Few rivalries in the National Football League have a more storied history than the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. Notable players have played on both sides of this rivalry, including Deion Sanders, who contributed to the 49ers Super Bowl win to complete the 1994 season and was a member of the Cowboys when they won it all the following year.
One of the most productive and controversial receivers in the game, Terrell Owens, played for both the Cowboys and 49ers. When a member of the 49ers he taunted the Cowboys and their fans by spiking the ball on the Dallas star logo, then created as much controversy as catches when Jerry Jones brought the receiver over from Philadelphia to contribute to the Cowboys fortunes.
Owens never won a Super Bowl in his playing career, but he did cost the Cowboys their head coach when team owner Jones overruled Bill Parcells objections in signing the self-absorbed receiver in 2006. What Parcells most feared, that attention on Owens would interrupt his team concept, came to fruition that year and Parcells left the Cowboys after one-year of babysitting Owens.
Then there was the catch.
In 1981, the 49ers advanced to their first Super Bowl after Dwight Clark caught a Joe Montana touchdown to beat the Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game. Two weeks later, San Francisco won their first of four Super Bowls with Montana running their offense.
That historic catch by Clark erased three previous Dallas postseason wins over the 49ers that eliminated San Francisco in 1970, 1971 and 1972.
When Dallas Head Coach Jimmy Johnson made famous the cry, “How bout those Cowboys,” it was the same year his team beat San Francisco to end the 49ers season in 1992.
So, with that as a backdrop, what do we have on the schedule tonight when these two NFC teams at the top of their game square off at Levi’s Stadium?
The 49ers come into this contest with four season wins while Dallas has a single loss through four weeks. In their three wins, the Cowboys have outscored their opponents by a combined 108 to 13 margin. Last Sunday, Dallas pinned Bill Belichick with his most ever lopsided loss, a 38-3 trouncing of the New England Patriots.
With that the story of the 2023 Cowboys, it seems surprising they could be an underdog against anyone. But, they are getting more than a field goal on the spread in tonight's contest against a San Francisco team that has never lost a regular season game with Brock Purdy running their offense.
Purdy won all five of his regular season starts in 2022 and downed the Cowboys in the Divisional playoff round last season. Adding four more regular season wins this year that included three point spread covers and a push, Purdy takes the field tonight with nine career regular season wins without a loss and a 7-1-1 point spread record.
The 49ers opened this season as a favorite on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and while the wise guys took the home team, the visiting 49ers trounced Mike Tomlin’s team by a 30-7 score. In second week action, as a touchdown favorite against division rival Los Angeles, the 49ers beat the Rams by a touchdown. Home wins over the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals preceded this primetime telecast, and this may be the best position the 49ers have been in all year to beat the point spread.
When they have been challenged by the situation, they have won four straight contests, now they are motivated to meet the Cowboys in a third straight home game.
Yep, the Cowboys are underdogs tonight, for good reason.
Qoxhi Picks: San Francisco 49ers (-3½) over Dallas Cowboys