![]() Lamb put the Cowboys in position for one of Dak Prescott’s two scoring passes to Dalton Schultz and Ezekiel Elliott’s TD run in a 28-20 victory over the New York Giants on Thanksgiving Day. He had to settle for setting up three TDs instead. ![]() It all seemed to develop in cinematic motion, slowly enough for Bosa’s emotions to evolve over each torturous bobble - all the way through the particularly harrowing ending, when Dallas cornerback Trevon Diggs nearly pulverized Kittle from a blindside angle.CeeDee Lamb could only smile when officials upheld an out-of-bounds call on what the Dallas receiver hoped would be a touchdown on his second one-handed catch of the game. Then, he bobbled it twice and I got all nervous. “That was crazy,” 49ers’ defensive end Nick Bosa said. He then juggled it while moving at close to full speed for the next 9 yards before finally securing it at the 49ers’ 48-yard line. Kittle first touched quarterback Brock Purdy’s dart at the 49ers’ 39-yard line. It’s fair to call George Kittle’s effort late in the third quarter “The 9-Yard Catch.” That’s the distance it required the 49ers’ tight end to secure the football on a reception that ultimately netted 30 yards and served as a key cog in the team’s go-ahead, 91-yard touchdown drive. This was a night during which nothing would come easily, during which YAC would be replaced by YDC - yards during the catch - on perhaps the game’s pivotal play. This was a throwback type of battle one of those bruising, defense-driven affairs that was a hallmark of postseasons in the 1980s and 1990s - fittingly, when the rivalry between Dallas and San Francisco was at its peak. But YAC was hard to come by in Sunday’s 19-12 NFC divisional-round playoff win over the Cowboys. The 49ers of this era have been perennial league leaders in yards after the catch. But, in any blind taste test, Brock Purdy would be voted the better quarterback in this game. After playing arguably his best ever, Prescott followed up against a better opponent in a tougher place on a short week and did not come close to outplaying a rookie quarterback who was never supposed to step on the field this year. While it is certainly harsh to blame it all on him, it really doesn’t matter. These are never-ending discussions about the caliber of the Cowboys at the QB position and they will never end until this organization can navigate past its decades-long roadblocks at the divisional round. Does your guy show why he is the man in the moments when it is all decided? You can tell me that your guy is better than their guy, but he had a chance at legacy-building moments to prove it, and sadly did not. Tony Romo narratives of a decade past were built on this. … The player who decides the fate of his team when it matters most. ![]() This game is all about he who has the ball in his hands at moments of truth. If you want a team that beats another continuously in this sport, it should be examined from the perspective of which team has the better quarterback. Often when these discussions are had - two teams measured against each other in a certain era - we talk about how Troy Aikman just outplayed Brett Favre at those most important moments. We can discuss the places the two franchises hold in the hierarchy of all-time NFL heavyweights, but in modern times, let there be no question which one holds the upper hand between Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers and Mike McCarthy’s Cowboys. The 49ers have ended consecutive 12-win Dallas seasons and march to another NFC Championship Game - their seventh since the Cowboys last attended one. The Cowboys fell on the road to what we can only surmise is a superior football team. The Cowboys’ season ended in a somewhat predictable way Sunday. ![]()
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