CFZ What the 49er playoff loss should teach us about the 2022 season

[Bobhaze]

I don’t need to tell any Cowboys fan around here how disappointing that wild card game loss was to the 49ers last January. It was simply awful.

But nearly 7 months later, there are some things we could learn from that game if we want to take the next step and at least make an NFC championship game for the first time in 26 years. Here is a list of what that playoff taught us- have we made the right adjustments?

FIRST- SOME GAME FACTS- NINERS 23-COWBOYS 16

• The niners told us the week before the game they were going to run the ball down our throats. And they did exactly that, rushing for 169 yards.
• The niners had 341 total yards to 307 for the cowboys.
  
• The niners had 5 sacks; we had zero.
• The niners won TOP 34 minutes to 26 for Dallas. And that’s after we had the ball for most of the 4th qtr.
• In the niners first 7 possessions of the game, they scored 5 times and on their last possession of the first half, they even took a knee, leading 16-7.
• The Cowboys did not make a sack all game, and only had 4 pressures. Micah Parsons was consistently neutralized when rushing and D-Law was too. Randy Gregory had a few pressures but he had some stupid penalties too.
• The Cowboys OL got whipped all day. Tyron Smith had his worst game of the season and Connor Williams had his usual bad holding call at the worst time.
  
• For some reason Dak (or Kellen Moore) were choosing to not get the ball in the hands of their best playmakers.

So what can we learn from this?

• The trenches is where we got whipped and the biggest reason we lost that playoff game. IMO, It remains the biggest problem this team has. Not enough in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
• FOOTBALL 101: The team who wins the trenches usually wins- especially in the playoffs. You need skill position players too, but without the big guys on the line holding their own, you can’t win playoff games.

So here are some questions going into 2022 based on what last year should have taught us:

1. Did we strengthen our OL and DL this off-season? Enough to avoid a repeat of what the niners did to us last January? Can we finally stop the run?
2. Will our offense be able to get the ball to playmakers regardless of what the defense is doing? Dumping passes to Dalton Schultz all day won’t get it done. Can Kellen Moore get better? Can Dak consistently get the ball to his playmakers?

The answers to these questions will probably determine if this team does something more than what it’s done the last qtr century. We will start seeing soon.

 

[Ranching]

I don’t need to tell any Cowboys fan around here how disappointing that wild card game loss was to the 49ers last January. It was simply awful.

But nearly 7 months later, there are some things we could learn from that game if we want to take the next step and at least make an NFC championship game for the first time in 26 years. Here is a list of what that playoff taught us- have we made the right adjustments?

FIRST- SOME GAME FACTS- NINERS 23-COWBOYS 16

• The niners told us the week before the game they were going to run the ball down our throats. And they did exactly that, rushing for 169 yards.
• The niners had 341 total yards to 307 for the cowboys.
  
• The niners had 5 sacks; we had zero.
• The niners won TOP 34 minutes to 26 for Dallas. And that’s after we had the ball for most of the 4th qtr.
• In the niners first 7 possessions of the game, they scored 5 times and on their last possession of the first half, they even took a knee, leading 16-7.
• The Cowboys did not make a sack all game, and only had 4 pressures. Micah Parsons was consistently neutralized when rushing and D-Law was too. Randy Gregory had a few pressures but he had some stupid penalties too.
• The Cowboys OL got whipped all day. Tyron Smith had his worst game of the season and Connor Williams had his usual bad holding call at the worst time.
  
• For some reason Dak (or Kellen Moore) were choosing to not get the ball in the hands of their best playmakers.

So what can we learn from this?

• The trenches is where we got whipped and the biggest reason we lost that playoff game. IMO, It remains the biggest problem this team has. Not enough in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
• FOOTBALL 101: The team who wins the trenches usually wins- especially in the playoffs. You need skill position players too, but without the big guys on the line holding their own, you can’t win playoff games.

So here are some questions going into 2022 based on what last year should have taught us:

1. Did we strengthen our OL and DL this off-season? Enough to avoid a repeat of what the niners did to us last January? Can we finally stop the run?
2. Will our offense be able to get the ball to playmakers regardless of what the defense is doing? Dumping passes to Dalton Schultz all day won’t get it done. Can Kellen Moore get better? Can Dak consistently get the ball to his playmakers?

The answers to these questions will probably determine if this team does something more than what it’s done the last qtr century. We will start seeing soon.

Wow....we were totally dominated and still had a chance at the end.

 

[Bobhaze]

Wow....we were totally dominated and still had a chance at the end.

