2021 Playoffs: Cowboys’ season comes to anti-climactic end with 23-17 loss to 49ers

The Cowboys were outplayed, but gave themselves several chances to win in the fourth before coming up short. | From @KDDrummondNFL

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwens7sctqdrqg player_id=none image=https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

After a torrid start to the 2021 season, the Dallas Cowboys’ offense fell into a funk. Injuries and offensive line shuffling led to a lack of confidence in his protection and quarterback Dak Prescott’s performance began to slide downhill. There was much concern over this in Dallas, though not much to do but keep working on things until they got better. That’s why the team didn’t rest anyone in the season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles, hoping to get their mojo back.

It didn’t work. The same issues took the Cowboys down in their wild-card game against the San Francisco 49ers. Pre-snap penalties. Holding calls and general bad blocking happened first, an inaccurate and poor decision making Prescott followed. After a big-play, opening-drive touchdown by the 49ers put the defense on skates, they tried to buckle down however they couldn’t stop the bum rush boosted by the lack of successful drives by the offense. In the end, it was the end of the Cowboys’ season, falling 23-17 after a surreal, wild ending to a poorly-played performance.

Everything failed for the Cowboys in this contest, from coaching to player execution. Anyone looking for a microcosm to the issues found it in the fourth quarter when Dallas ran a successful fake punt, and then tried to double down. They kept the punt unit on the field, trying to trick the 49ers before running out their offense, only to get called for delay of game when the ref wouldn’t let them snap it to allow San Francisco to complete their substitution.

Dallas, trailing by 16 with 12 minutes left, kicked a 51-yard field goal to trim the score to 13, still two scores down.

The Cowboys did what they’ve done many times in the past, made a furious fourth-quarter comeback scoring 10 unanswered points and they got the ball back with a chance to go win it. However Dak Prescott’s fourth-down deep ball fell incomplete when Cedrick Wilson stumbled, giving the ball back to San Francisco.

The defense tried to come up with a stop to get one last try, but that was thrwarted when Randy Gregory was called for his third penalty of the game for defensive holding, tackling an offensive lineman behind the play.

It was the only way this game could go, Dallas setting their franchise record with 14 penalties. Only it didn’t end there. The Cowboys got a third-down stop, upon review, inches short of a clinching first-down for WR Deebo Samuel. Trying for a sneak to end the game, the referee finally called a false start on the 49ers, forcing a punt.

Prescott moved the ball down the field with three plays that got out of bounds, but with 14 seconds left Dallas tried to run a sneak. It worked, only the club couldn’t get the ball snapped to spike it for one try in the end zone.

The club never got to try their shot, after failing miserably to put themselves in a better position throughout the rest of the game.

And so Dallas moves on to the offseason, with potential coaching changes, loss of free agents and several months to digest what went wrong.

 

WATCH: Prescott-Cooper connection stops Cowboys’ bleeding with TD

Dallas responded to the 13-0 deficit with a surgical touchdown drive, capped off by an Amari Cooper touchdown catch. | From @CDBurnett7

The Dallas Cowboys came out 100% flat to start their 2021 postseason and found themselves down 13-0 in the second quarter. Before the Cowboys’ third drive, the 49ers had ran 26 plays compared to Dallas’ 8 plays.

With the momentum against them, the Cowboys went to a physical attack with running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard trading carries and marching down the field for the first threatening Dallas drive. On a critical third down, quarterback Dak Prescott targeted the secondary and dropped it in a bucket to wide receiver Amari Cooper to stop the bleeding.

The touchdown drive was just what the doctor ordered for the Cowboys and the only third down they faced was the 20-yard touchdown to Cooper. Dallas now trails 13-7 with three timeouts and time to get the ball back and pressure San Francisco.

Cowboys’ Micah Parsons returns after early concussion scare

Early in the wild card game, Micah Parsons went to the medical tent but returned to the field at the end of the defensive drive. | From @CDBurnett7

The San Francisco 49ers came out swinging in AT&T Stadium with an effortless first drive touchdown without reaching third down. Coming off the quick score, the Dallas defense got pushed right back onto the field after a three-and-out from the offense and Linebacker Micah Parsons took a helmet-to-helmet hit on the 49ers’ second offensive drive.

Parsons was slow to reach the sideline and the trainers wasted no time helping him to the medical tent.

Without the All-Pro rookie, the Dallas defense stifled the 49ers offense to force a field goal attempt by Robbie Gould. In a breath of relief. Parsons returned to the field for the fourth down play, relieving concern about his status for the game.

