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The San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys battled to the bitter end of their historic rivalry on Sunday.
San Francisco's defensive effort combined with Dallas' mistakes allowed the Niners to emerge with a 23-17 victory in the first playoff meeting between the teams since 1995 and the first-ever Super Bowl match-up between the two teams.
The 49ers became the first road team to win in this year's playoffs. It's a victory that comes 40 years and a week after "The catch" in the 1981NFC Championship Game, and will hold special meaning for 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, whose father, Mike, was the Niners' offensive coordinator for some of the famous meetings between these teams.
The Niners' win over Dallas moves them to a better record against the Cowboys in the playoffs, and sets up a divisional clash against the Packers.
Without the Cowboys, it wouldn't have been possible. The Cowboys made a lot of mistakes, including a pick-six by Dak Prescott that turned into a 49ers touchdown.
The Cowboys had 14 penalties for 84 yards, tying for the most in a playoff game in franchise history. San Francisco drives were kept alive by third downs.
Jimmy Garoppolo's pick-six in the fourth quarter set up a Dallas touchdown, as the Niners made some of their own mistakes.
There was a lot of drama in the closing moments of the San Francisco-Dallas game. The Niners led 23-7 at one point, but the Cowboys got the ball back after a delay of game penalty moved the Niners from fourth-and-1 to fourth-and-8.
The Cowboys got in San Francisco territory with a 38 yard pass to a tight end. The 49ers defense, as it had all game, delivered when it needed most, even without LB Fred Warner and DE Nick Bosa, who both left the game with injuries. The 49ers defense played just 23 snaps all season.
Garoppolo was 16-of-26 for 172 yards with no touchdown and a passer rating of 67.4. He was 23 of 42 for 254 yards with a touchdown and an interception for a passer rating of 65.7.
The Niners and Cowboys entered Sunday's game with a combined 67 playoff wins, tied for the most entering a game all time. Before Sunday's defeat, Dallas had won its last three wild-card games at home. Since 2012 the 49ers have improved to 4-1 in road playoff games, after going 2-9 in franchise history prior to that.
The winner of the 49ers-Cowboys game has gone on to win the Superbowl. The winner of five of the previous seven meetings has gone on to win the Super Bowl.
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