5 reasons 49ers should be fearful of Cowboys in Wild Card round

No. 1: Cowboys YAC Bros. can match the 49ers YAC Bros.

Few teams epitomize yards after the catch more than the 49ers. When taking into account tight end George Kittle, wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, such a massive chunk of the Niners offense is built upon picking up chunk yards after the reception.

Turns out, the Cowboys are pretty good in that department, too.

San Francisco finished the regular season with the eighth most yards after the catch (2,263). Interestingly enough, Dallas was one spot behind the 49ers with 2,207.

So it shouldn’t be too surprising one head coach whose team beat the Cowboys during the regular season told FanSided NFL insider Matt Lombardo why limiting YAC was going to be key for the 49ers.

From Lombardo:

"According to one NFL head coach whose team beat the Cowboys earlier this season, the biggest key for San Francisco is to limit Dallas’ Yards after the catch. Dallas enters Sunday averaging 129 YAC per game, ninth-most in the league. San Francisco’s cornerbacks; Emmanuel Moseley and K’Waun Williams can’t afford missed tackles on Sunday, or to let Amari Cooper or CeeDee Lamb get behind them."

The Cowboys owned the league’s No. 1 offense during the regular season, both in terms of points and yards gained.

That alone should concern the Niners when both teams square off on Sunday, Jan. 16 from AT&T Stadium.