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.
