Tag: 2022 divisional round

49ers LB fined for out-of-bounds playoff hit on Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott

Dre Greenlaw leveled Elliott on the San Francisco sideline and drew a penalty; the late hit will cost him over $10,000 in fines. | From @ToddBrock24f7

San Francisco safety Jimmie Ward will have last Sunday’s so-called “hip-drop” tackle of Cowboys running back Tony Pollard examined by the NFL’s Competition Committee sometime during the offseason, a move that may result in a new penalty in the league’s rulebook.

49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw didn’t have to wait nearly that long to learn the repercussions of his hit in the same game on Ezekiel Elliott.

According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Greenlaw has been fined $10,609 for a late out-of-bounds blow delivered to Elliott late in the second quarter of last weekend’s divisional-round playoff game.

The late hit drew a 15-yard flag for unnecessary roughness at the time. While the foul put the Cowboys offense into 49ers territory with a fresh set of downs, the drive ultimately turned into a nightmare for the Cowboys.

Just five plays after Greenlaw’s penalty came the Pollard tackle, sending him out of the game for good with a high ankle sprain and a fractured fibula. Literally adding insult to injury, Dallas then turned the ball over on the very next snap; Dak Prescott threw an interception in the red zone just as it seemed that a go-ahead touchdown was imminent.

Niners Wire reports that it’s the second time this year Greenlaw has been fined for an illegal hit; he was docked the same amount of money (and was even ejected) for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert in Week 10.

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Dak Prescott’s ‘unacceptable’ performance vs 49ers points to inconvenient truth

Fans wanted to believe Dak’s day vs Tampa Bay was the norm, but his inaccurate 2-INT performance Sunday is closer to recent reality. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Dak Prescott followed up a game he’ll remember his whole life with one he’d just as soon forget.

The Cowboys quarterback picked a bad day to have a bad day, going just 23-of-37 passing for 206 yards and a lone touchdown in the team’s 19-12 loss to San Francisco in the divisional round of the playoffs.

But beyond the obviously disappointing postseason exit, Prescott’s poor showing brings to light an unsettling notion.

Cowboys fans watched last week’s four-touchdown, 143.3-passer-rating day in Tampa and saw what Prescott is capable of doing when all the stars align.

But then…

Prescott’s 63.6 passer rating this past Sunday was the lowest of his six total playoff appearances, and it was just the 18th time in his career he’s ended a game with a rating of under 70.0.

The Cowboys’ record in those games: 2-16.

Worst of all? Four of those sub-70 outings have come in the Cowboys’ last 20 games.

They are: last year’s wild-card loss to the 49ers, the 2022 season opener at Tampa, the 2022 season finale at Washington, and this past Sunday’s divisional defeat.

All four still hurt, they’re so fresh.

That all-too-recent history suggests that it’s Dak’s wild-card showing that was actually the anomaly… and what we saw on Sunday was, unfortunately, closer to the inconvenient truth.

While Prescott got to enjoy last week’s surgical performance versus Tampa Bay for just a few days, this latest loss will linger for an entire offseason. The Cowboys were in the game right until the end, but they’ll once again watch the conference championships from home, just as they had for the past 26 years.

“Those guys in that locker room gave it all, both sides of the ball,” the quarterback told reporters from the podium Sunday night. “Put me in a position to go win the game, and I wasn’t able to do that. I put it on my shoulders. When you play this position and you play for this organization, you’ve got to accept that. That’s the reality of it. It’ll make me better. It sucks that I don’t get another shot at it for a long time.”

Most troubling for Prescott and Cowboys Nation, though, were the passer’s two interceptions, building on the theme that will live on as the lead story of the team’s entire 2022 season.

“Just two throws that I can’t have, you can’t have in the playoffs, you can’t have when you’re trying to beat a team like that, you can’t have on the road,” Prescott admitted. “No excuses for it. Those two are 100 percent on me.”

The first came early, ending Dallas’s second offensive possession. Prescott dropped back on a third-and-nine and hurled one toward Michael Gallup on the sideline, not realizing that 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir had run the route even better than the Cowboys wide receiver.

 

That turnover gave San Francisco outstanding field position and led to an easy field goal and first-quarter lead for the home squad.

Prescott’s second pick proved even costlier.

Driving deep in 49ers territory late in the second quarter, Prescott tried to force a throw to CeeDee Lamb through a very tight window. Jimmie Ward deflected it, and linebacker Fred Warner was waiting with open arms.

