The 49ers may be pound-for-pound favorites over the Cowboys in the NFL playoffs, but these Dallas players could help fuel an upset.
There are plenty of reasons why the San Francisco 49ers should be able to knock off the visiting Dallas Cowboys on Sunday en route to advancing to the NFC Championship game.
Not only are the Cowboys traveling on a short week, but head coach Mike McCarthy’s squad could have plenty of challenges facing a reinvigorated Niners passing attack with wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.
Both tormented Dallas’ secondary during San Francisco’s Wild Card win in the playoffs last season.
There are plenty of other reasons why the 49ers should come out on top. However, as any fan can attest, games don’t always follow the predicted route.
And these five Cowboys players could quickly end up ruining the Niners’ chances for a win in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
No. 5: Dak Prescott nearly spoiled 49ers NFL playoffs game last year
Fans may recall how Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott nearly completed the comeback late in the fourth quarter in San Francisco’s nail-biting Wild Card win in January of 2022.
Except he ran out of time.
Prescott’s league-high 15 interceptions tossed this season could work in the 49ers’ favor, but the veteran signal-caller is also coming off a four-touchdown game on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Monday.
The Niners are going to want Prescott to have one of his poorer, turnover-prone outings instead of what happened a week ago in Florida.
However, if Prescott backs up that effort with another one at Levi’s Stadium, that could be a problem for San Francisco.
No. 4: Leighton Vander Esch can thwart 49ers run game
The 49ers are going to want to take control of the run game early and often, keeping Dak Prescott and the Cowboys off the field as much as possible.
Running back Christian McCaffrey played a big role in defeating the Seahawks during the Wild Card round, and the Niners figure to deploy him regularly throughout Sunday’s contest.
Unless linebacker Leighton Vander Esch gets in the way.
Vander Esch doesn’t receive the publicity fellow backer Micah Parsons receives. Yet the former is an excellent run stuffer and was a primary reason why the Buccaneers weren’t able to establish their own running game behind tailback Leonard Fournette.
Dallas is going to want to take away San Francisco’s rushing attack, and Vander Esch is likely to be the one relied upon the most to do so.
No. 3: Yes, Micah Parsons is that good a player
OK, so 49ers fans are certainly thinking that EDGE Nick Bosa should be the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, right? Not Micah Parsons.
That’s a strong argument. But let’s not allow it to take away from the fact that Parsons is a pretty good player, too.
The two-time first-team All-Pro has already been a disruptor in the pass-rush department, registering a team-high 13.5 sacks during the regular season, and he also was a problem for the Buccaneers in the Wild Card round. He had three forced fumbles during the regular season, recovered three more and even batted down three passes, too.
Any one of those plays could turn the tide on Sunday in favor of the Cowboys.
Granted, the Niners are going to have their own disruptor in Bosa, who’ll make life hell on Dak Prescott and Dallas’ offensive line.
But Parsons figures to do much of the same to San Francisco, too.
No. 2: CeeDee Lamb vs. 49ers secondary will be fun to watch
Back in the 2020 NFL Draft, head coach Kyle Shanahan looked at now-Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb as the potential target instead of the player the 49ers ended up with, Brandon Aiyuk.
Lamb, with a much more consistent quarterback situation, has started to thrive in a big way, finishing 2022 with 107 catches for 1,359 yards and nine touchdowns en route to a Pro Bowl accolade.
Sure, the Niners secondary is vastly improved over what Dallas experienced a year ago during the Wild Card round, yet Lamb and Co. certainly witnessed the kind of game Seahawks wideout D.K. Metcalf had, particularly when lined up opposite San Francisco’s No. 1 cornerback, Charvarius Ward.
Ward struggled, yes, and Lamb is likely hoping a repeat case presents itself.
If it does, Lamb could prove to be an issue for the 49ers defense.
No. 1: 49ers should worry about Dalton Schultz
CeeDee Lamb is the clear-cut No. 1 receiving option the Cowboys have, and it’s not particularly close.
However, when looking at the No. 2 option, should the Niners focus their defensive efforts on locking up Lamb, tight end Dalton Schultz is certainly a player who could make San Francisco pay.
Yes, the 49ers have the better of the two top tight ends in this game, George Kittle, but Schultz can’t be overlooked in the wake of his regular-season campaign that resulted in 57 catches for 577 yards and five touchdowns.
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A year ago against the Niners, Schultz recorded seven grabs for 89 yards, and he crested that versus Tampa Bay in the Wild Card round last week with 95 yards on the same number of catches.
Simply put, if San Francisco is able to lock Lamb up, Schultz is more than capable of making a sizable impact.
The 49ers hope he won’t, of course, when they kick off against the Cowboys in the divisional round on Sunday, Jan. 22 at 6:30 p.m. ET from Levi’s Stadium.