49ers vs Cowboys

Dak Prescott's interception woes continued and Dallas' kicker missed an extra point as the Cowboys fell to the 49ers in the divisional round of the N.F.L. ...

The stout Cowboys defense held the 49ers to a field goal after each turnover. As Maher prepared to kick the extra point after Dallas’s first touchdown of the game, Cowboys fans stopped swinging their blue and white towels and seemed to hold their collective breath. Despite adding another kicker to the roster ahead of Sunday’s game, the Cowboys stuck with Maher, who had missed just three extra points in the regular season. The 49ers’ Robbie Gould connected on a 26-yard field goal to put San Francisco ahead, 3-0. “Just so everyone has an idea of what Dallas and the Niners mean to people,” he said. Often, one team’s biggest obstacle to winning a championship was the other.

Get a recap of the Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers football game.

“I’m not even in the read, so I just kind of saw a space and he hadn’t thrown it yet so I was just going up the field,” Kittle said. “He gave me a catchable ball and I was just trying to be dramatic. The Cowboys took over at their 6 and never got close from there. The 49ers (15-4) used back-to-back long scoring drives in the second half to wear down the Cowboys (13-6) and win their 12th straight game. There’s no other way to sugarcoat it.” At the last second, [George Kittle](http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/3040151/george-kittle) broke free running deep, Purdy threw across his body and Kittle made a juggling catch that sparked San Francisco's only touchdown drive. “Defense gave us an opportunity to win this game. For us to only put up the points that we did, that’s unacceptable. I’ve got to be better. “Just disappointment,” Prescott said. It’s playoff football, it’s never easy, but we’re moving on.” He later made two field goals.

The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Dallas Cowboys to reach the NFC Championship Game for a second straight season, where they will face the top-seeded ...

With a premier defense supporting him on the other side of the line of scrimmage and a stable of playmakers good enough to elevate this offense beyond the pure powers of its young quarterback, Purdy is in a great situation. [Christian McCaffrey](https://www.nfl.com/players/christian-mccaffrey/)and [Elijah Mitchell](https://www.nfl.com/players/elijah-mitchell-2/)combined for 86 yards and one touchdown on the day, which isn't a stunning output, but came at a time when the 49ers needed to succeed on the ground the most. The two picks pushed their total to 21 in zone coverage this season (including playoffs), the most in the NFL. Shanahan deserves a ton of credit for putting Purdy in good positions to succeed, and Purdy deserves even more appreciation for staying within himself and not allowing the moment to consume him. In that season, they won their last nine regular-season games and all three playoff games, capping it with a win over the Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX. Hilton](https://www.nfl.com/players/t-y-hilton/). [Dalton Schultz](https://www.nfl.com/players/dalton-schultz/)'s two mistakes made on the final drive). [George Kittle](https://www.nfl.com/players/george-kittle/)that required the tight end to pull off a juggling act fit for a three-ring circus. The Cowboys matched the 49ers step for step in the first half, and kept things close until their defense started to crumble under constant pressure in the second half. San Francisco's defense harassed Prescott all game, recording 17 combined pressures between [Samson Ebukam](https://www.nfl.com/players/samson-ebukam/)(seven), [Nick Bosa](https://www.nfl.com/players/nick-bosa/)(six) and [Arik Armstead](https://www.nfl.com/players/arik-armstead/)(four). That was far from the whole story, of course, but in a game in which Dallas faced the No. [Brock Purdy](https://www.nfl.com/players/brock-purdy/)learned this in the first half Sunday, struggling to get comfortable and establish a rhythm in the passing game, finishing the first two quarters 12 of 19 for 129 yards.