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.
49ers vs. Cowboys history: The 1990s
In the 1990s, the 49ers and Cowboys had three playoff battles with each other, with all three of them being Conference Championship games.
The Cowboys managed to win the first two playoff meetings in the 1992 and 1993 NFC Championship games en route to two more Super Bowl victories, unfortunately. But the 49ers finally got revenge in the 1994 NFC Championship game, winning the game 38-28, en route to their fifth Super Bowl title and the first for quarterback Steve Young as a starter.
The 49ers also had six regular-season matchups with the Cowboys in the 1990s, and the Niners went 4-2 in those games which were some epic battles between Young and Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman.
San Francisco’s rivalry with Dallas during this decade was so big, there was even a video game made to feature it.
49ers vs. Cowboys history: Present day
After a 27-year hiatus, the Niners and Cowboys finally met again in the 2021 postseason. The two teams met at AT&T Stadium in Arlington for a high-profile Wild Card matchup in which San Francisco hoped to close the gap, having won only two postseason games against Dallas entering the contest while suffering five defeats.
The 49ers headed into the fourth quarter with a 23-7 lead, but the Cowboys began clawing back. After a field goal from kicker Greg Zuerlein and a rushing touchdown from quarterback Dak Prescott, their lead was down to 23-17 with 8:02 left in the game.
After a few back-and-forth possessions, the Cowboys got the ball back with 32 seconds left and no timeouts. After picking up some small chunk plays, Prescott decided to scramble and picked up 17 yards to make it to the Niners’ 24-yard line.
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Unfortunately for him, time ran out, and they did not have the opportunity to run another play. San Francisco would hang on and win 23-17.
In Sunday’s upcoming Divisional Round matchup between the two teams, Dallas will be looking for revenge from last season. But the 49ers will be looking to show that they can sustain their success and defeat top-tier NFC teams.
The Niners arguably have upgraded their roster more significantly than the Cowboys since their last meeting.
The additions of dual-threat running back Christian McCaffrey and lockdown cornerback Charvarius Ward along with the emergence of rookie QB Brock Purdy have elevated the 49ers from a fringe Wild Card team to a conference powerhouse.