Kyle Shanahan walked onto the field with an emphatic nod, believing his San Francisco 49ers had beaten the Dallas Cowboys in a chaotic wild-card finish that left many not sure what was happening.

Deebo Samuel ran 26 yards for a touchdown for a comfortable lead in the third quarter before the Cowboys rallied and ran out of time trying to get a final play in the 49ers’ 23-17 victory Sunday.

“I’m still trying to figure out where I’m at,” Shanahan said after coaching San Francisco’s first playoff victory at Dallas in a storied postseason rivalry. “It’s pretty emotional out there.”

The 49ers (11-7) overcame an interception by Jimmy Garoppolo when they led by 13 in the fourth quarter, and now are headed to a divisional playoff next Saturday night at Green Bay two years after reaching the Super Bowl and losing to Kansas City.

The wait for Dallas (12-6) to reach even an NFC championship game will tick up to 27 years after another first-game flameout in the postseason for Dak Prescott, the second in three trips over six seasons for the star quarterback. It was his first playoff game since signing a $40-million-a-year contract in the off-season.

The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Las Vegas Raiders 26-19 in Saturday’s AFC wild-card matchup, earning their first postseason victory since 1991 and ending an eight-game playoff losing streak that dated back more than three decades.

On Saturday evening, Paul Brown Stadium was absolutely rocking as the Cincinnati Bengals hosted a playoff game for the first time since the 2015 season.

Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase performed in the playoffs, just as advertised. Burrow completed over 70% of his passes and tossed a pair of touchdowns. Chase was his favorite target, with nine catches for 119 yards.

The Bengals last won a playoff game 32 years and nine days ago, so long that it came against a now-defunct team, the Houston Oilers. Only two active Bengals players — punter Kevin Huber​​ and long snapper Clark Harris — were alive. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was 7. The playoff losing streak started the following week against the Raiders, who were in Los Angeles back then.

Bengals QB Joe Burrow was efficient Saturday, completing 24 of 34 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie kicker Evan McPherson made all four of his field-goal attempts.

The Giants are once again in the market for a new head coach as a once-proud franchise continues to sink to new depths on its way to hitting rock-bottom.

Joe Judge was spared the axe on Black Monday, but he did not survive another day in the job he ascended to almost exactly two years ago. Judge met with co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch the day after the Giants finished off a miserable 4-13 season and Mara informed Judge on Tuesday that he was fired.

“Steve and I both believe it is in the best interest of our franchise to move in another direction,” Mara said. “We met with Joe to discuss the state of the team. I met again with Joe this afternoon, and it was during that conversation I informed Joe of our decision. We appreciate Joe’s efforts on behalf of the organization.

“I said before the season started that I wanted to feel good about the direction we were headed when we played our last game of the season. Unfortunately, I cannot make that statement, which is why we have made this decision.’’