For the second year in a row, the Dallas Cowboys season has ended in disappointment at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers.
Some of the elements were the same. Robbie Gould was once again perfect on every kick he attempted. The Dallas run game was once again held to fewer than 80 yards. A lightly regarded quarterback with an offense built around short passes did enough to win — though this time it was Brock Purdy, not Jimmy Garoppolo leading the Niners to victory.
But unlike 2022, where an early San Francisco lead forced the Cowboys to play catchup all afternoon, Dallas was ready for the 49ers’ cast of playmakers. Christian McCaffrey and an efficient run offense were stuffed time and again early on. Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk were bottled up. This gave Dak Prescott multiple opportunities to seize control of this game early.
He did not. Instead, he got outplayed by the final selection of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Six days after a statement game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round — five total touchdowns and a 143.3 passer rating — Schrodinger’s Quarterback proved he’s an uncontrollable variable behind center. His misfires and poor reads left drives to wilt on the vine. His inability to spot linebackers sliding into coverage took points off the board.
Tips and overthrows, we're gettin' those!@fred_warner
📺 #DALvsSF on @NFLonFOX
📱 NFL+ https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/Rm7ZPpXcAN— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 23, 2023
Following a second quarter touchdown that gave the Cowboys a 6-3 lead, Prescott led three different drives that covered at least 30 yards. None of them finished in the end zone. He threw the interception seen above, settled for three points on another and even saw Mike McCarthy punt the ball away after a drive reached the SF 40-yard line (albeit after a fourth down delay of game penalty that may or may not have been intentional).
Dallas remained in this game thanks to the ferocity of its defense. San Francisco, a team that ranked sixth in scoring offense this season, didn’t score a touchdown until the final 15 minutes. Purdy remained uncomfortable through the bulk of the evening thanks to a pass rush that repeatedly manhandled a top 10 offensive line.
Micah Parsons looking like Reggie White 💪@MicahhParsons11
📺: #DALvsSF on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/WBXF8YHjXz pic.twitter.com/uhvLkaXl6l— NFL (@NFL) January 23, 2023
Midway through the third quarter the Niners had run the ball 13 times for all of 28 yards. They were 0-4 on third downs inside the Cowboys’ territory at that point. The dynamic Samuel/Aiyuk receiving combination had racked up only 62 yards.
But Prescott’s struggles and an unreliable run game meant the Dallas D had little time to regroup. Prescott’s offense had one drive all evening that took up more than four minutes of game time. San Francisco won the time of possession battle by nearly six minutes. So as the third quarter wound down, a tired defense finally grew susceptible to McCaffrey’s runs and George Kittle’s rumbles up the seam.
The storm surge finally flooded the Cowboys. The Niners found the end zone with 14:58 to play. Still, that unit came together one drive later to force a field goal late in the fourth quarter and give Prescott the chance to control the game’s ending.
Down seven, deep in his own territory with less than three minutes to play the fate of the Cowboys was in his hands. This was Prescott’s opening pass:
Right. The next was the right read to a streaking — and open — Michael Gallup. But while Prescott didn’t lead him into safety help from the middle of the field he also underthrew him and led him back toward cornerback coverage. As a result, a golden opportunity ended in an incompletion.
One play later he was sacked and Mike McCarthy, trailing by seven with just over two minutes to play and staring down a rushing offense that had gashed his tiring defense the previous two drives, opted to punt. Thanks to three timeouts, the two-minute warning and Eli Mitchell’s dumb decision to run out of bounds to cap a 13-yard carry, gave the Cowboys 45 seconds to drive 94 yards for a game-tying touchdown.
Suffice to say, that is not what happened.
amazing final play design from Mike McCarthy, no notes pic.twitter.com/RZ4J1zargq
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) January 23, 2023
The Cowboys collapsed in a predictable way. Prescott harnessed his worst instincts in a season where his performance varied wildly by the week. The run game sputtered even before Tony Pollard left with an ankle injury. Mike McCarthy did what Mike McCarthy does late in playoff games, which is call plays independent of the situation at hand while staring blankly into the middle distance.
This all added up to another frustrating loss that does not belong to a defense that held on as long as it could. Micah Parsons and company gave Dallas all the leverage it needed to steal an affirming win and return to the NFC title game for the first time this millennium. Instead, the flaws fans worried about all season proved fatal. A stirring defensive effort was wasted on a team that drove to the 49ers’ 40-yard line or deeper five times and walked away with 12 points as a result.
On the plus side, at least the Cowboys know what they’ll have to work on this offseason.
