Jimmy Garoppolo: 'Never Felt Like' Cowboys Playoff Game Was Getting Away from 49ers
January 17, 2022
The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 23-17 in the NFC Wild Card Round on Saturday at AT&T Stadium, and veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said it always felt like his team was in control of the game despite allowing Dallas to outscore them 10-0 in the fourth quarter.
"It was just an emotional game," Garoppolo told reporters. "The highs and lows of it, everything just never felt like it was getting away from us. I always felt like we were in control of the game."
Prescott and the Cowboys made a push in the fourth quarter. With the game coming down to the final drive, Dallas' season culminated in one of the most puzzling play calls of recent playoff memory.
With 14 seconds remaining and no timeouts, Prescott took a designed run 17 yards up the middle of the field and slid down at the 49ers' 24-yard line with hopes of stopping the clock on the next play.
But as the Cowboys offense rushed to the line, umpire Ramon George was far behind the action, bumping into Prescott and several other players as he rushed to spot the ball. By the time Prescott spiked it, the clock had already expired.
The 49ers led the Cowboys 23-7 entering the fourth quarter thanks to the play of Elijah Mitchell, who rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries, and the versatile Deebo Samuel, who caught three passes for 38 yards, in addition to rushing for 72 yards and a score.
San Francisco is back in the Divisional Round for the first time since the 2019 season and will travel to face Aaron Rodgers and the No. 1 seeded Green Bay Packers on Saturday. The Packers won their only meeting against the Niners this season 30-28.