Cowboys vs. 49ers preview prediction A historic rivalry reignited

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It's starting to feel an awful lot like the 90s in the NFC playoffs.For the second consecutive season, we're setting up for a - showdown. The only way this could feel more vintage is if this was the NFC Championship Game, rather than the divisional round. Still, we'll take what we can get and with postseason meetings in consecutive years, maybe we're truly seeing this cla sic rivalry renewing after so many years off.In last year's NFC wild-card meeting, the 49ers advanced in a 23-17 win after a frantic Dallas rally fell short.Given the star power between the two teams, it's fair to hope the 2023 rendition will be even better. To get to the bottom of the matchup ( ), we've asked FOX Sports NFL writers and to weigh in.David Helman: I've got to say, Eric, this current Niners squad reminds me a little of the 2016 Cowboys team that finished 13-3 and No. 1 in the NFC a talented, veteran-heavy squad propelled by a confident, playmaking rookie quarterback. Granted, that Cowboys team was lacking a bit in defensive talent, whereas San Francisco boasts a league-best defense stacked with generational stars.I'll admit I'm being slightly tongue-in-cheek when I ask this, but with everything we've seen the last two months it feels warranted: do the 49ers even have a weakne s?Eric Williams: It's hard to find one. The 49ers have playmakers all over the field on offense in running back , tight end and receivers and . Led up front by All-Pro at left tackle, the 49ers have averaged 34.6 points a game since rookie took over for an injured in Week 13.Defensively, San Francisco held opposing offenses to just 16.3 points a contest during the regular season, No. 1 in the league. And they finished with a league-best, plus-13 turnover differential. That said, the last team to defeat San Francisco, the , protected well enough up front to allow to attack the 49ers and their vulnerable secondary. With and the offense humming, the Cowboys could follow Kansas City's blueprint on offense.Speaking of playmakers, Prescott had perhaps the best performance of his pro career in the postseason in a road win against and the . What was the key to Prescott's succe s last week?Helman: The frustrating thing about the Cowboys is that Monday's performance was well in line with what we've seen all season. They're inconsistent, and Monday's effort was among their cleanest. The Cowboys boast a top-five scoring offense, Matt Irwin Women Jersey and Dak has been averaging two touchdown pa ses a week since he returned from his thumb injury, which puts him right up there among the league leaders.The obvious problem has been those pesky interceptions, which have been a combined result of forced decisions by Prescott, miscommunications with his receivers and bad ball luck dropped pa ses and tipped throws that turned into takeaways.Against Tampa, all those problems went away. Prescott was decisive, the offense was crisp, and all of his receivers made big plays, from contested catches to clean routes. It was a reminder of how good things can work when the offense is on its A-game. There are just two obvious problems: for starters, we haven't seen the Cowboys manage to do this with much consistency. Keeping it up against the league's best defense also promises to be another level of difficulty.I think a big part of that challenge is going to be fending off the 49ers' ferocious pa s rush long enough to give Dak time, which was an obvious i sue for the Cowboys in last year's playoff game. We all know about the challenge presents, but I'm curious what the rest of San Francisco's plan to get pre sure might look like.Williams: Certainly, San Francisco's pa s rush starts with Bosa and his league-leading 18.5 sacks this season. But edge rusher had two sacks in over Seattle, including a strip sack of in the second half that helped break the game open. remains a solid interior pa s rusher at defensive tackle, and linebacker can create havoc as a blitzer. But what makes the 49ers effective is their ability to Dan Hamhuis Kids Jersey get home with just four pa s-rushers while playing sticky coverage. San Francisco tied for the NFL lead in interceptions during the regular season with 20, and many of those were caused by pre sure coming from Bosa and the front four. According to Next Gen Stats, the 49ers have generated the sixth-highest sack rate (7.4%) when in zone coverage this season.While San Francisco can rush the pa ser, Seattle did have some succe s with running the football early on. Could the Cowboys look to slow down Bosa up front by giving him a steady diet of and ?Helman: I'd be awfully worried about running the ball if I were the Cowboys. Pollard and Elliott combine to make one of the best duos in the league, but the Cowboys very quietly haven't been running the ball all that well down the home stretch of the season.From the time right tackle went down in mid-December, the Cowboys have failed to average four yards per carry as a team in their last five games. They did rush for a respectable 128 yards in , but their two star running backs managed just two carries that went further than nine yards. Against the second-ranked run defense in the league, they're likely in for tough sledding.Obviously, the Cowboys don't want to abandon the run game entirely, but it's going to call for some creativity on offensive coordinator Kellen Moore's part. He might need to call the quarterback's number a few times. Prescott only carried the rock five times for 25 yards Monday night, but one of those scored a touchdown and another picked up a key third down. Every little bit helps.On a related note, I'm curious about San Francisco's offensive line. We all know is one of the best left tackles in the game, and we know how well the Niners have run the ball under Kyle Shanahan. I also can't help but notice that several teams have had succe s sacking during his time as the starter. If there's a vulnerability and the Cowboys can take advantage of, what would you gue s it is?Williams: One of Purdy's strengths is his ability to move outside the pocket to create chunk plays down the field. Right tackle has struggled at times this year, giving up six sacks and a team-high 27 quarterback pre sures, according to Pro Football Focus. McGlinchey is tied for the team lead with 10 accepted penalties called on him during the regular season.The 49ers also have proven vulnerable to pre sure up the middle. Left guard has given up a sack and 25 hurries, according to Pro Football Focus. And at right guard, San Francisco continues to split starting snaps between rookie and .There has been discu sion nationally about San Francisco's two days of extra rest because the 49ers played Saturday and Dallas took the field Monday night, along with the Cowboys having to travel to the West Coast. Have any Dallas players or coaches addre sed the scheduling as a fairne s i sue?Helman: Privately, I'm confident the Cowboys coaches and players aren't happy about the situation, but this goes with the territory when you're America's Team. Take it up with Jerry Jones, who undoubtedly loved the publicity that comes with a Monday night game.If there's a silver lining, it's that these guys have played Ryan Johansen Jersey plenty of games on short rest this season. In addition to the usual Sunday-Thursday turnaround, the Cowboys also took part in a Sunday-Saturday week for Christmas, and then they followed up that Christmas Eve game with a second appearance on Thursday. They should be used to this.And if they need inspiration, look no further than last year's , who played the Monday night wild-card game against , then turned around and flew east to Tampa, where they won to advance to the NFC Championship Game.With all of that said, it's prediction time. What do you see happening Sunday night at Levi's Stadium?Williams: Like the last time these two teams met in the playoffs, I expect a close game. Dallas has the offensive firepower to match scores and big plays with San Francisco. Where I have concerns for the Cowboys is their ability to take care of the football and control the game in the fourth quarter.I don't think the moment will be too big for Purdy, and I expect San Francisco's playmakers in Samuel and McCaffrey to have big games. I'll take San Francisco, 27-24.Helman: Lord forgive me for buying into the Cowboys, but I do think this matchup is too close to be a unanimous decision. The Ninersoffense is loaded, and Purdy has been fantastic to this point, but I can't help but note that they have only faced one defense ranked in the top half of the league to this point.Perhaps the Cowboys can make life a bit more difficult on him. And if Prescott can come close to replicating his heroics from last week, the Cowboys are good enough to sneak out of Santa Clara with a 28-26 win.David Helman covers the Dallas Cowboys for FOX Sports. He previously spent nine seasons covering the Cowboys for the teams official website. In 2018, he won a regional Emmy for his role in producing "Dak Prescott: A Family Reunion" about the quarterbacks time at Mi si sippi State. Follow him on Twitter at .Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at .Top stories from FOX Sports: NFL trending in this topic
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