Dallas Cowboys

Cowboys doomed by penalties; playoff woes continue with latest loss

Updated Jan. 16, 2022 10:03 p.m. ET

Sunday wasn't the Cowboys' day — again.

Dallas fell at home to the San Francisco 49ers, losing a 23-17 nail-biter on Super Wild Card Weekend and putting an end to the 2021-22 season in heartbreaking fashion.

Literally.

Arguably the most heartbreaking aspect of Sunday's game for Cowboys fans was the team's self-inflicted wounds — and there were a lot of them.

The Cowboys’ 14 penalties Sunday — costing them 89 yards — were the most by any team in a playoff game since Dallas also committed 14 penalties in the wild-card round on Jan. 9, 2010.

Dallas also tied the record for most penalties in a postseason game, joining those 2009-10 Cowboys, the 1980-81 Oakland Raiders (wild-card round), the 1981-82 49ers (divisional round) and the 2002-03 Raiders (AFC Championship).

And it's not as if Cowboys fans didn't see it coming, considering that Dallas was the most penalized team in the NFL this regular season, drawing 127 flags.

As evidenced, fan emotions were high Sunday at Jerry World, and the loss became just the latest in a string of playoff failures for Dallas.

The defeat even sparked some unsavory behavior from fans in the stands.

Since the Cowboys’ last Super Bowl win at the conclusion of the 1995 season, they have failed to reach the NFC Championship in any of their 11 playoff appearances since. In that time, they've amassed five losses in the wild-card round and six losses in the divisional round.

The 'Boys are 4-11 in their past 15 postseason games. The only other teams that have not reached an NFC Championship since the 1995 season are the Detroit Lions and the Washington Football Team.

In addition, Dallas QB Dak Prescott is now 1-3 in the postseason.

The day, statistically speaking, was somewhat even. Dallas earned 307 total yards compared to 341 for San Francisco. Each team had only one red-zone trip and one turnover, and while the Niners averaged 5.4 yards per play, as opposed to 4.4 for Dallas, the Cowboys ran 70 plays, compared to 63 by San Francisco.

The Niners had nine penalties of their own for 58 yards, but that didn't nearly approach Dallas' 14 costly whistles.

Here is how social media reacted to the Cowboys' defeat: