Coaching is about the little things. Is it any wonder the Cowboys fell short?

The Cowboys-49ers divisional round game came down to coaching. It should not surprise that Mike McCarthy was on the wrong end of that equation.

Over the last two seasons, the inside joke about the Dallas Cowboys has been that offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is there to call brilliant stuff on offense, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is there to call brilliant stuff on defense, and head coach Mike McCarthy is there to mangle the clock, get things situationally wrong, and eat sandwiches.

It’s a cruel narrative, but after Dallas’ 19-12 loss in the divisional round to the San Francisco 49ers, it kinda rings true. Head coaches must understand every aspect of the game, and they must make sure their players are trained to the point of instinct on the little things that can either give you victories, or have you holding your guts in pain after an agonizing loss.

McCarthy’s decisions in this game were… odd, at best. Let’s start with the decision to keep kicker Brett Maher as the starter. Maher had famously missed four extra points in Dallas’ wild-card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Cowboys had an entire week to come up with an alternate plan. Instead, Maher had an extra point blocked which would have been a miss if it hadn’t, and there were multiple instances in which the Cowboys might have had field goals to try, and didn’t. Dallas converted both of its fourth-down attempts in the game, but that wasn’t the larger issue.

Then, there was the decision to punt from the Dallas 18-yard line after Dak Prescott took a third-down sack with 2:50 left in the game. Fine, but the Cowboys ran the clock down to 2:11 before Brian Anger punted the ball, and if you wanted to get the ball back, that was at least one extra play you just wasted.

The Cowboys’ defense did get the ball back, but when Mitch Wishnowsky punted the ball back to Dallas, there were just 51 seconds left in the game. The Cowboys wouldn’t have had that much time had 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell not run out of bounds at the end of his 13-yard run with 1:53 left in the game. That basically gave Dallas an extra time out when they desperately needed it.

So, now, the Cowboys had first-and-10 from their own six-yard line with 45 seconds left, no timeouts, down by seven points, and in obvious need of a touchdown. Two sideline passes to tight end Dalton Schultz were problematic on that final Dallas drive — one in which Schultz didn’t realize that he had to be moving forward when he went out of bounds, which kept the clock running with, and another in which Schultz failed to get his second foot in bounds, resulting in an incompletion after review.

After that play, Dallas had six seconds left, and one play left in their quiver, from their own 24-yard line. The resulting play probably should have been something like the Fumblerooski or the Annexation of Puerto Rico, but instead, there was… well, whatever this was.

With running back Ezekiel Elliott at center, Prescott threw an eight-yard pass to KaVontae Turpin, and thus endeth the game.

There are a lot of little things — subtle details — that go into a win or a loss. And in this case, it was Mike McCarthy’s inability to have a handle on those subtleties, from preseason design and implementation to postseason finality, that sunk his team. Not for the first time by any means, but in this case, one of the most obvious and crushing set of circumstances.

Dallas Cowboys vs San Francisco 49ers Prediction, Game Preview

Dallas Cowboys vs San Francisco 49ers prediction, game preview, and fantasy player to watch.

Dallas Cowboys vs San Francisco 49ers prediction, game preview, and fantasy player to watch.


Dallas Cowboys vs San Francisco 49ers Broadcast

Date: Sunday, December 20
Game Time: 1:00 ET
Venue: AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX
Network: CBS

[jwplayer 3nKLsQRx]

All of the CFN Fearless Predictions

Dallas Cowboys (4-9) vs San Francisco 49ers (5-8) vs Game Preview

For latest lines and to bet on the NFL, go to BetMGM


Why Dallas Cowboys Will Win

The passing game is still solid. It’s not at Dak Prescott level with Andy Dalton under center, but it’s not all that bad. The yards weren’t there against Cincinnati, but it was effective when it had its chances.

The key here is for the offense to not screw up. Dallas has turned it over four times in four games, but San Francisco is a turnover disaster with two or more in each of the last seven games and in nine of the last ten. Dallas will come up with at least two takeaways and should capitalize on both.

Why San Francisco 49ers Will Win

Nah, the passing game hasn’t been that great post-Dak.

Worse yet, the defense is a disaster, especially against the run with the league’s worst D against anyone who wants to pound away. The Cowboys have allowed 100 rushing yards or more in seven of the last eight games, and now San Francisco won’t mess around.

The passing game has been working, but the Niners will want and need to run and run some more until Dallas can stop it.

NFL Expert Picks | NFL Schedule, Predictions

Fantasy Football Player To Watch

RB Jeff Wilson, San Francisco
Really … you’re going to play Jeff Wilson in your playoffs? Jerick McKinnon didn’t get a lot of work last week, and Raheem Mostert suffered a concussion. Wilson only ran for 31 yards and a touchdown against Washington, but the Football Team’s run defense is nasty. You want any running back you can against this Dallas run D.

What’s Going To Happen

Dallas is still sort of in the playoff picture, but not really. It’ll be done after this week.

San Francisco is a hot mess at turning the ball over, but the defense should be able to rise up and be strong against the mediocre Dallas O, and the running game will rumble over the D.

Dallas Cowboys vs San Francisco 49ers Prediction, Line

San Francisco 27, Dallas 17
Bet on Dallas Cowboys vs San Francisco 49ers with BetMGM
San Francisco -3, o/u: 45
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3.5

Must See Rating: 2

5: Mank
1: Saved By The Bell

[protected-iframe id=”361699434b6d70baf15f631ed2408ac1-97672683-92922408″ info=”https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js” ]