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The San Francisco 49ers needed a win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night to avoid falling below .500 and falling out of the NFC West standings. Despite the Cowboys’ late-game surge, the 49ers were able to win 30-24.

San Francisco hopes this win will add momentum to the second half of the season. The team, which entered the bye week with a 4-4 lead, has yet to win consecutive games this season.

Defender: “This was not the start of the season we wanted” Fred Warner He told NBC Sports Bay Area after the game: “We lost a few players early and had some injuries, but I don’t think that’s an excuse. We’ve got to continue to get better as a group. It’s not about the fluctuation in getting up one game and then losing one.” .

“We have to continue to get better and that’s what we’re focused on going into the bye week, getting healthy, hopefully getting some players back and being the best version of ourselves going forward.”

49ers are eyeing two key players at running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Jauan Jennings– to return to training in the bye week. McCaffrey has been sidelined all season with Achilles tendinitis, while Jennings has missed the last two games with a hip injury.

Warner expressed disappointment with the defense’s performance late in Sunday’s game as they allowed the Cowboys to take a 27-10 lead in the fourth quarter.

“Obviously, especially defensively, we made it a game when it didn’t need to be,” Warner told reporters in the postgame media. “They’re freebies that they don’t have to earn. You know, 88 (CeeDee Lamb) is wide open, their best player. We can’t let that happen.”

“We got ourselves into that situation and so we had to extricate ourselves. The important thing was to go out there and finish the game, and that’s what we did.”

Warner attributed many of the defensive lapses to miscommunication, which has led to many late-game breakdowns this season. Despite these difficulties, he believes that the team has the potential for promotion in the second half of the season.

The 49ers’ next game is on November 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.