49ers-Cowboys pregame report: Samuel, Kittle playing; familiar referee at hand

SANTA CLARA – Deebo Samuel is back on the Levi’s Stadium field, slated to play in the 49ers’ game tonight against the Cowboys.

Breathing difficulties quickly sidelined Samuel in last Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs. Samuel subsequently spent two nights in a hospital for pneumonia-like symptoms that, according to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, came from inhaling dust via an electrical fan. Samuel was limited Thursday and Friday to warrant a questionable status for this game.

Also questionable but playing is tight end George Kittle, who will play through a foot sprain in customized cleats recognizing his stature as a founding father of National Tight Ends Day. Kittle scored three touchdowns last October in the 49ers’ 42-10 rout of the Cowboys.

Also questionable were safety George Odum (knee) and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (illness).

Out for the 49ers are wide receiver Jauan Jennings (hip), defensive tackle Kevin Givens (groin) and kicker Jake Moody (ankle). Also inactive are emergency quarterback Joshua Dobbs, linebacker Jalen Graham, cornerback Rock Ya-Sin and offensive lineman Ben Bartch.

Among those out for the Cowboys are defensive end Micah Parsons, cornerback Daron Blend and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips.

RECEIVING CREW

Brock Purdy may have Samuel and Kittle to target but unavailable are wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Jennings. Aiyuk is on injured reserve due to last Sunday’s season-ending knee injury (torn ACL and MCL in his right knee). Jennings is out a second straight game with a hip issue he’s expected to return from after next week’s bye.

Other wide receivers available: Ricky Pearsall, Chris Conley, Jacob Cowing and Ronnie Bell. That group, along with Samuel, have combined for one touchdown (by Samuel) and 28 catches and 432 yards; Purdy has thrown nine touchdown passes among 138 completions (1,841 yards).

FAMILIAR FACE REFFING

Longtime referee Bill Vinovich is working tonight’s 49ers-Cowboys game, as he did the 2022 season’s divisional playoff the Niners won. And … he was the ref for their two Super Bowl losses to the Chiefs as well as last Christmas’ loss to the Ravens.

PICTURESQUE INTRO

NBC Sports’ “Sunday Night Football” intro is delivered by Walter Iooss Jr., a longtime photographer who took an iconic shot of “The Catch” in which Dwight Clark’s touchdown reception propelled the 1981 49ers to their NFC Championship Game win over Dallas. “I was focused on Joe Montana with a telephoto lens (from the end zone), but when he released the ball towards me, I took the other camera around mY neck with the 50-millimeter and just started shooting. And ‘The Catch’ was born,” Iooss says. “Every time the Cowboys and Niners play, of course, I think of that game, that photo.

“These teams now are teetering on the edge, desperate to show they still belong in the conversation. Hey, you never know, maybe we’ll get another glimpse at perfection on Sunday night.”

T.O. 2.0 HONORED

Rookie wide receiver Terique Owens won scout-team player of the week honors this week, helping the 49ers prepare for one of his father Terrell’s former teams. When the elder Owens famously celebrated two touchdowns by rushing to the Cowboys’ midfield star in a 2000 win at Dallas, he did so a day before his son’s first birthday.

The 49ers suspended Terrell Owens a game and levied a $24,294 fine for those 2000 actions. Terique Owens, 25, is making $12,500 per week on the practice squad, to which the undrafted rookie and Fremont native was signed Oct. 2 after being waived Aug. 7 with a fractured finger.

Terrell Owens was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018, in his third year of eligibility. He is also a member of the 49ers’ Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. Hall of Fame, having launched his career with the team from 1996-2003 before continuing with the Eagles (2004-05), the Cowboys (2006-08), the Bills (2009) and the Bengals (2010).

KICKER, SAFETY MOVES

Safety Adrian Amos is poised to make his 49ers debut after getting called up alongside kicker Anders Carlson from the practice squad. Amos, who will wear No. 35, provides veteran depth behind starting safeties Ji’Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha.

Amos is a 10th-year veteran who played four seasons in both Chicago and Green Bay before splitting time last season between the New York Jets and the Houston Texans, where he played under former 49ers defensive coordinators Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans.

Carlson will make an encore and perhaps his final appearance, as the 49ers expect Jake Moody (ankle) to return after the bye for their Nov. 10 visit to Tampa Bay. Carlson made his two field-goal attempts last Sunday (55 and 24 yards) before missing a point-after kick off the left upright that could have pulled the 49ers within 14-13 in the third quarter.

COOK JOINS COWBOYS

Running back Dalvin Cook was elevated Saturday from the Cowboys’ practice squad for his debut today, after six games on the sideline. Cook could boost the NFL’s lowest-ranked rushing attack (77.2 yards per game) that has struggled with Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, Hunter Luepke and Deuce Vaughn. “Dalvin Cook will give them something back there that they’ve been missing the last couple of weeks,” ex-49ers receiver Randy Moss said on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown.”

Cook, 29, played six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings; last season, he ran for just 214 yards in 15 games before the New York Jets waived him, and he then ran for 23 yards in his lone postseason appearance for the Baltimore Ravens. Where Cook might hurt the 49ers most is in the short-passing game. He has 236 career receptions for 1,872 yards and five touchdowns.

The Cowboys added cornerback Amani Oruwariye to the 53-man roster in place of tight end John Stephens Jr., who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Wednesday’s practice.

LAMB RESPONDS TO AIKMAN

Cowboys star receiver CeeDee Lamb expressed a willingness to build off “constructive criticism” this past week from former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, who critiqued Dallas’ “terrible” route running and “lazy” actions.

“Me as a leader, I obviously take it in,” Lamb told NBC’s Jason Garrett, the former Cowboys coach. “You gotta work. I use it as a building block. If you say those out routes are lazy, things of that sort, let’s go out here every week. And I’m gonna show you that my routes. So, personally, I take that as constructive criticism. You can’t really take everything personal in this realm of work that we do, especially things that we can control. So if we can control it, let’s go out here, work at it, and continue to get better. For me, I’ll go work, I’m a hard worker. So anything that you say that I’m not doing, I’m going to show you that I am doing it.”

GAME NOTES

The 49ers are wearing their red jersey, white pants throwback look from their 1995 team’s NFC Championship win over the Cowboys at Candlestick Park. … The 49ers lead the all-time series with Dallas 20-19-1, including the Cowboys’ 5-4 advantage in playoff games. … Each team has five Super Bowl wins. … The Cowboys lead in divisional titles (25-22), playoff appearances (36-29), and Pro Football Hall of Fame players (32-29), according to NBC Sports. … Dak Prescott is 4-1 in his last five “Sunday Night Football” games and 13-8 all-time on that stage.