Even though it’s an early 10-0 hole for the Cowboys, the return of Parsons gives more hope early in the wild card contest.

Wild-card Inactives: Cowboys, 49ers both almost full go

The Cowboys are close to 100% for their wild card matchup with the 49ers but Keanu Neal is inactive after injuries suffered in Week 18. | From @CDBurnett7

The Cowboys’ postseason opener is here and they’re near 100% as a unit as they begin their playoff run. After a week of rest, caution and COVID in Week 18, Dallas welcomes back running back Tony Pollard and left tackle Tyron Smith to the offense.

On the defensive side, safety Jayron Kearse was a full participant in practice and is active against San Francisco. The biggest absence for the Cowboys’ defense is linebacker Keanu Neal. Luke Gifford saw extra snaps in Week 18 and could see more against the 49ers in Neal’s absence.

Dallas has six inactives, including cornerbacks Nahshon Wright and Maurice Canady, setting up. a big day for Kelvin Joseph against the likes of Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Offensive guard Matt Farniok, wide receiver Simi Fehoko and nose tackle Quinton Bohanna round out the list.

For San Francisco, there was concern around All-Pro tackle Trent Williams’ status with an elbow injury but he’s active and will wear a brace against Dallas. Similar to the Cowboys, it’s all systems go with linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair also active after being questionable for the contest.

Running back Trey Sermon was activated this week from IR but is one of six inactive for San Francisco. The Cowboys-49ers rivalry is renewed and both teams will be almost fully healthy for their wild card matchup.

Cowboys Wire Podcast: Wild-card preview as Dallas takes on 49ers

A preview of what to expect when the Cowboys and 49ers rekindle their rivalry from the 80s and 90s. | From @KDDrummondNFL, @RyanO_Leary.

The Dallas Cowboys (12-5) are all set to begin what they hope will be a month-long journey to their sixth Lombardi trophy. It will be a series of tests which are only unlocked after the previous foe has been vanquished. Their first mission? Taking out the San Francisco 49ers (10-7).

The guys preview the marquee game on the NFL’s slate for wild-card weekend: Cowboys vs. 49ers. Topics include an age-old rivalry renewed, why the analytics love Kyle Shanahan, the formula to make life miserable for Jimmy Garoppolo and betting predictions against the spread and total. Hosted by Ryan O’Leary (@RyanO_Leary) with Cowboys Wire Managing Editor K.D. Drummond (@KDDrummondNFL).

Follow the Cowboys Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Coverage Links

[vertical-gallery id=691095][listicle id=691096][lawrence-newsletter]

‘Now we become legends’: Micah Parsons on cusp of postseason glory under watchful eyes of Cowboys icons

After crunching tape with DeMarcus Ware, the rookie phenom heard what Michael Irvin told the Dallas brass about him a week after the draft. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The lion is always hungry. And even as the table is being set for the biggest meal yet of his young career, Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons was feeding his appetite at a lunchtime film-crunching session with former Dallas sackmaster DeMarcus Ware.

Then the transcendent rookie sat down for a revealing long-form conversation with a group of ex-NFL stars to talk about the learning curve of his first year in the pros, how his rapid rise and pursuit of individual accolades has affected his play, and what reaching the postseason really means to him.

He also got an eye-opening confirmation of exactly where the bar for him has been set, after another Dallas legend, Hall of Fame wide receiver and three-time Super Bowl champ Michael Irvin, joined the chat to share a text he sent to the Cowboys brass shortly after Parsons joined the club.

Early in the week, Parsons and Ware met up at a Metroplex restaurant and broke down tape while breaking bread over a two-hour lunch. Ware appeared in eight postseason games over his 12-year career, including a Super Bowl win with Denver.

“He helped me [with] how to prepare the best so that way, I keep my head low and I can stay focused on the things I need to focus on,” Parsons said.

“He said, ‘You’re explosive off the line of scrimmage, but you’ve got to learn how to jump off the line and get a good jump on the count,'” Parsons relayed to reporters the day after his lunch meeting with Ware. “He was telling me about what to look for when you’re watching [tape]: all the tendency things, things that I kind of knew, but he kind of went into more detail on things.”

The 22-year-old has already established himself as a quick study this season. He wasted no time in putting Ware’s lessons to work in a film session with Cowboys linebackers coach George Edwards just hours later.

