49ers vs. Cowboys: 5 biggest takeaways from Wild Card win

No. 3: 49ers secondary is much improved

There have been many changes to the secondary since the beginning of the season. Starting cornerback Jason Verrett was lost for the season in Week 1, and the other starter, Emmanuel Moseley, only played in 12 of the 17 regular-season games.

Offensive coordinators were licking their chops to attack the makeshift San Francisco secondary early in the year, and fortunately, strong performances from the front seven hid a lot of the deficiencies.

Week 14 saw rookie Ambry Thomas enter the starting lineup and things started to change.

Thomas has had his share of growing pains, but he has improved his play each week and gained confidence as a byproduct of more playing time. The game-sealing interception against the Rams in Week 18 was huge for Thomas and the confidence the team has in him.

Read more: 5 things 49ers must clean up after beating Cowboys in Wild Card

With the improvement of Thomas, and strong play from Moseley and K’Waun Williams in the slot, the 49ers’ secondary is no longer the weak link. The safety play of Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt has been solid when they are healthy as well.

The improved unit held Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott to 254 yards and only 5.9 yards per pass.

Teams are still going to challenge the secondary and expect to have success, but that is starting to be a difficult task.