GAME REVIEW
OFFENSE
Hardly remarkable, but efficient and error-free. George Kittle was the spark the 49ers needed, from a tipped pass off his facemask to a key block on a late third-down conversion, making five catches for 95 yards. Brock Purdy (19-for-29, 214 yards) finished with the lowest game rating of his nascent career as a starter (87.4), but had no interceptions and was sacked just twice despite nonstop Dallas pressure. Elijah Mitchell (14 carries, 51 yards) was the game’s leading rusher but might need a refresher course on clock management after a late-game run out of bounds.
DEFENSE
The Cowboys were held to 282 yards of offense and suffered their biggest loss when RB Tony Pollard was knocked out of the game with an ankle sprain in the first half. Dallas rushed for 100 yards 14 times this season, but gained only 76 (on a 3.5 average). Deommodore Lenoir and Fred Warner had interceptions, the 49ers had four QB hits, three tackles for loss and knocked down six Dak Prescott passes.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Robbie Gould was unquestionably the game MVP. He converted all four of his field goals (26, 47, 50 and 28 yards) to push his never-missed-a-playoff-FG streak to 29, but his biggest play may well have been his fourth-quarter tackle of KaVontae Turpin, whose 44-yard kick return after the 49ers took a 16-9 lead might have otherwise gone the distance. Ray-Ray McCloud had the 49ers’ lone turnover (a fumbled punt return), but did have a 53-yard kick return.
COACHING
Kyle Shanahan had a couple of surprisingly conservative decisions — punting from the Dallas 38 in the first quarter, not using a timeout earlier in the final minute before halftime — but his unshakable faith in a bruising running game and trusting Purdy to conduct his offense with repeated over-the-middle play calls was evident throughout. Purdy’s 16-yard completion to Kittle on the final play before the two-minute warning? Gutsy.
OVERALL
The season’s final home game offered a fitting example of how this year’s team is built: a stifling defense serves as the foundation and is buoyed by an offense capable of taking advantage of scoring opportunities when presented. Next Sunday’s NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia may be a replay of Sunday’s slug-it-out win.