“I was watching film with George this morning; I kind of had a head start on it, and I was like, ‘Hey, you see that right there with the receiver when they run the toss?’ or whatever. He was like, ‘Oh yeah, you are getting it.’ I was like, ‘Yeah George, I’m paying more attention than you think, brother.'”

Parsons is definitely catching on, to just about everything that comes with playing defense in the NFL. He was named a first-team All-Pro this week, the only rookie so honored.

In a new episode of The Pivot podcast with ex-NFLers Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder, Parsons spoke at length about his willingness to set aside pride and ego, despite being a highly-sought-after first-round draft pick signed in the spring with the express intent of turning around a porous and soft Dallas defense.

Parsons made it clear from Day One with Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn that he was open to serious schooling, telling Quinn, “If I’m not doing something right, tell me.”

What he perhaps didn’t expect was to still be singled out after a season that has made Parsons practically a shoo-in for the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.

“So earlier this week,” Parsons said of Quinn, “he had three loafs [of mine] on film in practice.” I was like, ‘Practice.’ He was like, ‘Hey, you’re one of our better players. I need you locked in. This is not the example I need you to put on going into this 49ers game. You get me?’ I said, ‘I got you, Q.'”

The individual awards got into the rookie’s head at times this season. There were moments on the field when Parsons admittedly found himself thinking about adding to his stat totals.

“Sometimes you ride that borderline,” the Penn State product said on the podcast. “I found myself doing that toward the end. I was like, ‘I’ve got to have a good game if I want to keep sustaining what I’m doing.’ You never want to put yourself in a predicament where you’re choosing yourself over the team.”

Now Parsons has helped his team reach the tournament as the NFC’s No. 3 seed. And even though he was watching from home with COVID as the Cowboys closed out the 2021 regular season with a rout in a Philadelphia, the rookie immediately grasped the importance of the moment suddenly at hand.

“I texted Tre [cornerback Trevon Diggs] right after that Eagles game. I said, ‘We just became stars, and that’s cool. But now we become legends.’ This is where legends are made… Look at [NBA superstar] Reggie Miller, those type of guys. Great players, but they never got these, know what I mean?”

He was pointing to his ring finger as he said it. Parsons clearly understands what it’s all about.

And if it took Cowboys fans a little while to take notice of how special Parsons is, it took one of the greatest Cowboys of them all significantly less time.

The iconic Irvin surprised Parsons during the podcast. Over the course of the wide-ranging conversation, Irvin shared with the group a message he had sent to Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones. It came just a week after the team made Parsons the 12th overall pick, having to go to Plan C after many had felt the organization had been targeting- and missed out on- cornerbacks Patrick Surtain II or Jaycee Horn.

Irvin asked Clark to read the text out loud:

“‘Mark this as a blessing in disguise,'” Clark read. “‘I love the corners like Surtain, but I think- especially on defense- attitude and connectivity is most important. I know the attitudes, the personalities of the corners, and none–‘ none is capitalized, y’all; all big letters- ‘none of them have what Micah brings. Mark these words, buddy, you will see. There’s something special about this kid’s spirit that reminds me of me. Now we just have to make sure we keep the right people around him so he makes the right decision. Love you boss, and keep up the great work.’ That was May 7th. He didn’t write that today.”

So far, Irvin seems to have been spot-on in what he wrote about Parsons.

And now, with the help of two Cowboys legends, Parsons looks to write his own extended fairytale ending to what has already been a storybook season.

[listicle id=691069]

[listicle id=691065]

[listicle id=691019]

[lawrence-newsletter]

News and Notes: 49ers rivalry renewed, 4 Cowboys make All-Pro teams

Special Teams the key on Sunday? A review of the health index of each club and a look at the analytics behind the wild-card combatants. @CDBurnett7 brings the news roundup.

The NFL playoffs have arrived and the hype surrounding the rekindled rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers might be the biggest story for wild card weekend. Dallas is the favorite in this game but there’s much more to note about a scrappy 49ers team.

Predictions have the Cowboys winning it but the advanced statsspeak to how it’s a tough matchup for Dallas to open up the postseason. Luckily for the Cowboys, they’ve got some big pieces back.

Safety Jayron Kearse is off the COVID list, running back Tony Pollard is good to go, while Dallas returns a couple newly-announced All-Pro defenders after a game off in Week 18. It’s time to buckle up for the most important moment of the Cowboys’ season so far.

