It's Prescott who has the years of experience and accolades Purdy does not. Only four previous NFL rookie quarterbacks have advanced to a conference championship game, and there's a reason for that; the postseason is where their inexperience catches up with them. Does Purdy feel the pressure? Not yet. Last week, he explained why the playoffs don't feel any different.
But what a ride it's been for Purdy since early December. Including the playoffs, he's thrown 16 touchdowns and four interceptions during the last seven games, winning all of them while posting the highest passer rating in the NFL. Against the Seahawks last week, he averaged a whopping 11. 1 yards per attempt while posting MVP-type numbers during the second half: 9-for-11 for 185 yards, two touchdowns, and no sacks or turnovers. The Cowboys' defense has been unfazed by Purdy's success, linebacker Micah Parsons saying this week the 49ers have faced "nobody like us this year. " Indeed, the Cowboys' D finished the regular season fifth in scoring (20.
A generation has passed since those glory days; it's been 26 years since either team captured the Vince Lombardi Trophy. But their history provides extra intrigue surrounding a Sunday night matchup with a bid to the NFC Championship Game at stake. A ninth playoff matchup between them (Dallas leads 5-3) ties for the most between teams in the Super Bowl era, games that include the 49ers' 23-17 NFC Wild Card Round victory last year that ended when Dak Prescott accidentally ran the clock out for the Cowboys while driving deep in San Francisco territory.
How hard will it be to stop McCaffrey? One Dallas radio host got in trouble this week when he actively hoped for the oft-injured player to go down again during Sunday's playoff game. It's not a good look and could provide some motivation for the 49ers in their locker room. Overall, San Francisco was eighth in the league in rushing offense during the regular season, averaging 138. 8 yards per game. And it's not just McCaffrey either who can do damage on the ground. (It's amazing we've gone this long without even mentioning speedy wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who torched the Cowboys last year with 72 yards and a rushing touchdown in the Wild Card Round victory. )On the other side, Dallas finished the season ninth in rushing offense, right behind San Francisco with their dynamic duo of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard leading the way.
But the Elliott-Pollard combination went flat in the playoff matchup last year — 16 carries for 45 yards. That wobbly 2. 8 yards per carry didn't get the job done then and won't this year either. The 49ers were second against the run, holding teams to 77. 7 yards per game and only 3. 4 yards per rushing attempt. Seattle managed 104 yards on the ground but needed 25 carries (4. 2 ypc) to get there, and the team's longest run was an 11-yard scramble by quarterback Geno Smith. Besides leading the league with 18.
ETTV: FOXLive Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)Spread: 49ers -4Tickets: As low as $543 on SITickets. com*Three Things to Watch1. Can Dak Prescott outplay Brock Purdy? Writing that sentence would have been unthinkable even three months ago. Prescott's return from injury is part of what sparked this Cowboys team to 12 wins and a wild-card berth; Purdy didn't even throw an NFL pass until Oct. 23.
5 sacks, Nick Bosa also is one of the best run-stoppers. So the onus is on Elliott and Pollard (and to a degree the Cowboys' offensive line) to prove they can be more effective running the ball this time around. 3. Can Brett Maher find his footing? In one of the more bizarre twists in NFL playoff history, Maher became the first player to miss four straight extra points in an otherwise flawless takedown of Tampa Bay on Monday night. Oh, the punchlines that have come from that performance. After earning the full-time placekicking job this season, Maher had been reliable until that point.
"[For] me and this team, that's a scar, " Prescott said Monday night when reminiscing about that game. "That one hurts. It will hurt for the rest of my career. … So just being able to get [the 49ers] again … this thing's set up just for us — playing teams that have beat us, teams that we're familiar with. So, it's important for us now … to capitalize on this preparation, take it one day at a time, and make sure we're ready to go as we work for this one.
Oh sure, the San Francisco defense is No. 1 in the NFL – helped by not beating anyone with an attack like Dallas is bringing – and the offense ripped through Seattle last week like it wasn’t there, but yeah, overall Dallas has the talent, ability, schemes, and upside to really and truly be considered the better team. It got sort of lost by all those blinded by the idea that Tom Brady is so good he could make up for how bad Tampa Bay was that Dallas might have been the best team in the NFL when everything was rolling. There was the meltdown at Jacksonville late, but over the second half of the season when this thing was moving, forget it.