49ers hold off late push to eliminate Cowboys
Clock runs out on last-minute attempt by Dallas to score in NFC wild-card game
Elijah Mitchell ran for 96 yards and a touchdown while the San Francisco 49ers' defence overcame the loss of star defensive end Nick Bosa to hold the Dallas Cowboys in check during a 23-17 win Sunday in the NFC wild-card round in Arlington, Texas.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo hit 16-of-25 throws for 172 yards with an interception for the 49ers, who will travel to top-seeded Green Bay next weekend for an NFC semifinal. San Francisco wide receiver Deebo Samuel added 110 yards from scrimmage, 72 on the ground, with a touchdown.
Samuel's 26-yard scoring run, one play after Dallas QB Dak Prescott was intercepted by K'Waun Williams, gave San Francisco a 23-7 advantage with 5:50 left in the third quarter.
Greg Zuerlein's 51-yard field goal and Prescott's five-yard touchdown run pulled the Cowboys within six points with 8:02 left. But Dallas's last chance ended when Prescott ran 17 yards up the middle to the 49ers' 24-yard line and could not spike the ball to stop the clock before time expired. Dallas was out of timeouts.
Bosa was declared out for the second half after suffering a concussion late in the first half. Bosa was trying to get to Prescott when he was held by La'el Collins. As Bosa was falling, his head hit the hip of a teammate. Bosa walked off the field but couldn't pass concussion protocol.
In the first half, Bosa had three tackles and a half-sack, helping San Francisco mount a consistent pass rush. Prescott absorbed three sacks. Bosa had 15.5 sacks in the regular season, which ranked fourth in the NFL.
At the time of the injury, the 49ers led 16-7, and they boosted the lead to 16 points later in the stanza.
Nevertheless, sixth-seeded San Francisco still held third-seeded Dallas to 307 total yards and sacked Prescott five times. Prescott completed just 23-of-43 passes for 254 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Dallas hurt its cause with 14 penalties for 89 yards. Four of them gave the 49ers first downs.
San Francisco initiated the scoring on the game's first possession, marching 75 yards in just seven plays. Mitchell stepped into the end zone from the 4 on a toss sweep, slicing just inside the front right pylon at the 10:54 mark.
Kicker Robbie Gould upped the lead to 10-0 on the 49ers' second drive, drilling a 53-yard field goal with 4:56 left. He connected from 40 yards out with 9:44 remaining in the first half, capping a drive of nearly eight minutes to make it 13-0.
Dallas finally got some traction on the next possession, going 67 yards in nine plays to get on the board. Prescott hooked up with Amari Cooper for a 20-yard touchdown pass with 5:24 on the clock to cut the deficit to 13-7.
Gould sent San Francisco into the locker-room with a 16-7 lead after converting from 52 yards out with 3:08 left.