Pollard close to 100% as Cowboys’ final injury report only rules Neal out vs 49ers

Both clubs look like they are getting several key players back, but Dallas’ third linebacker won’t be part of the showdown. | From @AsaHenry_55

In what many are calling the game to watch on wild-card weekend, the 49ers visit Dallas to rekindle one of the NFC’s most storied playoff rivalries. Few things are as important as health when it comes to playing football into January, and only one Cowboy on the active roster will not be available for the matchup with San Francisco.

As they had been trending all week, on Friday key players like LT Tyron Smith, RB Tony Pollard and S Jayron Kearse were all designated as good to go for the first round of the playoffs. Only linebacker Keanu Neal was ruled out for the contest, citing chest and elbow issues suffered in the Week 18 win over Philadelphia.

Neal has played 61% of Dallas’ defensive snaps this year, and his absence leaves the Cowboys relatively thin at linebacker behind first team All-Pro Micah Parsons and Leighton Vander Esch.

Luke Gifford substituted for Neal, playing a career high 16 defensive snaps in the team’s most recent contest. Francis Bernard was activated from the Reserve/COVID list this week, and is the only other linebacker on the 53-man roster.

Smith missed weeks 15 and 16, returned for Week 17 against Arizona, only to land on the COVID list ahead of the season finale. He appears on the injury report with both knee and ankle ailments, but head coach Mike McCarthy said he’s not worried at all about his availability. Smith’s performance, along with the rest of the Cowboys offensive line, will be absolutely pivotal as they face one of the best defensive fronts in the league, featuring Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead and company.

The lightning to Ezekiel Elliott’s thunder in the running game, Pollard’s return completes the Cowboys offense, giving them a threat on the ground few teams can match and few defenses can contain.

Pollard is having a career year in virtually every statistical category, including his 5.5 yards per carry which ranks him second in the NFL among running backs. The former Memphis speedster is capable of scoring nearly every time he touches the ball, as evidenced by his 100-yard kickoff return for a score on Thanksgiving.

Pollard only missed Week 18 to rest his foot, but hadn’t had a full practice since December 2, until this week. Mike McCarthy noted Pollard looking like his usual self, stating, “Tony looks great. I think definitely the time off helped him, too. Tony looks like he’s back to 100%.”

Kearse, one of the unsung Cowboys heroes, returned from the reserved/COVID list this week and is a full-go for Sunday as well.

Currently third on the defense in snaps this year but leading them in tackles with 101, Kearse has surpassed all expectations that fans had for him entering the year. The first-year Cowboy has even been trusted to wear the green dot on his helmet, signifying that he handles communication with Dan Quinn for the defense. The former Clemson product, who can play traditional safety and also near the box like a linebacker helping to mitigate the loss of Neal. Kearse is a crucial piece of this Dallas team that needs all hands on deck to make the run the want to.

TE Sean McKeon (neck), and CB Nahshon Wright (personal) were also limited or non-participants early in the practice week, but neither carries a injury designation into Sunday.

Image

As far as the Cowboys opponents for Sunday are concerned, the 49ers are set to have the majority of their core players ready for the wild card, but they do feature four game-time decisions.

LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), S Talanoa Hufanga (knee), P Mitch Wishnowsky (concussion), and LB Marcell Harris (Achilles) are all questionable for San Francisco this week.

Al-Shaair, Hufanga, and Harris have all played significant defensive snaps this year, and Wishnowsky is the club’s starting punter, so these injuries will be important to monitor as Sunday approaches.

Four key 49ers, S Jaquiski Tartt (Groin), LB Dre Greenlaw (Groin), RB Elijah Mitchell (knee), and LT Trent Williams (elbow) were all full participants in Friday’s practice and carry no injury designation after being limited or absent earlier this week. Much like the Cowboys returning players, these four are critical pieces to San Francisco’s success, especially the first-team All-pro tackle in Williams.

[listicle id=690899][listicle id=690668][lawrence-newsletter]

From veterans to rookies, Cowboys embracing postseason: ‘It’s where you leave your legacy’

The Cowboys are trying to be business-as-usual, while ratcheting up the intensity for a playoff opportunity that doesn’t come around often. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy told his players immediately following the regular-season finale, “We’ve been talking about this since April. It starts right now. ”

Dak’s rehab. Minicamp. Oxnard. Preseason. Dak’s shoulder. Hard Knocks. Opening night. Zuerlein’s misses. Trevon’s assault on quarterbacks. Dak’s rust. Injuries. The suspension of La’el Collins. Undefeated October. Dak’s calf. Cooper Rush on Halloween night. The Hulk package. Dan Quinn’s dominant defense. November struggles. COVID. Bad refs. The rise of Micah. Dak’s slump.  Undefeated December. More Zuerlein misses. Comebacks. Redemption. Grit. Twelve wins. NFC East championship.

