Brock Purdy and George Kittle talk with reporters following practice Thursday in Santa Clara and discuss the 49ers-Cowboys rivalry and adding another chapter to it Sunday in the playoffs.
The Dallas Cowboys are coming into Sunday's NFC Divisional Playoff against the 49ers with plenty of motivation.
After last year's wild-card loss to San Francisco that came down to the wire, Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott and the Cowboys are looking for a chance to redeem themselves this postseason.
"Most definitely I did. I think this whole team did," Prescott told reporters Thursday when asked if the Cowboys wanted a 49ers rematch in the playoffs.
"Obviously, using that loss last year as motivation and just kind of the focal point, I guess, of the resiliency that we carried into the offseason, obviously carried into this year. Yeah, we get a chance to go back and, at their place, do something that we want to do."
Dallas will roll into Levi's Stadium this weekend to face a San Francisco team that has won 11 straight games and is led by rookie phenom Brock Purdy under center. After last year's 49ers-Cowboys clash ended when Prescott couldn't spike the ball in time amid a potential last-second comeback, he reflected Thursday on the loss.
"I just didn't execute well enough, obviously, to give us an opportunity to win," Prescott said. "Defense did a hell of a job. [We] had a chance there with the last three drives. We scored in the third-to-last drive, and then the last two just didn't get it done ... Finishing the game trying to clock the ball and the time running out, yeah. Just didn't execute and do my job."
Prescott added that the Cowboys this season are more "mature" and "connected" than last year's team. Dallas coaches have allowed them to use last year's season-ending loss to the 49ers as fuel, and Prescott certainly will need plenty as he looks to advance to the first NFC Championship Game of his NFL career.
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"Now we can lean on that as we move forward and go into this game," Prescott said.
Cowboys defensive stalwart Micah Parsons is looking forward to facing San Francisco again and believes Dallas beat itself last year against the 49ers.
"The biggest misconception is that you've got to go out there and be different, you've got to go out there and try to out-physical a team or out-do -- you want to play their game," Parsons told reporters Thursday. "Why play their game? Play your game. Let's play Dallas football, that's all we've got to do. ...
"I don't want to go out there and try to out-compete the 49ers -- they're going to beat my a-- if I play their game. Let me play my game. So, I'm going to bring my strengths and what I bring to the table, they'll bring their strengths and let's just battle it out."
Dallas guard Zack Martin admitted watching tape from last year's 49ers-Cowboys wild-card game is "not the most fun," but added his team has learned plenty from doing so.
"It's no surprise. Let's call a spade a spade, they got after us pretty good last year," Martin told reporters Thursday. "... [The 49ers] do a great job of coming off the ball and really trying to set a tone for the game, and I think that's something that we like to do, too. So it's going to be a physical game, and we've got to come out ready to play from the first snap."
And wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who caught just one pass from Prescott in last year's wild-card game, is looking to make more of a statement this time around.
"I feel like I could be more impactful this year for sure, but definitely wasn't one of my best performances," Lamb said. "I grew a lot, just from learning and seeing a lot of things in that last game, and as far as feeling [at the end] of the game, I felt terrible, obviously, because we lost, but I wasn't productive enough."
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It's clear the Cowboys have done some learning and growing since the 49ers eliminated them last year.
But so have the 49ers, who entered the playoffs as NFC West champions and the conference's No. 2 seed, compared to last season's No. 6 standing. And with this storied rivalry renewed, San Francisco's bevy of talent on both sides of the ball certainly is just as ready to eliminate Dallas once again.
Motivation is key to any victory, and the Cowboys will face a similarly motivated 49ers team Sunday as Purdy and Co. continue the Quest for Six.