See you in PHILLY! Niners outlast Cowboys, 19-12, through STIFFLING Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense to advance to the NFC title game against the Eagles with a trip to Super Bowl LVII at stake
Christian McCaffrey scored a hit on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter and the San Francisco defense did the rest, sending the 49ers into their second straight NFC title game with a 19-12 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday .
The 49ers (15-4) used consecutive long-scoring drives in the second half to wear down the Cowboys (13-6) and win their 12th straight game. San Francisco advanced to face the Eagles in next Sunday’s NFC title game in Philadelphia after losing to the Rams in this round a year ago.
The Cowboys lost for a record seventh straight divisional round and have not made it to the NFC title game since winning their fifth Super Bowl title after the 1995 season.
Brock Purdy #13 of the San Francisco 49ers throws a pass at the Dallas Cowboys
Robbie Gould scores one of four crucial goals to give the 49ers another playoff win
Dak Prescott threw two interceptions and Brett Maher missed his fifth extra point of the postseason when his attempt was blocked. He later scored two field goals.
The Cowboys had a shot when they took over their own 18 with 2:59 left and were 19:12 behind after Robbie Gould’s fourth field goal of the game ended a nearly eight-minute drive.
But Prescott threw two direct incompletions and was dismissed in third place. Coach Mike McCarthy opted to stab in fourth and tenth with all three timeouts remaining.
Rookie Brock Purdy started the next drive with a 16-yard completion to George Kittle, and San Francisco didn’t return the ball to Dallas until the 6 had 45 seconds left. From then on, Dallas never got close.
Purdy, the last pick in the draft last April, improved to 7-0 as a starter since replacing an injured Jimmy Garoppolo earlier in Week 13. He went 18 for 28 for 215 yards without a turnover against the Cowboys and joined Joe Flacco (2008) and Mark Sanchez (2009) as the only rookie QBs to win two playoff starts.
Christian McCaffrey celebrates after a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys
The 49ers took the lead in the first game of the fourth quarter when McCaffrey completed a 91-yard drive with a 2-yard run.
The drive included a juggling 30-yard catch from Kittle and two defensive holds against Dallas – including one on Donovan Wilson near the goal line that negated a third-down sack.
Maher scored his second field goal of the game when he converted from 43 yards to cut San Francisco’s lead to 16-12.
The NFL’s two top-scoring teams have struggled to get going over the past 13 weeks as defenses led by San Francisco All-Pros Nick Bosa and Dallas Micah Parsons controlled the game.
The Niners converted two interceptions from Prescott into field goals from Robbie Gould in the first half and led 9-6 at halftime.
The Cowboys scored the only TD of the first half when Prescott came in contact with tight end Dalton Schultz for the third time this postseason. But Maher’s low extra point attempt was blocked by Samson Ebukam.
Maher got some redemption when he hit a 25-yard field goal that ended the game early in the third quarter at 9 a.m. after Ray-Ray McCloud fumbled a punt return at the San Francisco 21.
George Kittle #85 pulls off a spectacular one-handed catch in the win over the Cowboys