It was all just a prelude to the tournament that’s about to begin. The Cowboys’ 34th postseason appearance will mark the second-most among all NFL teams. But history and past success don’t carry over into the playoffs. As McCarthy has been saying since his players throttled the Eagles just a few days ago, “This is the start line.”

And although the team as a collective understands the do-or-die nature of every game from here on, each man wearing the star comes to Sunday’s start line with a slightly different perspective of what it all means to him.

“It means a lot. Just dreaming as a kid, watching all the games from I don’t know how long I’ve been watching football,” said wideout CeeDee Lamb, about to play in his first postseason game. “I try to put myself or envision myself in the position that those guys have played before me. It’s huge. For me to have this opportunity before me on Sunday is kind of unimaginable. Honestly, just because I can’t really believe it right now. It’s a surreal moment.”

For running back Ezekiel Elliott, Sunday’s tilt with the 49ers will mark his fourth playoff outing. He’s averaged 22 carries and 103 rushing yards per game across three previous postseason contests in 2016 and 2018.

“These big moments, this is where you’ve got to have your best performances,” Elliott shared. “These moments like this are what your career is remembered as. It’s where you leave your legacy. Just got to go out there and take advantage of the opportunity.”

Prescott has the same 1-2 postseason record as Elliott in a Cowboys uniform. He, too, grasps how rarely this opportunity presents itself to an NFL team.

“Being older now, being six years into this,” Prescott explained, “really just going back to not making the playoffs the years that we didn’t, and being hurt last year, that alone is enough that I don’t take any moment for granted. All the hard work and everything that you do is for these times and for these moments and for these games. I think, more than anything, it’s about sharing it with the young guys and the other guys that may not have been through the things that I’ve been through or been in the league as long, make sure they understand it’s a ‘now’ mentality.”

For a rookie like Parsons, who has taken the league by storm in his first pro seasons, he says he’s had that mentality for the entire 2021 campaign.

“To be honest, it’s just another game,” the 22-year-old linebacker said. “Another game where you’ve go to hone in on detail. Every game counted, ’til we got to this point. We’re the 3-seed going into this playoff game, and nothing’s new. Going to do the same preparation we’ve been doing all season. The only difference is, this will dictate if we’re going home or not. And I hope we’re not going home. This is going to be a good little stretch we’ve got, and I’m excited for it.

After a (mostly) successful 18-week grind, the Cowboys must walk that fine line between trying to maintain the businesslike approach that netted them a division title and a home playoff game and turning up the intensity this week with exponentially higher stakes on the line.

“I think you have to turn your excitement into mental excitement,” offered defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence. “Being excited to learn more, being excited to learn the opposite player you’re going against, learn the team that you’re going against, and also learn more about yourself and your team and how y’all can get better through those moments. Being quiet before the storm and waiting on Sunday and really unleashing the excitement.”

“I think you’ve got to stay in your routine,” said Elliott. “Definitely do a little bit more because it’s the playoffs, and every play is going to count. You never know when that opportunity is going to be when your number is called, so you’ve just got to stay within your routine, but do a little bit more just to make sure mentally that you’re ready.”

Being just a 3-point favorite in what is expected to be the closest game of the weekend, these Cowboys are under increasing pressure to go on a deep playoff run. The franchise has won just four postseason games in the last quarter-century. All of them have been first-round wild-card games at home.

But Prescott is among those still trying to keep an even keel leading up to kickoff.

“I do what I normally do,” Prescott said. “I don’t know necessarily why people have labeled the word pressure as such a bad thing, honestly. I think it creates high expectations and high standards, and it usually creates high results. For me, it’s just about being who I am, staying true to that, knowing who I am, preparing the same way that I have and that I do. Trust in the people around me, trust in the play callers and my preparation. Then just going out there and playing the game that I love without any hesitation.”

The opponent drawn for wild card weekend has only added to the week’s hype. Dallas and San Francisco have paired up for some of the greatest postseason games ever played, dating back to the 1970s. But some of that history is understandably lost on this current crop of Cowboys, most of whom weren’t even alive for the teams’ last playoff clash, at the end of the 1994 season.

