Cowboys studs and duds: Dak Prescott chokes in the spotlight, again

Stud: Brett Maher, K

It seemed as though all would fall apart again for Brett Maher. He missed four extra points in the Wild Card Round and could have used a make on his first attempt Sunday. That didn’t happen as the first extra-point try was blocked.

After looking at the replay, it was clear to see that the block was on Maher. He kicked the ball low and it was veering to the left. Even if it wasn’t blocked, he would have seen it sail wide and it still would have been a miss.

Dallas stuck with Maher and after this miss, it seemed they made a mistake. But then, he finally turned a corner.

Maher hit a 25-yarder in the third quarter to tie it up at nine. Then, he got a 43-yarder to make it 16-12. He needed those two kicks to get on track even worse than the Cowboys needed them to stay in this game. It was nice to see him come through, even though the offense didn’t do enough to get the win.

We called him out when he struggled, so Maher deserves the praise for being one of the lone people to step up this weekend.

Dud: Trevon Diggs, CB

Dallas only gave up one touchdown in the loss but it should have been none. With the 49ers driving, Brock Purdy had a pass batted by Anthony Barr and it went straight to Trevon Diggs ‚— the man who had 11 picks in 2021.

Diggs had both hands on the ball but ended up dropping it. Had he pulled it in, that could have been the play they needed to steal the momentum and the game. Since he couldn’t, the 49ers got another shot and Christian McCaffrey put the game out of reach with his touchdown run.