Twice they had a first-and-goal at the 4.

Twice they settled for a field goal.

"That's always going to come back to bite you,'' coach Mike Singletary said.

The Dallas Cowboys chomped immediately, with Terrell Owens going 75 yards on an earth-shifting touchdown catch. And the Cowboys kept chewing away en route to a 35-22 victory at Texas Stadium.

Owens finished with 213 receiving yards, the second-highest total of his career, trailing only the 283 he had for the 49ers in 2000.

"I told you've guys that I've been successful everywhere I've been, and I've been consistently involved in the offense,'' Owens said. "When I get my hands on the ball, things happen. It's not a mystery."

In the quiet of the 49ers locker room, it was tough to tell what was more painful for the 49ers to let slip away: those early chances or Owens.

Quarterback Shaun Hill grimaced when asked about the offense sputtering at the goal line. In a combined six plays from inside the Dallas 5, the 49ers totaled a minus-1 yard.

Hill had four incomplete passes; Frank Gore had one carry for no gain and another for a loss of 1.

Kicker Joe Nedney nailed kicks of 23 and 22 yards, but 6-0 should have been 14-0.

"That makes a huge difference,'' Hill said of the momentum shift. "It changes the game dramatically."

The Cowboys, in contrast, made it look easy. On the drive after the 49ers' second field goal, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo escaped pressure and launched the ball toward Owens.

Owens caught the ball in stride, and when Nate Clements tried to tackle him, Owens simply dragged the cornerback into the end zone with him for a 75-yard touchdown catch. Owens' longest catch of the season gave Dallas a 7-6 lead with 13:54 to play in the second quarter.

"I can play,'' Owens said, as if revealing breaking news.

Unlike previous opponents, who slowed Owens with press coverage, the 49ers felt comfortable playing off. This did not prove wise. Owens hadn't had a 100-yard game since last Nov. 29. Against Clements, he had two 100-yard games in one day.

Owens averaged a staggering 30.4 yards on his seven catches. He hadn't totaled more than 38 yards in a game since Oct. 5. Opponents were jamming Owens at the line of scrimmage and bringing a safety over the top.

Why didn't the 49ers do that?

Singletary said their game plan called for a mix of coverage, playing some press and some off. He acknowledged that Clements surrendered some big plays but defended the high-priced cornerback overall.

"I would say that Nate can cover (Owens) all over the field,'' he said.

After Owens' long touchdown catch, things unraveled. The 49ers started their next drive at the 16-yard line. But consecutive sacks of Hill forced the 49ers to punt out of their end zone. Cowboys linebacker Carlos Polk swooped in to block Andy Lee's punt for a safety, giving Dallas a 9-6 lead.

Hill said the 49ers offense should have given Lee a break by at least getting a first down. But such movement was a struggle, at least when the score was close, because the Cowboys did a terrific job of bottling up Gore.

The 49ers' best offensive player had just 14 carries for 26 yards.

"I think we did a great job of making them one-dimensional,'' Dallas linebacker Zach Thomas said. "Singletary wants to get the running game going, and they never could."

Hill's third start resulted in his first career 300-yard game (303, officially) and a 100.9 quarterback rating.

But, like his predecessor J.T. O'Sullivan, Hill played a role in two painful turnovers. He and center Eric Heitmann misfired on the snap late in the second quarter, and Dallas recovered the fumble at the 49ers 19. That set up a 1-yard touchdown catch by Martellus Bennett and a 22-6 lead.

In the third quarter, after 49ers linebacker Manny Lawson recovered a loose ball at the Cowboys 17-yard line, Hill immediately turned the ball back with an underthrown pass in the end zone that was picked off by Anthony Henry.

Singletary said: "I don't know exactly what happened on it. I just know it was a bad throw."

The mistake was one of the many lapses Singletary singled out. The 49ers are playing with heart, Singletary said. Now they just need their brains to catch up.

"We have to play smarter than we played today, and that's why we lost,'' he said. "With all the things that Dallas can do and the talent that they have on their team, you can't afford not to play smart."

Contact Daniel Brown at dbrown@mercurynews.com