49ers vs. Cowboys: 10 biggest moments in most storied NFL rivalry
By Peter Panacy
No. 8: Cowboys upend John Brodie, 49ers in 1971 NFC Championship
For those fans not totally familiar with the history of the San Francisco-Dallas rivalry, you’d have to go back to the dawn of the modern-football era when both the 49ers and Cowboys ended up playing against each other in the 1971 NFC Championship game following the 1970 season.
The Niners were heavy favorites in that game. Behind quarterback John Brodie, still one of the most underrated signal-callers in team history, San Francisco owned the No. 1 scoring offense and finished with an impressive 10-3-1 regular-season record.
But, after knocking off the Minnesota Vikings in the divisional round, Brodie and Co. ultimately fell short against Dallas in the conference championship, losing 17-10 and kicking off a stretch where Hall of Fame head coach Tom Landry and his Cowboys knocked the 49ers out of the playoffs.
The painful side, at least for Niners fans against Dallas in the postseason, started there.
San Francisco would ultimately fall on hard times, while the Cowboys would go on to be the self-proclaimed “America’s Team” during that decade.
It would take over 10 years for the 49ers to enact their vengeance.