Wildcard Weekend is officially here. It’s time to put your best foot forward and leave it all on the field. The Dallas Cowboys will have their hands full with the San Francisco 49ers. It will take some big performances from some key players to get past this game for Dallas.
Bold Prediction One: Dak Prescott will throw for 325 plus yards and three touchdowns.
Prescott will need to play very well on Sunday because Ezekiel Elliott will struggle once again against a very good 49ers rush defense. Prescott can do this against this 49er secondary.
The 49ers are ranked only 23rd in dropback EPA. They have allowed 11 passes of 40 plus yards, which is the eighth-worst in the NFL. They have also allowed 54 passes of 20 yards or more, which ranks in the league’s bottom half.
Prescott has played in three playoff games and has seven total touchdowns with a passer rating of 95.7. In his rookie year, he went toe to toe with Aaron Rodgers and had a great performance against Russell Wilson and the Seahawks for his only playoff win.
Dak has played well when the lights are the brightest, and the Cowboys will need it this week.
Bold Prediction Two: The Cowboys pick off Jimmy Garoppolo two times.
The Cowboys will need to stop the 49ers rushing attack and have Garoppolo beat them in this game. Garoppolo has thrown an interception in every 49er’s loss this season. He has nine interceptions in the team’s seven losses.
The Cowboys led the NFL in takeaways with 34 and led the league with 26 interceptions in the regular season.
Trevon Diggs led the way with eleven of those interceptions. However, part of this bold prediction is that Diggs will be left off the interception stat sheet in this game. Instead, Anthony Brown and Jayron Kearse will have the honor of picking off Garoppolo.
Bold Prediction Three: Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb combine for over 225 receiving yards.
Cooper will see a lot of rookie cornerback Ambry Thomas, which is a favorable matchup for Dallas. Lamb has been quiet as of late, but he will be ready for the playoffs. The dynamic duo will show in this game why the Cowboys possess one of the best-receiving corps in the NFL.
In week 16, the 49ers let AJ Brown absolutely torch them for 11 grabs, 145 yards, and a touchdown.
The 49ers’ secondary has been their biggest weakness all season, and Prescott and his elite targets will be too much for them to handle.
Bold Prediction Four: The Cowboys sack Garoppolo four times
The 49ers’ offensive line is a good unit; make no mistake about it. Dallas has the pass rushers to send at them in Micah Parsons, Randy Gregory, Neville Gallimore, Osa Odighizuwa, and of course, DeMarcus Lawrence.
Lawrence will lead the way with two sacks for Dallas, forcing one fumble. With the 49ers likely to key in on Parsons, that will help free up Lawrence, and he will help wreak havoc on Jimmy GQ.
