The 49ers and Cowboys will renew their rivalry, as the two longtime foes in the postseason will meet on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. PT at Levi’s Stadium in the NFC Divisional Round.
This marks the second straight season the Niners and ‘Boys have met in the playoffs, as Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of San Francisco’s 23-17 win over Dallas in the Wild Card round. Last season’s game was remembered for a futile scramble by Dak Prescott on the final play, as the clock expired after he slid midfield and the Cowboys had no timeouts to stop the clock.
Historically, 49ers-Cowboys has been a heavyweight fight. Dallas holds a 5-3 advantage in the playoff series all time, as the winner of the matchup has gone on to win the Super Bowl five times.
The 49ers would go on to the NFC Championship last season before losing to the Los Angeles Rams. They’re hoping that rookie quarterback Brock Purdy and midseason trade acquisition Christian McCaffrey can take them all the way this season.
San Francisco rides into the matchup on an 11-game win streak after beating the Seattle Seahawks 41-23 on Saturday afternoon. The Niners will also have the benefit of two full days of extra rest, as the Cowboys took care of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-14, on Monday night.
Prescott rebounded from an ugly regular season finale to play arguably the finest game of his career on Monday. The Cowboys quarterback went 25-of-35 for 305 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing eight times for 34 yards and a fifth score.
While the 49ers will roll into this week relatively healthy, the Cowboys are monitoring two key injuries that occurred on Monday night. Forty-year-old left tackle Jason Peters had to exit the game with a hip injury and rookie Tyler Smith moved from left guard to replace him, while Connor McGovern moved into left guard. 49ers Defensive Player of the Year candidate Nick Bosa could be licking his chops to face the rookie Smith in a playoff game.
Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse suffered a left knee injury in the third quarter on Monday after picking off Brady in the end zone earlier in the game. He sounded optimistic about the injury talking to reporters after the game, saying, “I’ll be good.” Dallas doesn’t seem concerned about the status of star rusher Micah Parsons, who missed three plays after an apparent right leg injury Monday.
While last year’s contest was at Jerry’s World, the No. 2 seeded Niners will be hosting at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday. The last time the 49ers hosted the Cowboys in the playoffs was in January 1995, when San Francisco won the NFC title game, 38-28, en route to their fifth and most recent Super Bowl victory.
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