Two of the NFL‘s signature franchises will face off on Sunday in the NFC Wild Card Round at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The surging San Francisco 49ers (10-7) and the Dallas Cowboys (12-5) have had their share of epic battles in the playoffs over the years, and Sunday promises to provide another great game in this storied rivalry . It has been a while since these two teams met in the postseason. The last time they met was in 1995 when Steve Young and the 49ers defeated the Cowboys’ “Triplets” (Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin) 38-28 in the NFC Championship Game in Dallas.
This season, San Francisco punched its ticket to the playoffs in style as the 49ers rallied from a 17-0 deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Rams 27-24 in overtime at SoFi Stadium. Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers continued their ownership of the Rams, who they have beaten six consecutive times. Jimmy Garoppolo completed 23 of 32 passes for 312 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Elijah Mitchell led a punishing running attack with 85 yards, and Deebo Samuel had 140 all-purpose yards. Brandon Aiyuk also chipped in with six receptions for 107 yards. This type of balanced offensive attack is a recipe for success in the playoffs. The 49ers defense also stepped up, with Ambry Thomas effectively ending the game late in overtime by intercepting Matthew Stafford. The Niner’s settled in after a tough first half as they limited the Rams to just seven points over the nearly 40 remaining minutes of the football game.
Dallas heads into the playoffs with a little bit of extra swagger after dispatching Philadelphia 51-26 last Saturday night. One of the main objectives for the Cowboys in that game was to have the offense generate momentum. Well, Dak Prescott took care of that by completing 21 of 27 passes for 295 yards and five touchdowns. Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 87 yards to secure another 1,000-yard season on the ground. The defense settled in after a rough start and they kept Gardner Minshew in check for the most part. They also created a couple of turnovers and registered three sacks on the night. The hire of defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has proven to be the right one — he’s a prime candidate for several head-coaching jobs — as the Cowboys defense has improved a lot in 2021 largely to his credit. The Cowboys allowed 21.1 points per game, which ranked seventh in the NFL, and led the league with 34 turnovers forced.
Looking forward to this weekends’ match up, here are 3 things to keep a eye on which might determine how this game will unfold .
1. Can the 49ers’ offense play keep away from Dallas?
San Francisco should not lack confidence this week on offense. The 49ers survived the annual grind of the NFC West to make the playoffs. The NFC West was 40-27 overall with three playoff teams. Head coach Kyle Shanahan will set the tone by running the ball with Mitchell and Samuel. The 49ers offensive line hope to turn this into a physical battle by absolutely dominating the Cowboys’ defensive front. George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk’s role in the game will be to make those big chunk plays that keep the chains moving and grind the clock to limit the number of possessions. Garoppolo must take what the defense gives him throwing the football and not force anything this week. The big question though for the 49ers, is whether Garoppolo will be able to accomplish that and not give the ball away. It will be intriguing to see how he responds once again on the big stage after leading the Niners to the Super Bowl two years ago. Ultimately, the chess match between Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and his former OC when he was head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, Kyle Shanahan, will be front and center in this game. Whichever coach wins this battle, will most likely decide the game.
2. Will the Dallas offense rise to the occasion in the postseason?
Prescott should be a lock for Comeback Player of the Year honors after returning from a broken ankle and shoulder injury to finish top-10 in passing yards (4,449, seventh), passing touchdowns (37, tied-fourth), and passer rating (104.2, third). The challenge for Prescott this week will be getting rid of the football quickly since the 49ers front four can create a ton of pressure. Some quick passes to Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb and a heavy use of screen passes out of the backfield could help alleviate some of that pressure, but hopefully with greater effect than has been the case of late. What Cowboys fans really want to see is the offense throw the ball down the field. San Francisco’s secondary could be exposed deep, but the Cowboys will have to keep the chains moving in order to wear out the defense and take their shots. Running the football is the biggest key to doing that. Dallas has had issues running the ball during their recent offensive struggles and team’s are not showing much respect towards their run game. In a 25-22 loss to Arizona two weeks ago, the Cowboys were limited to 45 yards on the ground. The primary running back combination of Elliott and Tony Pollard will likely need to see a combined 25 touches this week if the Cowboys hope to advance to the Divisional Round next week. Being one dimensional in this game carries a lot of risk and could very well play into the 49ers hands.
3. Will the 49ers defense step up when needed this week?
Defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans will have a fantastic opportunity this week to put together a game plan to stifle one of the leagues best offenses. The blueprint to stop the Cowboys is out there and the 49ers will no doubt look to emulate what teams have been doing over the past few weeks. The defensive line led by Nick Bosa must lead the charge this week and dominate the Cowboys’ offensive line. Even if the 49ers don’t register multiple sacks against Prescott, they will look to make him uncomfortable in the pocket and rush his passes at every opportunity. If Dallas cannot establish any semblance of an effective run game, it will force the Cowboys into third and long situations and throw off the rhythm and tempo they desire to play with offensively. The 49ers will potentially surrender some yards between the 20s to Cooper and Lamb. They may look to replicate what they did against Cincinnati back in early December to win this week. In their win over the Bengals, San Francisco allowed Joe Burrow to throw for 348 yards and two touchdowns, but it held Cincinnati to just one touchdown on five red zone trips in a 26-23 overtime win. Another underrated key to success for the defense this week will be their ability to capitalize on the crowd noise generated by a potentially large contingent of 49ers fans in AT&T Stadium. Last week at SoFi Stadium, the fans made their presence felt for 60 minutes, which caught the Rams off guard. The presence of San Francisco fans in Arlington could create a boost for the 49ers defense, which in turn will disrupt a Dallas offense that led the NFL with 31.2 points per game and 407.0 yards per game. Although there are certain to be a large majority of Cowboys fans, depending on the tone of the game, the 49ers fans may make themselves heard. For the Cowboys, getting off to a quick start is essential to keep their own fans in the game.
Final Analysis:
Lots of so called experts are giving the Cowboys no chance in this one. All week I have been hearing about how the 49ers are going to bully the Cowboys and run all over them. The Cowboys in response have adopted an, us against the world mentality. Micah Parsons even stated that he’s “from from Harrisburg, PA, where the bullies get bullied.”, when he was told that the 49ers like to play “bully ball” (As per Michael Gehlken, Cowboys reporter for the Dallas Morning News.). Do not look for the Dallas Cowboys to lie down or to run from this fight. It will likely come down to which quarterback performs well enough to guide his team to victory. Look for Dak Prescott to get rid of the ball quickly while the often disrespected Cowboys offensive line comes out swinging and finally gets their own running game going, against a worthy adversary. The Cowboys have the advantage at quarterback in this game so look for 49ers signal caller Jimmy Garoppolo to hand the ball over to the most opportunistic defense in the league.
Final Score : Dallas Cowboys 37 San Francisco 49ers 17
The cowboys have left us just like this for 27 years now. Fire a 2 time super bowl champion coach then let so many mediocre people run and play for “america”s team”. And now theres no telling how long we are stuck with the inaccurate qb who destroys bad teams and loses to good teams to the point of leading the league in scoring and bowing out in the first round of the playoffs. You can blame the coach defense the running game but if cooper rush plays that game we win. Any qb that has some accuracy and football knowledge wins that game this team can take 2 of the next 3 SB’s if they somehow get rogers.