The Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers are NFL royalty.
A meeting between two franchises that have 10 Lombardi Trophies between them — an even split — always generates a buzz, even if it’s a nostalgic one. When these teams met one year ago, it was for NFC supremacy and a barometer of whether the Cowboys were a legitimate contender.
Spoiler alert: They weren’t.
And now?
The game’s been reduced to whether the Cowboys have a pulse.
The anticipation heading into Sunday night’s non-showdown at Levi’s Stadium is far different than it was 385 days ago. San Francisco has significant injuries on the offensive side of the ball, has lost two straight at home and is burdened with a 3-4 record. This is a desperate team.
The Cowboys have a better record at 3-3 but are coming off a 38-point loss at home to Detroit. It’s impossible to say they are better than the 49ers at this stage of the season.
Nine teams in the conference have better records than either Dallas or San Francisco.
Nine.
“Yeah, they’re coming off a big loss, right after their bye week and they’re in a situation similar to ours,” San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said. “They want to win, they need to win as bad as us.
“So I see a very similar situation.”
Put in their place
The Cowboys went 12-5 in McCarthy’s second season as the franchise’s head coach. The reward was a home playoff game against the 49ers in January 2022.
Dallas had the ball on the San Francisco 41-yard line with 14 seconds left and a chance for a comeback victory. With the middle of the field wide open — for obvious reasons since San Francisco’s defense was protecting the sidelines — Dak Prescott took off up the middle for 17 yards before sliding down at the 24-yard line.
The defender laid on top on Prescott, taking another two seconds or so off the clock. As he got up and ran to the line of scrimmage, Prescott figured he would be able to clock it with one second on the clock, maybe even two to three seconds if everything went right.
It didn’t. Prescott was hit from behind by the official as he ran to the line, taking off another couple of seconds
“As I was handing the ball to Tyler [Biadasz] there was four seconds left and making sure everyone was set, I got hit from behind,” Prescott said after the game. “I saw two seconds. I thought I could snap it and get down before time expired.
“I’m not quite sure exactly what happened other than that."
In hindsight, Prescott said he should have gone down sooner to leave more time on the clock. He also should have handed the ball to the official.
Instead, the quarterback and his teammates were standing on the field as time expired. The Cowboys had lost 23-17.
“We had a chance," Prescott said of the final possession. “That’s all I can ask for. Down by six, a chance to go win the game.
“It just didn’t go our way."
The teams met again one year later in the postseason. This game was a Levi’s Stadium.
Dallas was making back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time in 15 years. It marked the first time in 23 years the Cowboys had done so with the same head coach.
San Francisco won again, 19-12. But McCarthy came out of the game proclaiming the Cowboys had taken a step closer to their goal and was a better team than it had been the previous season.
“I thought we were suited to come in here and win this thing," a dejected Jerry Jones said outside his team’s locker room afterward. “Frankly, I wouldn’t say surprised. I’d say just real disappointed.
“We came up short. We’re sick. Sick.
“Sick."
The third meeting took place last October during the regular season. Dallas players and coaches were open about the symbolic and psychological benefit a win over the Niners would provide.
The Cowboys then took the field at Levi’s Stadium and found themselves down 14-0 before the offense picked up a first down. Dallas had eight total yards of offense with 13:12 left in the first half.
A defense feeling its oats was gashed on the ground and had no answer for tight end George Kittle or receiver Brandon Aiyuk through the air. Dallas trailed by 32 points just 121 seconds deep into the fourth quarter on its way to a 42-10 loss.
“It’s a punch in the gut," McCarthy said. “It’s a kick in the ass. Whatever phrase you want to put on it.
“We’ve been knocked down."
Different kind of showdown
Both teams have been knocked down heading into Sunday’s game.
The Niners are only one game out of the NFC West lead despite being below .500. But a loss Sunday would be their fifth of the season and drop them to 1-4 in the conference, a key tiebreaker late in the season.
There would be little margin of error the rest of the way.
The Cowboys would drop below .500 with a loss and find themselves in a similar position. Dallas also needs to address its flagging confidence.
The team is a minus-42 in net points at the moment. The New York Giants (minus-50) and Carolina (minus-133) are the only teams worse in the NFC.
If the Cowboys remain in that company much longer, any realistic shot at the postseason will begin to fade before Thanksgiving.
The days since Detroit 47, Dallas 9 have been chaotic. But the coaching staff has reviewed what was, and wasn’t working during the bye week and tweaks have been made. McCarthy’s teams are 12-5 in the game immediately following the bye in his career and 3-1 in Dallas.
“Over the bye week you recharge, look at some stuff, things we need to improve on," Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin said. “We’re focused on us as we head out there.
“They’re a good football team. They’ve been a good team for a lot of years and have a lot of great players.
“But really, it’s about us."
Tight end Jake Ferguson spoke about the distaste in his mouth from the losses to San Francisco. He knows it will be a physical game and the Cowboys have to be ready.
CeeDee Lamb echoed those thoughts.
“They know us and we know them," the receiver said. “I mean, we’ve seen them the last three years.
“Obviously, they’re very physical. We know how they’re going to approach us. We’ve got to match their energy and come ready to play."
This game isn’t about discarding the emotional baggage the Cowboys carry when it comes to the Niners. This is about scratching out a win to alter the course of the season.
“Regardless of who we’re playing, regardless of what happened last year, two years ago, it really is irrelevant," McCarthy said. “We need to improve in a number of different areas. That’s what we’re working on and that’s what it will come down to Sunday night."
That’s one way to look at it. Another is that this game will determine if the Cowboys still have a competitive pulse and if so, how strong it remains.
Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky as they co-host Intentional Grounding on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. through the Super Bowl.
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
