Cowboys, Rams losses in NFL playoffs give 49ers another 'LOL' moment
No. It was a perfect day.
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers and their fans got to sit back on Wild Card weekend and watch two key rivals get booted from the NFL playoffs on the same day.
As the San Francisco 49ers were practicing ahead of what would be their weekend off during Wild Card weekend of the NFL playoffs, linebacker Fred Warner had a quotable line that he told reporters.
When asked about what he'd be doing on the break, given that the Niners secured the No. 1 seed in the conference and would automatically advance to the divisional round, Warner's response was pretty solid.
"Just as a football fan, I'm excited to watch and obviously seeing who we play," Warner said. "But I hope everybody loses. I hope everybody loses, and then, who knows? And then we won't have to play."
Well, everyone who played over the weekend didn't lose, unfortunately. But two of San Francisco's biggest rivals did.
Yes, the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams are going home. And things couldn't be sweeter.
49ers fans can revel in premature NFL playoff exits by Cowboys, Rams
LA losing to the Detroit Lions 24-23 in what was quarterback Matthew Stafford's return to Ford Field was a good storyline, especially with Lions quarterback Jared Goff getting some vengeance against the team that drafted him and subsequently traded him away for Stafford back in 2021.
Since Goff, a Northern California native, grew up as a diehard 49ers fan, it's only natural to have pulled for him over the Niners' NFC West rivals.
Whatever surge from Los Angeles down the stretch convinced Rams fans that they were a team of destiny is now as immobile as the traffic on the 405 freeway at 5:30 p.m. on a Monday.
But the Rams aren't San Francisco's biggest rivals. Not even close.
That honor still goes to the Cowboys.
Their collapse against the Green Bay Packers, another 49ers rival, was epic. Falling 48-32 in a game where the score makes it look closer than it was is an absolute laugher.
Dallas, which had the same 12-5 record as the Niners during the regular season but didn't hold the tiebreaker, continued its reputation of failing in the playoffs despite securing the No. 2 seed in the conference and hosting the final Wild Card team to make the dance. About the only complaint San Francisco fans might have is that the 49ers weren't the team given the honor of handing the Cowboys yet another exit from the postseason after doing so the previous two years.
Related story: Why are the 49ers and Cowboys such big rivals?
The Niners didn't get a chance to embarrass Dallas for a third consecutive year, but they at least could sit back and watch a similar embarrassment unfold without having to do a thing about it.
Just like that, one day afforded San Francisco and its fans the opportunity to laugh at two massive rivals, who'll be off playing golf and visiting vacation homes next week while the 49ers are hosting the Packers for the right to advance to the NFC Championship game.
Remember, laughter is a very healthy thing. Thank you, Dallas and LA, for being so kind as to give Niners fans a reason to laugh this weekend.
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