was MOVIN!@S1ickSzn

📺 #DALvsSF on NBC
NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/EHkktKnyhe

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 28, 2024

Guerendo has allowed the 49ers to remain at the position while they wait for Christian McCaffrey, who the team expects to be back after the bye. The rookie seems to be gaining in confidence and speed every week. During a series in the second quarter, he gained a 19-yard gain, followed by a 12-yard gain and then another 19-yard gain that was called back for a holding penalty. The 49ers played most of the game without tailback Jordan Mason, whose shoulder injury aggravated late in the first quarter but still gained 223 yards on the ground Sunday.

Shanahan said the team believed in Guerendo early on because he was so coachable. The team's running backs coach, Bobby Turner, is very old-school in his approach and was not careful in his criticism of the rookie. Instead of shying away or shying away from the hard training, Guerendo embraced it and got better.

“I think for me it was important to understand the speed of the game and be able to play faster,” Guerendo said. “I sort of took that and applied it. That was the greatest thing of all.”

Aside from the 2020 season, the 49ers have been strong following their midseason byes. For example, last year they were in the midst of a three-game losing streak before emerging with a decisive win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and then catapulting themselves to the No. 1 seed in the NFC. That will be much harder to achieve this season, and winning a crowded division is the most likely path to the postseason.

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Still, Sunday's game gives them momentum, optimism and a chance to heal.

Warner said his ankle sprain in Week 4 never fully went away. He said he seemed to find a way to mess it up every week. Samuel, Kittle and Jennings will also enjoy having a week off from football.

“Saying goodbye will help me tremendously,” Warner said. “That’s just how the NFL is, man. It's rare that you can stay healthy all the time. I look at guys out there doing their best and being crazy. I'm talking about George Kittle. It seems like every week he's broken, but he still goes out there and gives his balls.”

The team also expects to receive reinforcements in all three phases sometime next month: McCaffrey at running back, Dre Greenlaw and Yetur Gross-Matos on defense and Jake Moody on special teams.

All of this should be cause for another run in the second half if the 49ers can correct the mistakes that caused them problems in the first half.

Warner said: “After the bye it’s 0-0. We're at .500 right now. We have everything ahead of us. We can be whatever we want. We have everything we need.”

(Top photo by Deebo Samuel: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images)