Page 10 - The Niners News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

The San Francisco 49ers got some needed help for their struggling defense, acquiring edge rusher Chase Young from the Washington Commanders for a conditional third-round draft pick. Two people with knowledge of the deal confirmed that Young was headed to San Francisco pending a physical following the trade agreed to before Tuesday's deadline. Young will team up with his former Ohio State teammate Nick Bosa to give the Niners (5-3) a formidable edge rushing duo and provide a needed boost for a team on a three-game losing streak.

Brock Purdy keeps giving the ball away, San Francisco's heralded defense is struggling to generate stops and the early season dominance for the 49ers is firmly in the past. The Niners stumbled for a third straight week, getting picked apart all game by Joe Burrow and failing to generate nearly enough offense in a 31-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday that sends San Francisco stumbling into its bye week. “It hurts,” Purdy said.

Dak Prescott just had his best game of the season in a second consecutive win for the Dallas Cowboys since they were blown out by San Francisco. The star quarterback knows as well as anybody that both victories, including 43-20 over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, won't do much to change the perception from the 42-10 loss to the Niners. Prescott also knows a victory this Sunday would change things.

The San Francisco 49ers showed they could win lopsided games when they raced out to a 5-0 start and were barely challenged in the second half in any of those games. Pulling it out down the stretch in a tight game has been a different issue. A few key mistakes have doomed San Francisco in tight losses the past two weeks against Cleveland and Minnesota.

ERS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Christian McCaffrey scored two TDs last week to move him into a tie for the league lead with 11 on the season. McCaffrey has scored a TD in his past 16 games in the regular season or playoffs, one shy of Lenny Moore's NFL record. McCaffrey's 13 career games with a TD catch and run are second most all time to Marshall Faulk's 15.