SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Maybe there's something to these Dallas Cowboys.

With more than $45 million of their salary cap -- Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith and Orlando Scandrick -- on the bench Sunday because of injuries, the Cowboys beat the San Francisco 49ers, 24-17.

A year ago, the Cowboys could not do anything without Romo, let alone three other absent starters, on their way to a 4-12 finish. This year, they have a three-game winning streak, their longest since 2014.

Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott has a fourth-quarter comeback and a two-touchdown game in his first two wins, and on Sunday he led the Cowboys back from a two-touchdown deficit.

The 49ers looked dominant after two drives to take a 14-0 lead, but Prescott threw second-quarter touchdown passes to Terrance Williams (20 yards) and Brice Butler (4 yards to tie the score by halftime). In the end-of-half drive, Prescott completed 8 of 10 passes before sprinting to his left to find Butler -- starting for Bryant -- for his first touchdown catch as a Cowboy.

Ezekiel Elliott became the fourth rookie in Cowboys history to post back-to-back 100-yard games, taking over Sunday's contest after the 49ers lost linebacker NaVorro Bowman to a leg injury. With Bowman out, Elliott carried six times for 50 yards before bulldozing his way into the end zone to give the Cowboys their first lead of the game.

Elliott finished with 138 yards on 23 carries, joining Calvin Hill (1969), Julius Jones (2004) and DeMarco Murray (2011) in the team's record books.

But to ice the game, the Cowboys needed one of their most disappointing draft picks of the Jerry Jones era. Morris Claiborne intercepted a Blaine Gabbert pass with 10:38 to go, his first takeaway since Sept. 21, 2014.

Then, facing fourth-and-6 at the Dallas 32, Claiborne stopped San Francisco receiver Torrey Smith for a 3-yard gain.

Claiborne came back to the Cowboys on a one-year deal in free agency worth $3 million. It was a paltry sum for a player picked sixth overall in 2012, but the Cowboys are finally able to reap the benefits of that draft-day trade five years later.