The 49ers were back on the practice field Wednesday gearing up for Sunday Night Football and a date with the team they’ve eliminated from the playoffs each of past two seasons in what is setting up as one of the marquee games on the entire NFL schedule this year.
The meeting has some, including 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, reminiscing about not only the last two playoff meetings, but back to the 90’s when these teams faced each other in three consecutive NFC Championship games.
“Anytime you play each other in the playoffs, it’s always a usually a little bit bigger the next year, and that being back-to-back it was huge. That’s what I always remembered growing up just because they played in the NFC Championship all three years that I lived here,” Kyle Shanahan said during his media session Wednesday.
Shanahan added, “anytime you have a Sunday night game it’s always bigger. Sunday night, Monday night, Thursday night, there’s always a little more excitement in the building knowing everyone’s watching you. Lot of respect for the Cowboys and how good of a team they are. We know the challenge that we have in front of us.”
Beyond the rivalry the Cowboys present the biggest challenge the 49ers have faced this season.
“It’s a huge test, to say that it wouldn’t be is naive and downplaying the moment. I’m excited for that moment, I know our team is excited for it,” linebacker Fred Warner explained confidently.
Erven the typically deadpanned Nick Bosa agreed this game takes on bigger meaning even this early in the season, “I think so. It’s a big game, they’re a good team, they bring it every time we see them in the playoffs the past two years so it’s a big game, but you also don’t want to make it too big because it’s just another regular season game.”
The 49ers (4-0) knocked the Cowboys (3-1) out of the playoffs 23-17 in Dallas during the 2021 season and followed that up with a win in last season at Levi’s Stadium by a score of 19-12 to send the Cowboys packing for a second straight year.