That mistake not only ended what appeared to be a scoring drive by the Cowboys, but allowed San Francisco to tack on another field goal before halftime. What should have been a seven-point Dallas lead at the break was instead a 9-6 deficit.

“I’ve got to play better than I did tonight, simple as that,” Prescott said.

But of course, it wasn’t just Sunday night. Prescott’s 2022 pick problem dates all the way back to opening night, when Tampa Bay safety Antoine Winfield Jr. jumped a Noah Brown route in Week 1 and nabbed a bad Prescott toss.

Prescott went on to finish the regular season with 15 interceptions, a career-worst for him. And that’s with him sitting out five full games due to a fractured thumb.

Some of those turnovers came from receiver miscommunication. Some were the result of a poor quarterback decision or just a bad throw. Some came off an unlucky bounce.

But whatever the reason, they all counted. They all haunted Prescott over the course of a rollercoaster season. And after a wild-card week hiatus, they came back Sunday in Santa Clara.

“They all have their own story,” Prescott said. “Two tonight. As I said, unacceptable. I can’t put the ball in jeopardy like that, whether they’re tipped up in tight throws or whether I’m late on a stop route. Can’t happen. The number that it’s gotten to is ridiculous. I can promise that the number will never be this again. I can promise that.”

Problem is, Prescott had been promising to clean up the misfires for most of the season. And in a game when the defense held the powerhouse 49ers to under 20 points, these latest self-inflicted wounds helped prove fatal to the Cowboys’ postseason run.

“For us to only put up the points that we did, that’s unacceptable. And it starts with me. I’ve got to be better. No other way to sugarcoat it.”

That’s the taste that the Cowboys- and especially Prescott- will have in his mouth from now until the 2023 season.

Sadly, it’s more than a postseason problem, although the team’s 27-year absence from the conference championship round seriously stings the day after getting booted from the tournament.

Ultimately, Prescott says he doesn’t know why the club can’t seem to get over that hump.

“If I had the answers, we would have won tonight,” he told media members. “I promise you, we will, though. In my time, playing on this team, for this organization, we will.”

But not if Prescott can’t figure out why this keeps happening to him, with increasing and alarming frequency, playoffs or otherwise.

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Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse’s emotional offseason to include shoulder surgery

The Cowboys safety took Sunday’s loss especially hard, the end of a season that saw him and others battle through multiple injuries. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse fought back tears after the team’s 19-12 loss Sunday to the 49ers in the NFC’s divisional round.

“I gave it everything I had,” he told reporters.

Turns out, he gave more than most on the outside realized.

Kearse will need offseason surgery to repair a shoulder injury he’s had for two months. The seven-year veteran suffered a dislocated shoulder and labrum tear versus the Giants on Thanksgiving, yet played on through the team’s postseason run.

“I battled a lot this year,” Kearse explained to media members at his locker. “I just…”

But his voice trailed off as he shook his head, stopping himself from going further.

There was a knee injury that forced his early exit from the season opener and cost him three outings. There was a back issue. A pregame scare when he landed awkwardly during warmups before the Houston game. And an MCL sprain against Tampa Bay just last week that he promised to overcome in time for San Francisco.

He did, turning in five tackles and one for loss against the 49ers, helping his unit put up a solid effort against a top offense by holding them to under 20 points.

“It’s tough when you know you could have won the game,” Kearse admitted, “and you’ve got to watch them celebrate.”

The veteran, about to turn 29, wasn’t the only Cowboys defender who fought through personal health issues this season. He credited Donovan Wilson, Malik Hooker, Leighton Vander Esch, Micah Parsons, and DeMarcus Lawrence with the same perseverance he showed over the promising 2022 campaign.

“I knew we had a chance to do it. And I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to play with those guys, play next to those guys. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it done,” Kearse explained, his voice cracking once again. “This is why it hurts so much, because I know we had the team to do it. We had the right guys to do it.”

And he knows that some of those “right guys” won’t be wearing the star again in 2023.

“That’s the harsh reality of his business,” he said. “But as of now, this roster is the same. When we go in that building tomorrow, I get to see my teammates. Hug them. Just be around them. And wherever the chips fall, that’s just where they fall. You’ll never have the same roster two years in a row. But I know we have the right guys. I know that.”

For Kearse and the 2022 Cowboys, knowing it will have to be enough. Because they won’t get the chance to prove it.

