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.
