SANTA CLARA -- The Dallas Cowboys did all they could to prepare for their "Sunday Night Football" clash against the 49ers, but they certainly didn't anticipate how deep San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan would dive into his bag of tricks.
The 49ers took a two-score lead in the second quarter Sunday at Levi's Stadium on a reverse flea-flicker touchdown pass from quarterback Brock Purdy to tight end George Kittle, catching the Cowboys off guard in the prime-time showdown.
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After a handoff to Christian McCaffrey, the running back tossed the ball to wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who then shot it back to Purdy. The signal-caller then found a wide-open Kittle for a 38-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead after the successful extra point.
The play turned out to be all the more consequential after Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott marched his team down the field for a 78-yard scoring drive on the next possession, cutting the 49ers' lead in half. San Francisco answered back, however, and went up 21-7 on a 1-yard McCaffrey touchdown.
The Cowboys said leading up to Sunday's game that former 49ers quarterback Trey Lance, who was inactive in the Week 5 matchup, would help his new team prepare to face San Francisco.
But even Lance couldn't have seen the 49ers' trickery coming.