49ers Prevail in a Fierce Defensive Battle Against Dallas to Advance to NFC Championship
What a battle.
The 49ers and Cowboys have once again played a game that is for the history books. It easily lived up to the hype unless you were disappointed by the lack of points and explosive offensive plays. But this was always going to be tough sledding for both offenses.
The 49ers and Cowboys came into this game with elite defenses, and boy did they play as advertised. Getting any points was going to be at a premium for either offense. Stingy, suffocating, and fast is how these two defenses were playing. It was a legit throwback to an old school NFL game with defense being the main theme. The question was going to be which side will prevail as the better defensive side?
That answer is the San Francisco 49ers.
For a second consecutive year, the 49ers will advance to the NFC championship game after defeating the Cowboys 19-12. This game was extremely close from the very beginning. Neither defense was giving much ground for the majority of the contest.
Things were not looking good for the 49ers offense in the first half. Their offensive line was struggling to give Brock Purdy more than two seconds of a clean pocket. Receivers couldn't find the soft spots in the defense as Dallas had great blanket coverage. Running the football wasn't garnering adequate results either, especially against the loaded eight man boxes that the Cowboys were throwing. Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn had a masterful game plan against Kyle Shanahan's offense.
The score was 9-6 going into halftime with the 49ers leading. A second half surge was going to be needed from them much like against Seattle in the Wild Card round. The only difference from today's matchup with the Cowboys is that the 49ers weren't shooting themselves in the foot like against the Seahawks. They were simply getting beat by a tough defense. It was truly a hectic battle from both sides. Dallas had their struggles offensively as well. The only time they found success was when Dak Prescott was on the move or if he threw it to CeeDee Lamb.
It all came down to which offense was going to crack the code of the opposing defense first. The 49ers ended up being the offense to do it. George Kittle turned it up in the second half with Purdy handling the intense pressure with incredible poise. You cannot rave about the mentality of Purdy enough given the stakes and the staunchness of the Dallas defense. He could've easily folded and looked poor, but never wavered. And while he didn't play a great game, Purdy played well enough and didn't turn the ball over.
This is the exact momentum the 49ers need going into Philadelphia next week for the NFC championship. Their offense proved to be good enough against even the most elite defense, while their own defense is still fierce. Philadelphia and San Francisco are sure to be yet another phenomenal playoff matchup like today's was.
