Cowboys news: A Brett Maher insurance policy has been signed to the practice squad

Cowboys sign familiar face as Brett Maher insurance before 49ers clash - Jerry Trotta, The Landry Hat

The team is putting measures in place in case of another messy game from Maher.

The Dallas Cowboys simply could not have justified going into the Divisional Round against the hottest team in football, the San Francisco 49ers, without signing someone to backup Brett Maher after his epic meltdown against the Buccaneers.

Jerry Jones, Mike McCarthy and special teams coach John Fassel have all proclaimed that Maher keep his job. While that might be true when all is said and done, that didn’t stop the Cowboys from going out and signing former Patriots kicker Tristan Vizcaino to their practice squad Tuesday, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Vizcaino has bounced around the NFL over his three years in the league. His most substantial role came with the Chargers last season when he started six games. The results were very mixed, as Vizcaino drilled 6-of-7 field goal attempts, but struggled with extra points, going 10-of-15 on point afters.

For what it’s worth, those marked the only XP misses of Vizcaino’s career thus far. Overall, the former Washington Husky is 15-of-20 in his career, which averages out to 75%. Not great, but very skewed from his Chargers stint.

Cowboys defense really showed their mettle against Tampa Bay - Tony Stahl, Inside The Star

This elite unit has returned to form, and a great time to do so.

The Wild Card showdown between the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a game that will stick with fans for a while. The entire team as a whole performed outstanding and defeated Tom Brady for the first time in his career.

While I can go on and on about how the Cowboys’ offense was impeccable, it’s interesting that the defense only allowed 14 points against a quarterback that has won 7 Super Bowls.

Don’t get me wrong, Dak Prescott had arguably the greatest quarterback performance I have ever seen. With four passing touchdowns, a rushing TD, and 305 passing yards, this man deserves an award for sure.

The Cowboys’ defense went into the locker room at halftime knowing that they just accomplished something that hadn’t been done since 2002; they shut out Tom Brady in the first half of a playoff game.

Where the Cowboys Present the Biggest Threat Against the 49ers - Jose Luis Sanchez, SI.com

After the latest performance by Dallas against the Buccaneers, the Niners certainly will have their work cut out for them.

It doesn’t get any better than 49ers versus Cowboys in the playoffs.

The hype and buildup to this game just would not be as great if the Buccaneers advanced. Luckily, Dallas took care of business to make this Divisional playoff round a highly anticipated one.

The Cowboys completely dominated the Buccaneers on Monday Night Football. It was such a one-sided affair that made it practically unwatchable. Sure, the Buccaneers are a weak team, but the Cowboys do deserve credit for burying them to advance to the next round. It was a game in which they needed to build themselves some momentum as they face a strong 49ers side on the road.

Dallas will be the toughest opponent the 49ers have faced since arguably the Chiefs. It won’t be a walk in the park for the 49ers to win this game. They are going to have to battle fiercely to emerge as the victor in this one with the Cowboys presenting a series of challenges. But where the Cowboys present the biggest threat of them all against the 49ers is with Dak Prescott.

Position grades, snap counts from Cowboys dominant dispatching of Tampa Bay - Cameron Burnett, Cowboys Wire

Dak Prescott is playing at an elite level, and it will be difficult for any team to slow him down.

The Dallas Cowboys delivered one of their best performances of the season in Monday night’s wild-card round win. They shut out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first half before sealing the victory early in the fourth quarter. The 31-14 final, impressive on its own, may not accurately portray the dominance Dallas displayed in what could’ve been Tom Brady’s final game.

Quarterback Dak Prescott was the star of the show, delivering a signature performance, but it was a team effort to exorcise the team’s road playoff curse with their first such win since 1993. With the San Francisco 49ers next on the menu, here’s the positional and coaching grades from the Cowboys excellence after worries in Week 18 seem eons in the past.

QB: A+

Dak Prescott: 69 snaps, 100%

What more could one have asked from Prescott? The ghosts of his promise to Brady over a year ago, the deceptive league-leading interceptions and his worst performance of the year in a meaningless regular-season finale created narratives.

Narratives that were vaporized when Prescott delivered 25-for-33 passing for 305 yards and four touchdowns as the first Dallas quarterback to throw for as many scores in the playoffs. On top of that, he added some timely scrambles and a rushing touchdown to boot.

Cowboys rookie Tyler Smith learns OL versatility on the fly - Schuyler Dixon, Valdosta Daily Times

Dallas has seemed to have hit a home run with their 2022 first-round pick.

After drafting Smith 24th overall in April, the Cowboys put him at left guard for offseason workouts, which left open the possibility of starting or backing up Connor McGovern.

After Tyron Smith’s injury less than three weeks before the opener, the rookie moved to the spot the club figured he would one day take over when the elder Smith was no longer with Dallas.

Tyler Smith started the first 16 games at left tackle before center Tyler Biadasz’s ankle injury led to multiple changes up front, including sliding Smith over to left guard.

Now Tyler Smith is back at left tackle after 40-year-old veteran Jason Peters injured his hip in the wild-card win over Tampa Bay.

“I couldn’t have imagined it,” Smith said of all the switching. “You don’t want to keep your head too far in the future and fill your head up with all these scenarios.”

The most significant development came when Tyler Smith didn’t move at all.

When Tyron Smith was ready for his season debut in Week 15, the Cowboys decided to leave the rookie in the spot of someone the club considers a future Hall of Famer.

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