Dallas Cowboys vs San Francisco 49ers preview for Super Wild Card Weekend

Cowboys and 49ers offensive MVPs

No skill-position players on the Cowboys’ offense were selected to the Pro Bowl, but none are more worthy than quarterback Dak Prescott. While there were a couple of games where he seemed off, the Mississippi State product put together an impressive season.

Despite not being selected to the Pro Bowl, he was worthy of it. The 2021 season was arguably the best of his career. In 16 games, he completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 4449 yards, 37 touchdowns, and ten interceptions.

He ended the season on a high note, throwing five touchdowns against the division rival Philadelphia Eagles. It was just enough to pass Tony Romo for the most touchdown passes by a Cowboys quarterback in one season. The previous mark was 36, which Romo set back in 2007.

The efficiency Prescott showed is what captured my attention. A couple of tipped balls from his receivers would have dropped his interception total a bit in a season he set a career-high for completion percentage and touchdown passes. His passer rating of 104.2 was only 0.7 from a new PR.

Some may criticize his inability to make as many big plays as he did in the previous two seasons. Well, that’s because he didn’t need to this year. He had a defense he could trust.

With at least three passing touchdowns in his last three games and no picks in his past four, Dak Prescott is heading into the playoffs with a hot hand. He proved that he is dominant as a gunslinger, game manager, and quarterback on the move.

Nothing is better than having an athlete on your roster that can excel in different positions. This season, wide receiver Deebo Samuel excelled as a pass catcher and running back for the 49ers.

Until Week 9, the swiss army knife primarily played as a wideout but saw snaps as a running back the rest of the season as the teams’ running backs went down with injuries. It’s like the wideout was playing Madden.

Samuel finished the 2021 season with 79 catches for 1405 yards and six touchdowns. He also ran 59 times for 365 yards and eight touchdowns. He had 6.2 yards per run and leads the NFL in 18.3 yards per reception.

Samuel didn’t have much help from his quarterbacks, so he found a way to impact the game himself. That meant making big plays after catching passes on short throws and bouncing off defenders as a running back.

While WR2 Brandon Aiyuk has taken a step up in the second half of this season, Samuel will still likely handle most of the offensive load, even with star TE George Kittle healthy. Hopefully, the strong Cowboys defense can halt Samuel’s production.