It appears that Jerry Jones’ pregame conversation with Brett Maher didn’t help.
The Cowboys kicker couldn’t convert his first extra point in the second quarter of the NFC divisional round, as the 49ers blocked it. But Fox analyst Greg Olsen said the kick likely would’ve sailed left anyway, based on where it was blocked.
“I think this ball is going to miss by 10 feet to the left,” Olsen said. “…. Listen, Dallas has a problem. There is no way around it.”
Olsen noted that the kick, lined up on the left hash, traveled over the A-gap instead of over the right tackle.
Read Related Also: Una Healy takes a swipe at ex David Haye with cryptic post after ending throuple
Maher missed four extra points in Dallas’ wild-card win over the Buccaneers, though the team stuck with him for its next postseason game despite the historically poor performance. The Cowboys signed Tristan Vizcaino to their practice squad as a second kicker, but they didn’t activate him ahead of Sunday’s game. That meant their decisions following touchdowns will involve either Maher or a 2-point attempt.
The 49ers messed with Maher’s routine pregame, not providing space to attempt his usual warmup kicks. Jones, the Cowboys owner, even consulted with Maher and punter Bryan Anger, with multiple misses from Maher — from both directions at Levi’s Stadium — prompting their discussion.
Dallas still trusted Maher following their first touchdown, and it backfired. With Dallas facing a fourth-and-four from the 36-yard line late in the first half, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy opted to go for it — keeping Maher on the sideline — and Dak Prescott scrambled for the first down. Maher did make a 25-yard field goal after Prescott connected on a touchdown with Dalton Schultz to tie the score at 9-9.
A last-second Robbie Gould field goal before halftime gave San Francisco a 9-6 lead after 30 minutes.
