SANTA CLARA, California — The San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, two of the NFL’s most popular franchises, had one of the league’s top rivals throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
The Cowboys won three Super Bowls in four years, and the 49ers won four in the 1980s. Often, one team’s biggest obstacle to winning a championship is the other.
During meetings this week, 49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan, whose father is Mike, worked on the 49ers’ coaching staff from 1992 to 1994, said he showed the team footage of some of them. The most memorable match in the competition. “Just to give people an idea of what Dallas and Niners mean to people,” he said.
Sunday’s group stage knockout game featured a dominant defense, and the 49ers won, 19-12, after beating Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott in two expensive intercepts in the half. one.
The first occurred when the Cowboys were in possession for the second game, when Prescott tried to find Michael Gallup to receive a pass that was blocked by Deommodore Lenoir. Robbie Gould of the 49ers scored a 26-yard goal to give San Francisco a 3-0 lead.
Dallas retaliates with a The scoring stretch culminated with Prescott’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz at close range. After that, mistakes continued for the Cowboys’ main kicker, Brett Maher.
Maher set an NFL record in the Cowboys win over the Buccaneers in the wilds by missing four extra points. Usually, multiple missed kicks mean the end of a starting player’s tenure with a team. Despite adding another starter to the roster before Sunday’s game, the Cowboys stuck with Maher, who missed just three more points in the regular season.
As Maher prepared to score more after Dallas’ first touchdown of the game, the Cowboys fans stopped swinging their blue-and-white scarves and seemed to hold their collective breath. The kick was blocked by 49ers defender Samson Ebukam. This block gave the Cowboys a 6-3 lead.
Maher made his next two scoring attempts but they weren’t enough to give Dallas the lead in a game where points were hard to come by.
Throughout the season, the Cowboys have emerged from a superb defense and have to live with whatever version of Prescott will appear on game day. He can break through defenses as quickly as against the Buccaneers, as he throws 305 yards and four touchdowns. Or Prescott could look like a confused player who made the wrong decisions, such as when he finished with 128 yards of passes, one touchdown and one interception in the season finale. regularly with the Commanders.
On Sunday, the Cowboys have a second version of Prescott. The Cowboys’ solid defense held the 49ers before each turn.
For the 49ers, it was the first game where winger Brock Purdy, final pick in the 2022 draft, looked confused. The Cowboys’ hasty pass repeatedly put pressure on Purdy, who was fired twice. He missed a number of throws, some of which would have been blocked if they hadn’t been dropped.
But the team’s star-studded supporting cast and Shanahan’s callous play were enough against the Cowboys defense that left the 49ers struggling to score points in a way they didn’t in their 10-game winning streak to close. regular season.
The 49ers will appear for the second time in a row in an NFC championship game and for the third time in the past four seasons when they face top seed Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday.
