We tried to warn you, 49ers: Don’t blitz Dak Prescott!

Early in the first quarter of the wild-card matchup between the 49ers and Cowboys, Nick Bosa got a sack of Dak Prescott on a four-man rush with a nice stunt scheme in which Bosa jumped several gaps inside and moved uninstructed to Dallas’ quarterback. Our own Mark Schofield detailed this very well.

This this was a sack out of base pressure was important, because if there is one thing you absolutely do not want to do when you play the Cowboys, it’s to blitz Prescott. If you do, the likelihood that your defense will suffer is high. Per Sports Info Solutions, in the 2021 regular season, Prescott completed 103 of 165 passes for 1,171 yards, 676 air yards, 23 touchdowns, four interceptions, and a passer rating of 113.2. To put that touchdown total in perspective, Aaron Rodgers ranks second this season with scoring passes against the blitz — with 15.

Prescott was sacked 30 times on blitzes in the regular season, but if you can get pressure with four as the 49ers have been able to this season (they had the NFL’s fourth-lowest blitz rate at 19.8%, and had a pressure rate of 24.1%), there’s really no reason do do it. Prescott is a wizard when it comes to deciphering the openings in a defense left by the blitz, and that’s why he’s been so productive.

San Francisco’s defense flew a little too close to the sun with 5:19 left in the first half, sending five rushers after Prescott on third-and-5 from the San Francisco 20-yard line. The blitz gave Prescott a one-on-one outside playside for receiver Amari Cooper against cornerback K’Waun Williams, who just couldn’t keep up.

The 49ers went into the half up 16-7 on the Cowboys, but if they want to keep blitzing Prescott, the score could turn pretty quickly.

And yes, we tried to warn you, 49ers.