Brian Baldinger remembers the moment he was indoctrinated to the 49ers-Cowboys rivalry. He was a second-year offensive lineman for Dallas and was making his first career trip to Candlestick Park in 1983, when a fan pelted him with a mustard-covered hot dog.
During his appearance Friday with 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs”, Baldinger recounted the funny episode and previewed this weekend’s Wild Card matchup between San Francisco and Dallas. You can listen to the full interview below:
When looking ahead to Sunday’s showdown, Baldinger says the 49ers success rides with the rushing attack.
“What the 49ers do, really nobody else does,” Baldinger said. “How they attack, whether it’s their zone scheme, power scheme, blocking on the edges with [Elijah] Mitchell, with Deebo [Samuel]. … We have seen this snowball in playoff games against the Vikings two years ago and against the Packers. Always against the Rams, the Rams can’t figure it out.
“The Cowboys haven’t seen this. [Dallas Defensive coordinator] Dan Quinn can talk about it. He knows Kyle, he knows what’s coming. You can walk through it and you can practice it, but when it comes at ya, like it did in the second half against the Rams last weekend, teams look basically helpless to try to stop it. That’s what the 49ers are capable of doing.”
Good news for the 49ers that Trent Williams (right elbow) is also expected to return Sunday after missing last week’s contest. Williams graded out at 98.5 as a run-blocker this season, per Pro Football Focus.
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The 49ers will likely need to put up points to keep pace with the Cowboys offense, which led the NFL with 31.2 points per game during the regular season. That could mean the 49ers need a big day from Jimmy Garoppolo, who fought through a thumb injury to lead his team to a 27-24 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams on Week 18.
Baldinger said accuracy is the key for Garoppolo’s success.
“When he does miss, he tends to miss high,” Baldinger said. “He tends to sail the ball or he throws a little bit behind guys. But he’s got a snap release, he’s as tough as they come. … I know he knows where to go with the ball. I know he knows how to go through progressions. I know he knows this offense as well as anybody. He knows where the safety valves are. It’s just a question of, can he just deliver the ball accurately. When he does that, this offense jumps.”
