The Vent: Cowboys fall into familiar gaff-prone fashion to end season

DALLAS – Stop me if you’ve heard this before, the Dallas Cowboys won’t be advancing to the NFC championship game. It’s a familiar refrain that’s been repeated at the end of every season for the past 27 years.

This time it was a 19–12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round which the Cowboys won, marking the second year in a row that Dallas had seen their season ended by their playoff rivals in the west.

As it was last season and in many past January, it should not be so. The Cowboys were in a game on Sunday when the defense held off the vaunted 49ers’ offense and the offense could move the ball. The Cowboys were defending the quarterback, and it felt like everything was set.

Then came the errors. Each of them destroyed Dallas’s chances of ending one of the longest droughts in the league. Mistakes came one after another, and after such a brilliant performance in the wildcard round that created hope, the same old Cowboys appeared in the round that had plagued them for decades.

The score was 6-6 when everything went into a spiral. Up to this point, the only problems for the Cowboys were an interception by Dak Prescott when quarterback and wide receiver Michael Gallup weren’t on the same wavelength, a blocked extra point, and an injury to forward Tony Pollard. Otherwise, the team performed well as an underdog and had a chance to take the lead before the break.

However, in the next game after Pollard’s injury, on 2nd and 2nd from San Francisco’s 18-yard line, Prescott made an unforgivable decision that haunted him all season.

Prescott double-covered a closed receiver and the ball bounced into the hands of 49ers linebacker Fred Warner. This choice cost the Cowboys points and ultimately led to a San Francisco field goal before halftime.

With less than two minutes left in the half, all momentum was gone from Dallas. The interception wasn’t the only major mistake in the game, but it cost the Cowboys the win.

Under the circumstances, it was one of the worst shots of Prescott’s career and should haunt him all offseason. There was no need to force the ball to cover tightly as the points were probably already on the table for Dallas, and with the ball to start the third quarter.

Instead, Prescott’s stunning stealing trend late in the second quarter hurt the Cowboys again in the one game they couldn’t afford.

After getting fired up in the wildcard round by Prescott, Prescott ended up having a pitiful game against the 49ers despite his offensive line holding up well against the vaunted San Francisco front. Prescott simply missed too many shots in a game that Dallas couldn’t handle. And with that, his playoff legacy took another hit.

However, besides the quarterback, there were other options that could help the Cowboys emerge victorious from the game. It’s not all falling for Duck. There are multiple play-offs in every game, and Dallas didn’t make any of them in a single-score game.

A flagrant hold by defenseman Donovan Wilson when the Cowboys otherwise got a sack to force a field goal attempt was a crushing mistake. Instead of three points, the 49ers stepped up and scored a game-tying touchdown.

Meanwhile, cornerback Trevon Diggs, who has arguably the best hands in the league in position, fired a sure interception that went right into his hands. This happened at the same time as Wilson’s penalty changed the trajectory of the game.

There was also a cryptic return kick error by Cavonate Turpin, who broke free for a likely game-tying touchdown only to run straight into the San Francisco kicker as the last man to win. Instead of a TD, it was a Pro Bowl rookie return for 44 yards.

The Cowboys managed to score a goal from a great position, but it should have been much more.

In a game where they had to show their best football, the Cowboys lost again. Victory was on the way. The Cowboys held the 49ers to 19 points and lost. Players and roles may change, missing units may change places, trainers may change, players come and go, but it’s the same story you’ve heard over and over again.

Each individual Cowboys team should not be judged by the sins of the franchise’s past. And yet, each yearly issue simply continues to inherit these sins and play them out over and over again. The same mistakes that have emerged over the past 27 years have resurfaced in the division’s loss to the 49ers.

After all, the Cowboys just can’t get out of their way. Self-inflicted wounds continue to show through the most difficult times. Dallas is still two big games away from remorse for the disasters that have occurred in nearly three decades of the hardest times.

Do you think the wildcard-winning 12-5 season was successful for the Cowboys? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.