SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy rolled left and saw his first options covered. In the final second, George Kittle broke free deep, Purdy threw over his body and Kittle made a juggling pass that sparked San Francisco’s only touchdown drive.
That big play proved to be enough to send the 49ers to their second straight NFC title game, thanks to a stifling defensive performance.
Christian McCaffrey capped that drive with a two-yard touchdown run and the defense bolted from there to secure a 19-12 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
“Man, we’re just happy we won,” said Purdy, the 49ers’ undefeated rookie quarterback. “Everybody did their part. It’s playoff football, it’s never easy, but we’re moving on.”
The 49ers (15-4) used back-to-back long scoring drives in the second half to wear down the Cowboys (13-6) and win their 12th straight game. San Francisco advanced to play the Eagles in the NFC title game next Sunday in Philadelphia after losing in that round to the Rams a year ago.
The Cowboys lost for a record seventh straight in the divisional round and have failed to reach the NFC title game since winning their fifth Super Bowl postseason title in 1995.
Dak Prescott threw two interceptions and Brett Maher missed his fifth extra point of the postseason when his attempt was blocked. He later made two field goals.
“Just disappointment,” Prescott said. “The defense gave us an opportunity to win this game. They played hard against a really, really good offense, a really good team. For us to just put up the points we did, that’s unacceptable. It starts with me. I have to get better. There’s no other way to sugarcoat it.”
The key play came on the second play of the drive late in the third quarter with the game tied at 9. Purdy ran a bootleg that Dallas covered perfectly.
But he waited long enough for Kittle to improvise and flip up. Purdy then delivered a strikeout.
“We needed something,” Purdy said. “We needed a spark to get the ball rolling.”
Kittle fumbled the ball a few times before finally holding it for a 30-yard gain, crediting his rookie QB for delivering it.
“I’m not even in the read, so I just saw a gap and he hadn’t thrown it yet so I just went upfield,” Kittle said. “He gave me a catchable ball and I was just trying to be dramatic. Just for TV.”
McCaffrey capped the 91-yard drive with his TD run.
The Cowboys still had a shot late when they took over at their own 18 with 2:59 left, trailing 19-12 after Robbie Gould’s fourth field goal of the game capped a nearly eight-minute drive.
But Prescott threw two straight incompletions and was sacked on third down. Coach Mike McCarthy elected to punt on fourth-and-10 with all three timeouts remaining.
Purdy started the next drive with a 16-yard completion to Kittle, and San Francisco didn’t give the ball back to Dallas until 45 seconds remained. The Cowboys took over at their 6 and never got close from there.
“I like being in those positions,” Prescott said. “We just couldn’t get anything going.”
Purdy, the final pick in last April’s draft, improved to 7-0 as a starter since filling in for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo early in Week 13.
He went 18 for 28 for 215 yards with no turnovers against the Cowboys, joining Joe Flacco (2008) and Mark Sanchez (2009) as the only rookie QBs to win two playoff starts.
“I’m not shocked anymore,” McCaffrey said. “It’s just who he is now.”
The NFL’s two leading scoring teams over the past 13 weeks had trouble getting going as defenses led by San Francisco’s Nick Bosa and Dallas’ Micah Parsons controlled the game.
The Niners picked off Prescott twice in the first half, turned them into field goals by Gould and led 9-6 at halftime.
The Cowboys scored the only TD of the first half as Prescott connected 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 relief when he made a 25-yard field goal that tied the game at 9 early in the third quarter after Ray-Ray McCloud fumbled a punt return at the San Francisco 21.
“It felt like legitimate playoff football,” Bosa said. “It’s a really good team.”
JUST FOR KICKS
The Cowboys’ decision to stick with Maher after his four missed extra points last week looked questionable when he missed the early extra point. Maher’s five missed PATs are the second most of any NFL punter in the playoffs. Roy Gerela missed six attempts in 43 attempts in the 1970s for Houston and Pittsburgh.
It had been a dustup prelude as Maher warmed up. Trent Williams and other 49ers players tried to interfere with his attempt from the San Francisco side of the field, leading to a brief argument.
DAMAGES
Cowboys: RB Tony Pollard left late in the first half after injuring his left ankle while being tackled on a reception. He did not return to the game. … DT Calvin Watkins (calf) left in first half.
49ers: DE Charles Omenihu (oblique) left briefly in the first half but returned to the game.
JUST
The 49ers would reach their second Super Bowl in the past four seasons with a win in Philadelphia.
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