True. But we would have never been in that position if we had a better OL and DL. Seems like that is where this team must improve to take the next step.

 

[Tangle_Foot]

It should teach them that soft, undisciplined, entitled athletes/teams don't do well when punched in the nose. We not only got punched in the nose, we got kicked in the *** in our own house. I can't see them approaching this season without the focus being on getting mentally and physically tough.

I can't say that we've filled all of our needs but whatever talent we have needs to understand that nothing will change until they get tough and eliminate the penalties.

 

[MarcusRock]

True. But we would have never been in that position if we had a better OL and DL.

Or if not for Jimmy G. getting in the Christmas spirit and trying to gift the game away with an INT in the 4th.

 

[Motorola]

I don’t need to tell any Cowboys fan around here how disappointing that wild card game loss was to the 49ers last January. It was simply awful.

But nearly 7 months later, there are some things we could learn from that game if we want to take the next step and at least make an NFC championship game for the first time in 26 years. Here is a list of what that playoff taught us- have we made the right adjustments?

FIRST- SOME GAME FACTS- NINERS 23-COWBOYS 16

• The niners told us the week before the game they were going to run the ball down our throats. And they did exactly that, rushing for 169 yards.
• The niners had 341 total yards to 307 for the cowboys.
  
• The niners had 5 sacks; we had zero.
• The niners won TOP 34 minutes to 26 for Dallas. And that’s after we had the ball for most of the 4th qtr.
• In the niners first 7 possessions of the game, they scored 5 times and on their last possession of the first half, they even took a knee, leading 16-7.
• The Cowboys did not make a sack all game, and only had 4 pressures. Micah Parsons was consistently neutralized when rushing and D-Law was too. Randy Gregory had a few pressures but he had some stupid penalties too.
• The Cowboys OL got whipped all day. Tyron Smith had his worst game of the season and Connor Williams had his usual bad holding call at the worst time.
  
• For some reason Dak (or Kellen Moore) were choosing to not get the ball in the hands of their best playmakers.

So what can we learn from this?

• The trenches is where we got whipped and the biggest reason we lost that playoff game. IMO, It remains the biggest problem this team has. Not enough in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
• FOOTBALL 101: The team who wins the trenches usually wins- especially in the playoffs. You need skill position players too, but without the big guys on the line holding their own, you can’t win playoff games.

So here are some questions going into 2022 based on what last year should have taught us:

1. Did we strengthen our OL and DL this off-season? Enough to avoid a repeat of what the niners did to us last January? Can we finally stop the run?
2. Will our offense be able to get the ball to playmakers regardless of what the defense is doing? Dumping passes to Dalton Schultz all day won’t get it done. Can Kellen Moore get better? Can Dak consistently get the ball to his playmakers?

The answers to these questions will probably determine if this team does something more than what it’s done the last qtr century. We will start seeing soon.

•How could you leave out of the game facts the penalties committed-
SF___9 for 58 yds, DAL___14 for 89....with two of the five first half drives by Dallas stalled by holding calls.
The second drive setback was especially costly: Cowboys had a 1sf & 10 at 49ers 39-yd line; pushed back to midfield with holding penalty.
I will comment on your two questions for 2022 in another thrread.

 

[cowboyec]

bob hayes always comes thru.
always.

what i learned is regardless of how good we might be in the regular season...we'll find out if it's true in the post-season.
and if lessons were learned.

 

[Bobhaze]

It should teach them that soft, undisciplined, entitled athletes/teams don't do well when punched in the nose. We not only got punched in the nose, we got kicked in the *** in our own house. I can't see them approaching this season without the focus being on getting mentally and physically tough.

I can't say that we've filled all of our needs but whatever talent we have needs to understand that nothing will change until they get tough and eliminate the penalties.

Getting tougher and eliminating penalties- that’s another way this team can take the next step. It’s been too soft for too long.

 

[john van brocklin]

I don’t need to tell any Cowboys fan around here how disappointing that wild card game loss was to the 49ers last January. It was simply awful.

But nearly 7 months later, there are some things we could learn from that game if we want to take the next step and at least make an NFC championship game for the first time in 26 years. Here is a list of what that playoff taught us- have we made the right adjustments?

FIRST- SOME GAME FACTS- NINERS 23-COWBOYS 16

• The niners told us the week before the game they were going to run the ball down our throats. And they did exactly that, rushing for 169 yards.
• The niners had 341 total yards to 307 for the cowboys.
  
