NFL

McCaffrey scores late as 49ers down Chargers with dominant second half

By Sports Desk November 13, 2022

The San Francisco 49ers had a dominant second half to end the Los Angeles Chargers' dominance over them with a 22-16 victory at Levi's Stadium on Sunday.

The Niners' running game came to the fore in the second half, taking the lead for the first time with 7:54 remaining in the fourth quarter after Christian McCaffrey's touchdown.

San Francisco went 12-0 in the second half, turning around a 16-10 half-time deficit, ending the Chargers' five-game streak against them. The win means San Francisco claimed back-to-back victories to improve to 5-4, while the Chargers dip to 5-4 having lost two of their past three games.

The Niners enjoyed more possession, rushing for 157 yards compared to the Chargers' 51, with Elijah Mitchell (89 yards on 18 carries) and Deebo Samuel (27 yards on four carries) contributing well on their returns from injury.

Niners quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo completed 15 of 23 passes for 197 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, although he ran in a TD late in the first half.

Garoppolo linked up with Brandon Aiyuk, who had six receptions for 84 yards, on a 24-yard pass leading to McCaffrey's decisive rushing two-yard TD.

The Chargers scored on the opening drive of the game when QB Justin Herbert pinpointed DeAndre Carter on a 32-yard deep left pass.

In the final two minutes, a one-handed Josh Palmer could not reel in a desperate fourth-down pass from Herbert, who finished the game on 21-of-35 passing for 196 yards with one TD and one interception, before Robbie Gould made it a six-point game with a 20-yard field goal.

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    The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.

    Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

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    The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.

    Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

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    Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.

    He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

    Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.

    The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.

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    In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.

    There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.

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