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WATCH: McCarthy pushes camera after Cowboys loss; Jerry says job safe

Emotions ran high following the loss as Mike McCarthy appeared to push a videographer exiting the field; Jerry Jones stands by his coach. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Emotions were running high throughout Cowboys Nation in the moments immediately following the team’s ouster Sunday night from yet another postseason.

That goes double for the team’s embattled head coach and longtime owner.

Having watched his team turn in an uninspiring performance in a 19-12 loss to the 49ers, a game that ended with questionable clock management from the Dallas sideline and a bizarre final last-gasp play that was snuffed out by the San Francisco defense before it ever had a chance to materialize, coach Mike McCarthy wasn’t in the mood for photo ops as he exited the field at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday evening.

The 59-year-old coach blocked a local TV camera with his hand and even appeared to push the videographer away as he made his way to the visitors’ locker room.

The photographer, from Dallas’s KXAS-TV, explained via Twitter that it was more of a “hand to the lens” than a push and that McCarthy apologized in private.

McCarthy also chose to categorize the moment differently when asked about it, bristling at the use of the word “shove” in a reporter’s question.

“I obviously didn’t view it like that,” he stated to close out his postgame press conference. “That’s not how I saw the interaction. At all.”

Any physical contact whatsoever, though, is considered off-limits in such a situation and speaks to the clear frustration that got the better of the head coach as another promising 12-5 regular season ended with a whimper.

“Obviously just extremely disappointed,” McCarthy told reporters afterward, referring to the team’s on-the-field performance. “This has been an incredible journey with this group of men. We just came up short tonight to a very good football team.”

But despite the continuation of the Cowboys’ long championship drought, owner Jerry Jones maintains that he is not considering a change at the top of his football flowchart.

“No. No. No. Not at all,” Jones said in the tunnel after the loss.

“But this is very sickening to not win tonight.”

Jones’s pained expression was mirrored in the faces of many Cowboys players after the defeat, with some openly shedding tears.

McCarthy described the state of the locker room as “raw” as he addressed the media.

“This is not really the time to pick apart. I understand you’ve got a job to do, but that’s not where we’re at right now.”

Where the Cowboys are at, though, is home. Out of the postseason before the conference championship round. Again.

But in the moments after their division-round loss to San Francisco- one year and six days after coming up short to the 49ers in the wild-card round- McCarthy chose to look at that detail differently, too.

“Factually, we’ve taken one step closer to our goal. That’s what the comparable would be from last year to this year. I think they’re a different team than they were last year. I think they’re a better team than they were last year. I said this earlier in the week; I thought we’re a better team than we were last year.”

That difference, though- like many- feels like splitting hairs the day after.

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Anatomy Lesson: Cowboys teach master class on leaving points behind

A running tally of how the Cowboys’ myriad of mistakes cost them points in a contest they would’ve won comfortably if they played a clean game. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Minus 7. -7. That’s was the final scoring margin in Dallas’ final game of the 2022 season. A year where resilience was the well-played theme of their existence, the Cowboys never lost back-to-back games. That was the first time since 1994 they’d been able to accomplish such a feat, but it matters not in the one-and-done world of playoff football.

The seven-point defeat, 19-12, to the San Francisco 49ers is the final chapter of this book. The difference between the two teams was never a gulf, but Dallas was unable to limit their mistakes and in this game, they directly tied to the scoring.

The playoffs are not forgiving. They magnify mistakes because the level of competition at this stage means failures will be capitalized on. Here’s a look at how the myriad of Cowboys mistakes les to their undoing.

4 Takeaways: Cowboys shrink in big moments, waste defensive effort

The Cowboys made mistakes at the wrong time in their 19-12 divisional playoff loss to the 49ers. @BenGrimaldi says fans are tired of the script.

The Dallas Cowboys are the most predictable team in the NFL. They’ll do things that make fans believe one week, only to make them want to pull their hair out the next. Nothing ever changes with the Cowboys.

Another year, another disappointing playoff loss for the Cowboys, and for the second year in a row, it comes at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers. It’s another season that ends where the Cowboys had the opportunity to win and finally end their embarrassing streak of not appearing in the NFC title game.

Players and coaches may change, but the results in the playoffs for the past 27 years haven’t. Most Cowboys fans have grown numb to the experience of losing before NFC Championship contest, they’re just waiting on how the team will blow. In the latest loss, it was a combination of things that doomed Dallas, including the quarterback coming up short in his chance to silence the critics.

Here are four takeaways from the Cowboys in their latest failure of the divisional round of the playoffs.