• The niners had 5 sacks; we had zero.
• The niners won TOP 34 minutes to 26 for Dallas. And that’s after we had the ball for most of the 4th qtr.
• In the niners first 7 possessions of the game, they scored 5 times and on their last possession of the first half, they even took a knee, leading 16-7.
• The Cowboys did not make a sack all game, and only had 4 pressures. Micah Parsons was consistently neutralized when rushing and D-Law was too. Randy Gregory had a few pressures but he had some stupid penalties too.
• The Cowboys OL got whipped all day. Tyron Smith had his worst game of the season and Connor Williams had his usual bad holding call at the worst time.
  
• For some reason Dak (or Kellen Moore) were choosing to not get the ball in the hands of their best playmakers.

So what can we learn from this?

• The trenches is where we got whipped and the biggest reason we lost that playoff game. IMO, It remains the biggest problem this team has. Not enough in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
• FOOTBALL 101: The team who wins the trenches usually wins- especially in the playoffs. You need skill position players too, but without the big guys on the line holding their own, you can’t win playoff games.

So here are some questions going into 2022 based on what last year should have taught us:

1. Did we strengthen our OL and DL this off-season? Enough to avoid a repeat of what the niners did to us last January? Can we finally stop the run?
2. Will our offense be able to get the ball to playmakers regardless of what the defense is doing? Dumping passes to Dalton Schultz all day won’t get it done. Can Kellen Moore get better? Can Dak consistently get the ball to his playmakers?

The answers to these questions will probably determine if this team does something more than what it’s done the last qtr century. We will start seeing soon.

I am really concerned they did not obtain any veteran offensive line players by trade or free agency.
We have no quality experienced back ups.
With Tyrone unable to play complete seasons this does not bode well

 

[PAPPYDOG]

I don’t need to tell any Cowboys fan around here how disappointing that wild card game loss was to the 49ers last January. It was simply awful.

But nearly 7 months later, there are some things we could learn from that game if we want to take the next step and at least make an NFC championship game for the first time in 26 years. Here is a list of what that playoff taught us- have we made the right adjustments?

FIRST- SOME GAME FACTS- NINERS 23-COWBOYS 16

• The niners told us the week before the game they were going to run the ball down our throats. And they did exactly that, rushing for 169 yards.
• The niners had 341 total yards to 307 for the cowboys.
  
• The niners had 5 sacks; we had zero.
• The niners won TOP 34 minutes to 26 for Dallas. And that’s after we had the ball for most of the 4th qtr.
• In the niners first 7 possessions of the game, they scored 5 times and on their last possession of the first half, they even took a knee, leading 16-7.
• The Cowboys did not make a sack all game, and only had 4 pressures. Micah Parsons was consistently neutralized when rushing and D-Law was too. Randy Gregory had a few pressures but he had some stupid penalties too.
• The Cowboys OL got whipped all day. Tyron Smith had his worst game of the season and Connor Williams had his usual bad holding call at the worst time.
  
• For some reason Dak (or Kellen Moore) were choosing to not get the ball in the hands of their best playmakers.

So what can we learn from this?

• The trenches is where we got whipped and the biggest reason we lost that playoff game. IMO, It remains the biggest problem this team has. Not enough in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
• FOOTBALL 101: The team who wins the trenches usually wins- especially in the playoffs. You need skill position players too, but without the big guys on the line holding their own, you can’t win playoff games.

So here are some questions going into 2022 based on what last year should have taught us:

1. Did we strengthen our OL and DL this off-season? Enough to avoid a repeat of what the niners did to us last January? Can we finally stop the run?
2. Will our offense be able to get the ball to playmakers regardless of what the defense is doing? Dumping passes to Dalton Schultz all day won’t get it done. Can Kellen Moore get better? Can Dak consistently get the ball to his playmakers?

The answers to these questions will probably determine if this team does something more than what it’s done the last qtr century. We will start seeing soon.

Can't win when you only score 7 points in 3 Q of football at home vs a wildcard team!!

 

[AsthmaField]

The team has taken steps to fix the issues. They said right after the game that penalties were something they would work on and almost every draft pick they made was on guys who are physical, tough, aggressive players. Smith, Ferguson, Waletzko, and Ridgeway specifically. Smith and Waletzko are among the most physical, aggressive college OL that I’ve ever seen.

Of course Ridgeway might have a screw loose as well.

They also got rid of some players that they no longer wanted on the team. Dallas got rid of Connor Williams and La’el Collins, two undisciplined players, and Amari Cooper, a guy that played without fire and emotion (Collins also sometimes didn’t seem to care that much about the outcome, as well).

