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49ers vs. Cowboys: All-time record, playoff matchups and history

By Safa Shooshtry

Wide receiver Dwight Clark of the San Francisco 49ers leaves a Dallas Cowboys defender in his dust after making "The Catch" (Photo by Arthur Anderson/Getty Images)
Wide receiver Dwight Clark of the San Francisco 49ers leaves a Dallas Cowboys defender in his dust after making "The Catch" (Photo by Arthur Anderson/Getty Images) /
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The 49ers and Cowboys have a storied history against each other, so let’s take a look at some highlights from this longstanding rivalry.

Another chapter in the rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys will be written this Sunday when the Cowboys travel to Levi’s Stadium to do battle with the Niners in the Divisional Round of the 2022 NFL playoffs.

The 49ers own the regular season head-to-head record against the Cowboys 15-14-1. However, when we look at playoff meetings between the two teams, the edge goes to Dallas with a 5-3 record.

Both teams played extremely well in blowouts against their opponents in the Wild Card round. Dallas defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 31-14 in a game that was actually much less close than the score showed.

San Francisco, meanwhile, turned a 17-16 halftime deficit against the Seattle Seahawks into a defensively dominant performance in which it wound up with a 41-23 victory against a division rival.

Both teams will go into Sunday’s game hungry and looking for a chance to play in the NFC Championship game.

The storied rivalry between these two franchises dates back to their first meeting in November of 1960 in which the 49ers won by a score of 26-14.

The 1970s would see the Cowboys go 3-0 against the Niners in their playoff matchups, though.

Many would probably argue the rivalry didn’t start until the 1980s when the 49ers established themselves as a dynasty for the ages. But it truly picked up steam in the 1990s with both franchises constantly competing to be No. 1 in the NFC.

Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of this rivalry through the years.

49ers vs. Cowboys history: The Catch

The 49ers dynasty in the 1980s began with the 1982 NFC Championship game against the Cowboys at Candlestick Park.

At this point in time, the Cowboys already had two Super Bowl victories to their name, and the Niners were looking for their first trip to the big dance.

With the 49ers down 27-21 late in the fourth quarter, quarterback Joe Montana needed to lead the team down the field 89 yards for a touchdown to win the game. The drive would culminate in a game-winning 6-yard touchdown pass from Montana to wide receiver Dwight Clark, dubbed “The Catch,” with 51 seconds left.

The Niners went on to win the game 28-27 and would go on to win their first Super Bowl that year.

San Francisco would become the team of the 1980s, winning four Super Bowls in total that decade.

The Cowboys, on the other hand, would win zero.