“I’m learning, as of right now. It’s not hard to catch onto,” Lamb said of the Cowboys’ and 49ers’ storied past. “Obviously, we saw them my rookie year, kind of got an opener into that. And again this year has kind of been a reminder. This is a big game, man, that’s all it is. It’s a rivalry game, it goes all the way back. For this to be in Dallas and a playoff game, it don’t get no better than this.”

While Sunday’s game will conjure up plenty of ghosts for longtime Cowboys fans, this edition of the rivalry will have nothing, really, to do with Aikman and Smith, Irvin and Young, Sanders and Haley, Rice and Norton, Montana and Clark, Staubach and Brodie.

For each of the Cowboys players, it will be about the other 47 men standing next to them on the sideline.

“Man, I’m just truly blessed,” Lawrence said, speaking of being able to return from a 10-week absence with a foot injury. “The Lord sat me down earlier in the season and told me, ‘That wasn’t my time.’ Being able to bring me back with the team that made the playoffs, and now we can go on this playoff run and potentially a Super Bowl, it means a lot to me, man. This is what a young kid always dreams of.”

“You’ve got to cherish these moments,” Elliott added. “In this league, it’s very hard to make it to the postseason. You’re only going to get so many opportunities, so we’ve definitely got to do our best to go make this one count.”

“You don’t come around great teams like we have very often, ” Prescott explained. “So just make sure we don’t take a play for granted, either. Not only in our preparation, but when we get out there as well in the game time, just leave it all out there. … Playoff football: one play can be the difference if you keep playing or not. I’m just excited for this, excited for this game, excited for the playoffs, and excited to be going into it with this team.”

“It really is a blessing to be here playing football,” edge rusher Randy Gregory offered, “playing on a team that drafted me and being a part of this great organization, a part of this team. I feel like we’re a very special unit. I’m talking like our season’s over, but it’s really just beginning.”

This Sunday is, as the Cowboys keep hearing and telling themselves, just the starting line.

[listicle id=691019]

[listicle id=690668]

[listicle id=690986]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Cowboys biggest advantage over 49ers may exist on special teams

The third phase of the game is going to be crucial in the contest and the Cowboys have a decided advantage when it comes to hidden yardage. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Football Outsiders’ DVOA metrics paint a picture of two teams with comparable offenses and defenses, but the Dallas Cowboys have a clear advantage when it comes to special teams. When the game kicks off on Sunday, Dallas will need to maintain said advantage over the San Francisco 49ers in order to emerge victorious in the wild-card round.

The Cowboys check in as the sixth-best team in special team’s DVOA, and to put how good their coverage and return units are, remember this takes into account Greg Zuerlein’s 12 missed kicks on the season. Dallas ranks 19th in FG/XP DVOA due to those errors, and their kickoffs aren’t great either, landing 19th again. but two units in particular push them back up the overall ranking.

Dallas ranks sixth in kickoff return and at the top of the league, first in punt and coverage. In plain terms, Dallas starts off with great field position after an opponent scores and when their drives fail, they tend to make the opponent travel long distances to get into scoring range.

On the flip side, San Francisco ranks a lowly 26th in special teams DVOA. They rank 15th in FG/XP, 29th in kickoffs, dead last in kickoff returns and 15th in punt returns. Their one strong quality on teams is their punt and coverage game, where they rank No. 5.

The 49ers are Pro Football Focus’ fifth-best team of 2021 (Dallas is second), according to their grading system. On a scale of 0-100 they grade out as a 92.0 score (Dallas is 92.8). On offense, San Francisco jumps up to No. 2 overall (Cowboys are No. 1 at 89.4) with a 86.3 grade.

On defense, the 49ers rank eighth at 73.3 with Dallas 12th at 69.3.

But on special teams SF is in the bottom third, sitting at 21st with a 76.8 grade while Dallas sits 15th at 83.3.

If Zuerlein isn’t missing kicks, the third phase seems to be a place Dallas can exact a considerable advantage.

Between their Pro Bowl punter in Brian Anger, their elite coverage unit led by C.J. Goodwin and big-play returners such as Tony Pollard and CeeDee Lamb, Dallas can influence field position even if they don’t get the big-play return.

Conversely, giving up a big special teams play has to be guarded against, as it’s an advantage Dallas can’t afford to relinquish. If two teams are rated equally in terms of offense and defense, then the hidden yardage aspect will be paramount to deciding who wins.

Dallas can’t afford to give that up in this win-or-stay-home contest on Sunday.

[listicle id=690899][listicle id=690831][lawrence-newsletter]