NFL teams
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

When it was close, DeMarcus Lawrence made the game-changing play

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Many will assume the Dallas Cowboys’ 40-10 win against the San Francisco 49ers was a laugher from the opening kickoff until the end, but it wasn’t.

The Niners were winless coming into the game, but their last five defeats were by a total of 13 points. They had shown the ability to overcome early deficits and make games close.

DeMarcus Lawrence made sure that did not happen Sunday.

With the Cowboys leading 20-3, the 49ers looked like they were going to score at least a field goal if not a touchdown in the final minute of the first half. Making the matter even more important, San Francisco would open the second half with the ball.

At the Dallas 5-yard line with 46 seconds to play, rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard thought he saw Marquise Goodwin breaking free for a touchdown.

“That was just like we practiced it all week,” Beathard said. “Got the right look, had everything. Marquise did a great job getting open.”

But before Beathard could make the pass, Lawrence beat left tackle Joe Staley and hit Beathard from the blind side for a 9-yard sack, jarred the ball loose and recovered the fumble.

“It wasn’t big enough,” Lawrence said. “I should’ve scored.”

Well, he did try to score, going the length of the field for what he hoped against hope was a touchdown.

“I mean, I heard them blow the whistle,” Lawrence said. “I just heard some dumb ass tell me, ‘Keep going.’ And I just kept going, so I guess I’m the dumb ass because I was tired.”

The play gave Lawrence 9.5 sacks for the season and ended a string of 239 straight plays without a takeaway for the defense. Before Lawrence’s fumble recovery, the defense last forced a turnover in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos.

“He’s been unbelievable all year,” linebacker Sean Lee said. “I mean, he’s played like an All-Pro and he’s really been the engine that’s made huge plays for us and got us going. I thought as a whole, the D-line played fantastic, made huge plays and we did a good job of improving areas we needed to improve.”

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