The Dallas Cowboys have lost their last three matchups with the San Francisco 49ers, and each outing hads been worse than the previous one. In the 2021 NFC wild-card game, the 49ers got ahead early and survived a late comeback. In the 2022 divisional round, San Francisco shut down the Cowboys offense in a 19-12 victory. In Week 5 last season, the 49ers destroyed Dallas on both sides of the ball in a 42-10 beatdown.
The Cowboys again have to travel to San Francisco in Week 8, but this could be the year they pull off the upset. Dallas will be coming in off a bye week, and McCarthy is 12-5 off a bye week in his career as a head coach. Last year, Dallas beat the Los Angeles Rams 43-20 after their break. They won six of their seven games after the bye and came out looking like a completely new offense, with four games scoring 40 points and two others scoring 33.
Injuries now decimate the 49ers, even worse than the Cowboys. All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey and his backup Elijah Mitchell are out. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, safety Talanoa Hufanga, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, and kicker Jake Moody will all miss the contest against the Cowboys. San Francisco has plenty of others who could also miss the Sunday night game. Wide receivers Jauan Jennings and Deebo Samuel are both questionable and tight end George Kittle is too.
Dallas has a chance to get three former All-Pro players back: cornerback DaRon Bland, linebacker Eric Kendricks, and defensive end Micah Parsons. Rookie corner Caelen Carson and left tackle Tyler Guyton could also return to help. For the Cowboys, if they can’t beat the 49ers now, then when?
You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or YouTube on the Across the Cowboys Podcast.
