Cowboys season comes to end after home playoff loss

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The Dallas Cowboys hosted the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, in their Wildcard round playoff matchup. With record of 12-5 on the year, the Cowboys entered the day as 3-point favorites against the visiting 49ers. 

Dallas got off to a rocky start, which has been a weakness of theirs this year. San Fransisco got the ball to start, and promptly drove the length of the field, getting out to a quick 7-0 lead.

Dallas answered back with a three-and-out in which they lost 13 yards, giving the 49ers the ball right back. San Fransisco saw their opportunity to go ahead by two scores and did so, adding another three points to lead 10-0. 

After another unsuccessful Dallas drive that resulted in a punt, the 49ers scored yet again, this time with a 12-play drive that ended in a field goal to make the score 13-0.

It wasn’t until the second quarter when the Cowboys finally found some offense of their own. Dallas put together a nine-play drive that resulted in a 20-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper, finally getting on the board for the first time with just 5:19 left in the first half.

The 49ers offense continued to roll, as they answered back with a quick drive that resulted in yet another field goal. Down 16-7, Dallas did answer back with another solid offensive drive in the closing minutes of the half. 

Dallas got as close as the San Fransisco 39-yard line, before a holding penalty pushed them back 10 yards. On a huge 3rd & 20, quarterback Dak Prescott threw a pass to receiver Cedrick Wilson, which would’ve easily put the Cowboys in field goal range. 

Unfortunately for Dallas, Wilson lost the ball in the glaring sun and was unable to complete the catch. Dallas was forced to punt and missed out on at least three points. With Dallas getting the ball to start the second half, even a field goal would’ve been huge for the Cowboys, as it would’ve put them down six points with the chance to take the lead to start the second half.

The offense continued to struggle in the second half, as the Cowboys were forced to punt on their opening drive, before Prescott threw and interception on their second drive. The 49ers turned the interception into a touchdown, pushing their lead to 23-7.

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Trailing by 16 points, head coach Mike McCarthy made a decision that angered much of the fan base, choosing to punt the ball on a 4th & 2 situation late in the third quarter. He followed that by settling for a field goal at very end of the frame, putting the Cowboys down 23-10 as they entered the fourth quarter.

Momentum finally started going in Dallas’ favor in the fourth, as they followed their field goal with an inception by Anthony Brown. Brown’s interception gave Dallas the ball inside the 49ers 30-yard line. 

Prescott and company were able to turn it into seven points, as Prescott rushed for a five-yard touchdown to put the Cowboys back within one score.

The Dallas defense once again stepped up, forcing a punt and getting Prescott the ball back with 2:51 to play. The Cowboys opened the drive with a 38-yard pass to tight end Dalton Schultz, getting the ball past the 50-yard line.

From their the 49ers defense completely shut down Dallas, sacking Prescott before forcing back-to-back incomplete passes. Finally, on 4th & 11, Prescott did make a good desperation pass to Wilson, but Wilson was tripped up during his route and was unable to complete the catch, giving San Fransisco the ball back with just 1:49 left to go.

Even with time working against them, the Cowboys defense stepped up one final time, forcing a punt that gave Dallas the ball back with 39 seconds on the clock, though they were forced to use all of their timeouts to do so.

Prescott and the Cowboys offense got the ball on the 20-yard line, needing to go 80 yards in less than 40 seconds. They opened the drive with a pass to Wilson, who lateraled the ball over to CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys picked up 20 yards on the play, getting the ball to the 40-yard line with 32 seconds to go.

On the following play Prescott hit running back Tony Pollard for another 10 yards, getting the ball to midfield with 24 seconds left. Prescott followed with a nine-yard pass to Schultz, putting them on the 41-yard line with 18 seconds left. 

Dallas went to get another play off, but the 49ers used their final timeout, putting Dallas on the 41-yard line with 14 seconds left. The Cowboys were put in a position where they essentially had two choices, they could elect to throw to the end zone twice, or hope to run one more play and get out of bounds before their final attempt at the end zone.

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Instead, Prescott ran a draw up the middle of the field, running for 17 yards before sliding. The offense ran back to the line of scrimmage, hoping to spike the ball and kill the clock before time expired, but they were unable to do so, as time ran out, giving the 49ers the 23-17 victory.

The final play call was a very controversial one, though McCarthy stood by his decision after the game, claiming it was the right decision and the best call at that time. 

Prescott finished the game with a less than ideal stat line, completing 23 of his 43 attempts for 254 yards. He threw one touchdown and one interception, finishing with a QBR of just 27.1. 

In games that Prescott has started, the Cowboys are very good against teams in their division, as he has racked up a career record of 25-7. He has failed to replicate that same success against non-divisional opponents, however, as he has a career record of just 28-27 against everyone else, putting him at just one game over .500 for his career. 

Prescott was far from the only offensive player to struggle, however, as Ezekiel Elliott finished with just 31 yards on 12 attempts, averaging 2.6 yards per carry. Pollard wasn’t much more efficient either, picking up 14 yards on four carries.

Schultz was once again the leading receiver for Dallas, catching seven passes of 89 yards. Cooper was next with six catches for 64 yards and one touchdown. 

Wilson had five catches for 62 yards, though he only caught five passes on 10 target. Even more troublesome, was Lamb, who has one catch for 21 yards, despite being targeted five times. 

Dallas’ loss makes them the first home team to lose in this years postseason, as well as the first team who was favored in the matchup to lose. With high expectations coming into the season, the loss will make for a long offseason for many of their faithful fans.