And while I do agree that the Cowboys got beat physically that day… that 49’ers team did the same thing almost all the way to the super bowl, including physically beating the #1 seed Packers at Lambeau. They went all the way to the NFCCG and lost to eventual super bowl champion Rams… barely.

San Francisco caught on fire at the end of the 2021 regular season, even beating the Rams in Los Angeles in the last game of the season. They damn near went all the way. That regular season finale against the Rams was a physical beat down. They out muscled the Rams in that game way more than they did the Cowboys in Dallas. I watched that game as it happened, and I wanted the Rams to win because I wanted no part of the Niners in the playoffs. When San Francisco won and drew Dallas, I just shook my head. They were rolling.

Anyway, IMO, the biggest issue on that day were the penalties. Without a **** ton of flags that day, the Cowboys would have had a much better chance of winning it.

Working on the penalties and changing the players to guys who play physical football and play with emotion is precisely what the team needed to do. So yeah, they saw it and are working to fix it.

 

[AsthmaField]

Can't win when you only score 7 points in 3 Q of football at home vs a wildcard team!!

The Rams won the NFC Championship Game against these same Niners with Stafford and company scoring 0 in the third Quarter.

Sometimes the things you say…

 

[big dog cowboy]

• FOOTBALL 101: The team who wins the trenches usually wins- especially in the playoffs. You need skill position players too, but without the big guys on the line holding their own, you can’t win playoff games.

Been true since day 1 in this league.

 

[Motorola]

Can't win when you only score 7 points in 3 Q of football at home vs a wildcard team!!

It has been the Cowboys' M.O. for the last four playoff games.
I know three of those apperances were under the former HC & OC...but a good part of the offensive core were in place for all of them (QB, RB1, LT, RG; WR1 for the last three.
GB____13 pts @ halftime, 13 pts entering 4th qtr
SEA___10 pts @ halftime, 10 pts entering 4th qtr
LAR____7 pts @ halftime, 15 pts entering 4th qtr
SF______7 pts @ halftime, 7 pts entering 4th qtr

 

[PAPPYDOG]

It has been the Cowboys' M.O. for the last four playoff games.
I know three of those apperances were under the former HC & OC...but some of offensive core = principals were in place for all of them (QB, RB1, LT, RG, WR1 for the last three.
GB____13 pts @ halftime, 13 pts entering 4th qtr
SEA___10 pts @ halftime, 10 pts entering 4th qtr
LAR____7 pts @ halftime, 15 pts entering 4th qtr
SF______7 pts @ halftime, 7 pts entering 4th qtr

Dak's M/O as he disappears and wakes up in the 4th Q when the game is over or chokes and falls short.......
Top 10 or Elite whatever fantasy turns you on baby!!!

 

[PAPPYDOG]

The Rams won the NFC Championship Game against these same Niners with Stafford and company scoring 0 in the third Quarter.

Sometimes the things you say…

It's 3 Quarters of football, not the 3rd Q .....LOL....I knew you Dak lovers were challenged but dang man!!!

 

[AsthmaField]

It's 3 Quarters of football, not the 3rd Q .....LOL....I knew you Dak lovers were challenged but dang man!!!

Then the Rams had 7 points at home in 3 quarters of play in the NFCCG and beat that Niners team. Either way you meant it, you were wrong.

And lol @ me being a Dak lover.

 

[PAPPYDOG]

It has been the Cowboys' M.O. for the last four playoff games.
I know three of those apperances were under the former HC & OC...but a good part of the offensive core were in place for all of them (QB, RB1, LT, RG; WR1 for the last three.
GB____13 pts @ halftime, 13 pts entering 4th qtr
SEA___10 pts @ halftime, 10 pts entering 4th qtr
LAR____7 pts @ halftime, 15 pts entering 4th qtr
SF______7 pts @ halftime, 7 pts entering 4th qtr

It's the fault of the defense.........

 

[Motorola]

Can't win when you only score 7 points in 3 Q of football at home vs a wildcard team!!

San Francisco two postseasons ago was in the Super Bowl; they suffered many injuries during 2020 just like Dallas.
Cowboys underestimated them last January.

 

[PAPPYDOG]

San Francisco two postseasons ago was in the Super Bowl; they suffered many injuries during 2020 just like Dallas.
Cowboys underestimated them last January.

Someone needs to tell Jerry and Dak that the team which scores more points WINS!!!