Good, Bad, Ugly: Cowboys blunders vs 49ers lead to offseason questions

The Cowboys’ season ends on an inglorious note and it dovetails into an important offseason. Here’s the analysis of what went down. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The season’s over for the Dallas Cowboys, but there’s still things to sort out. The 19-12 defeat at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers leaves an empty feeling where the hope of finally ending the long drought should be sitting. The game was intense, edge-of-seat action but from the beginning the feeling of impending doom seemed to be closing in on Dallas.

There were certainly periods of euphoria sprinkled in, but all in all there were too many regret-causing moments for Dallas to pull off the road upset. Here’s a look at the most important takeaways from the contest; which ones were good, which were bad and which were downright ugly.

Mistakes doom Cowboys again as their season ends in San Fran, 19-12

The Cowboys’ season once again comes to an end at the hands of Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers. | From @KDDrummondNFL

With all of the good vibes and positive takeaways from their wild-card win propelling them into the week, things felt hopeful for the Dallas Cowboys going into San Francisco. A near-perfect performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers save for a yippie kicker, had a lot of people believing the Cowboys were more the team from the middle of the season than the team down the stretch. Alas, it wasn’t to be the case.

They certainly weren’t overmatched, but the mistakes that had plagued Dallas throughout the year were joined by two untimely injuries. Re-invented run stuffer Carlos Watkins was lost with a calf. Do-it-all RB Tony Pollard was lost to a high ankle sprain. Combined with a return of INT-throwing Dak Prescott and the Cowboys squandered a chance to make their first NFC Championship game since the mid-1990s. A stout defensive effort couldn’t maintain their composure and with a chance to tie Prescott had a horrific set of plays. A three-and-out when they had to score to tie and Dallas finds themselves in offseason mode after losing, 19-12.

The Cowboys made several blunders on the game, including two interceptions off the arm of Prescott in the first half. That was compounded by Trevon Diggs missing two interceptions on what ended up being the 49ers lone touchdown drive of the game. It was a drive where Dallas thought they ended it with a sack, but a downfield hold gave the 49ers new life.

Sprinkle in bad direction decision by kick returner Kavontae Turpin on what could’ve been a touchdown and it put Dallas in a hole with three minutes remaining.  Needing to drive for a win, Prescott almost threw a PIck-6, missed an open Michael Gallup downfield, and then stepped into a sack.

Dallas actually got the ball back with under a minute to go, but the offense wasn’t able to do much with it from the shadow of their own end zone as TE Dalton Schultz cost the team with two mental blunders that derailed their last-ditch effort.

For a team that admitted they were nervous in last year’s loss, they certainly didn’t appear to have enough additional composure to end the 49ers winning streak before it reached 12.

And now, the offseason begins for Mike McCarthy and his coaching staff, whatever that may look like after interviews.

WATCH: Cowboys special teams finds redemption with FF, FG

Amidst the chaos, the Dallas special teams delivered redemption with a pair of big moments from Kelvin Joseph and Brett Maher. | From @CDBurnett7

After the Cowboys’ opening drive of the second half was shut down, the Dallas special teams had a moment of redemption. In the midst of the kicker struggles, cornerback Kelvin Joseph made his mark in San Francisco. Joseph has faced criticism for his penalties and struggles at cornerback since being a second-round pick a year ago but this moment must feel sweet.

Even then, there may be a sweeter moment on the ensuing drive. The Cowboys knocked on the door to take the lead but a drop by running back Ezekiel Elliott that was nearly intercepted ended the drive and out trotted kicker Brett Maher.

Albeit a 25-yard kick, it must take extra weight off of Maher’s shoulder to tie the game and break the ice against the 49ers. If he can continue to make kicks, it changes everything in San Francisco.

Cowboys RB Pollard ruled out for second half in San Francisco

Tony Pollard’s day is over in San Francisco after an ankle injury, and now the running workload falls on Elliott and Davis. | From @CDBurnett7

Dallas will be without one of their big weapons in the second half, as running back Tony Pollard is ruled out with an ankle injury after being carted off late in the second quarter. He finishes the game with six carries for 22 yards and two catches for 11 yards.

The current situation will put the workload on running back Ezekiel Elliott, who has four carries for nine yards while Malik Davis will handle the remaining carries. Davis has 38 carries for 161 yards on the year with one touchdown to show. Going against a strong pass rush, the run game is key and the performance of the remaining running backs can turn the tides in San Francisco.