SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy rolled to his left and saw his first few options covered. At the last second, George Kittle broke free running deep, Purdy threw across his body and Kittle made a juggling catch that sparked San Francisco’s only touchdown drive.
That one big play proved to be enough to send the 49ers to their second straight NFC title game, thanks to a suffocating defensive performance.
Christian McCaffrey capped that drive with a go-ahead 2-yard run and the defense buckled down from there, sealing a 19-12 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
“Man, we’re just excited that we won,” said Purdy, the 49ers’ unbeaten rookie quarterback. “Everyone 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 the record seventh straight time in the divisional round and have failed to make it to the NFC title game since winning their fifth Super Bowl title following the 1995 season.
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. “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 only put up the points that we did, that’s unacceptable. It starts with me. I’ve got to be 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 turn upfield. Purdy then delivered a strike.
“We needed something,” Purdy said. “We needed a spark to get the ball rolling.”
Kittle bobbled the ball a few times before finally corralling it for a 30-yard gain, giving credit to his rookie QB for delivering it.
“I’m not even in the read, so I just kind of saw a space and he hadn’t thrown it yet so I was just going up the field,” 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…