49ers beat Cowboys 19-12 to advance to NFC title game

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Christian McCaffrey scored on a go-ahead 2-yard run in the fourth quarter and San Francisco's defense did the rest, sending the 49ers to their second

straight NFC title game with a 19-12 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. 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. Dak Prescott threw two interceptions and Brett Maher missed his fifth extra point of the postseason when his attempt was blocked. He

later made two field goals. The Cowboys had a shot when they took over at their own 18 with 2:59 remaining, trailing 19-12 after Robbie Gould's fourth field goal of the game

capped a nearly eight-minute drive. But Prescott threw two straight incompletions and was sacked on third down. Coach Mike McCarthy opted to punt on fourth-and-10 with all

three timeouts left. Rookie Brock Purdy started the next drive with a 16-yard completion to George Kittle and San Francisco didn't give the ball back to Dallas until there

were 45 seconds left at the 6. Dallas never got close from there.