Dallas Cowboys Look For Redemption In San Francisco
The Dallas Cowboys will look to get that monkey off of their back, just like Steve Young did nearly 28 years ago, as they head into San Francisco to take on the 49ers. That monkey I'm referring to is the draw play that cost the Dallas Cowboys the game in the 2022 Wild Card, that caused Dallas Cowboys fans around the world to choke on their drinks, smash their TV’s, and call for Kellen “Vanilla Pudding” Moore’s and/or Dak Prescott’s head.
On our weekly podcast, we discussed this upcoming Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers game and do a head-to-head comparison of each team, position by position. You can catch the full episode here. We had our good friend and die hard 49ers fan Nate Dawg and his tag team partner Brother Adrian join us for the show, so you can get a good perspective from both sides of the ball on our latest Cowboys CanFan Podcast! Links to everything will be at the end of this blog, but you can read my thoughts below.
Quarterbacks - Dallas Cowboys
There’s not really an argument here (at least a good one that I’ve heard). Dak Prescott is a 7 year veteran. He has more seasons under his belt than total number of NFL games Brock Purdy has started. Dak is also coming off his best statistical game of the season, making zero-minimal mistakes in his last 60 minutes of football. It’s not a lot, but it’s enough to feel confident with this pick.
Running Backs - San Francisco 49ers
This one is hard to give to the 49ers, but CMC is just too much of a threat. I’m not including Deebo at this position, but we all know what he can do when he’s running the ball. If Zeke was getting more yards, I think I could feel good about giving this to the Cowboys, but when it comes down to it, Tony Pollard is playing great, he just doesn’t have the same effect on the game that CMC does.
Receivers - Dallas Cowboys
Yea, I’m biased. I’m also taking in to account who is throwing the ball. I know Brock Purdy threw for over 300 yards in his first playoff victory, but Mr. Irrelevant has averaged 234 yards per game, which is what I expect out of him against the Cowboys defense. CeeDee Lamb has been playing on a different level the last half/quarter of the season (perfect timing by the way), Dalton Schultz has 4 tuddies in two games - not a big time frame, but a positive stat line, and Michael Gallup has been making big catches that keep the ball in the hands of the Dallas Cowboys offense. The 49ers have weapons in Deebo and Kittle, who might be the best players on the field at those positions, no doubt, but the versatility and momentum we have seen by the Cowboys, and my biased, tip it in the favour of Dallas.
Offensive Line - San Francisco 49ers
Trent Williams. This guy is built different. I don’t feel cliché saying that. He’s only allowed 2.5 sacks in San Francisco, and has zero sacks allowed over the last 2 seasons. No bueno for the Dallas Cowboys player who has to line up against him. The Dallas Cowboys have their own line of misfits lead by Zack Martin, Tyron Smith had to take some time to adjust to Right Tackle but looks to be on the up after his performance in Tampa Bay, and rookie Tyler Smith is looking comfortable and confident in the Left Tackle position. Add that Tyler Biadasz has proven to be a top tier NFL center, I feel really confident about our offensive line right now. I just can’t over look what San Francisco is doing with their o-line.
Defensive Line - San Francisco 49ers
This is tough because Micah Parsons could be included here, but I’m going to keep him with the linebackers, as that’s his official position. After that, the first thing that comes to mind is Nick Bosa. The dude is just a specimen. 18.5 sacks this year, 19 tackles for a loss, 48 quarterback hits, and a league leading 56 quarterback pressures - 9 more than the second most. Bosa is scary, and the Dallas Cowboys offensive line is going to have to keep him at bay long enough for Dak to make some magic!
Linebackers - Dallas Cowboys
Finally, we can talk about Micah, Micah, Micah! 13.5 sacks on 68 blitzes (that’s a 20% sack to blitz ratio, fam), 41 pressures, and 14 QB knockdowns. I chose these stats to show the disruption that the Lionbacker can cause quarterbacks, and I expect Brock Purdy to have his hands full with Micah Parsons moving all over the field. Add on LVE coming back and really showing why he deserves to be in the middle of the field for Dallas, the Cowboys are just enough above Fred Warner and the 49ers backers. They deserve respect, but a lot of tackles don’t really prove much about a position, and I’ve watched too much Dallas Cowboys football compared to zero 49ers football this year, so I gotta trust my very biased eyes.
Secondary - Dallas Cowboys
Diggs has tackling problems, that’s no question, and I actually think Deebo Samuel could have a huge game (which might contradict a few things I’ve written, but trust me, it all makes sense in my noggin). But the emergence of Bland, who ended up with 5 interceptions, good enough to be tied for second with a handful of other NFL veteran CB’s, has been a real blessing for the Cowboys. DaRon also has a lower yards per completion and yards per target than Diggs, which has allowed Cowboys fans around the world to release a sigh of relief after Anthony Brown went down earlier this year. And Kearse, Hooker, and Wilson are just the nail in the coffin, literally and figuratively. Looking at San Francisco, there are just some holes that CeeDee will most likely expose. I think the 49ers secondary is going to have more problems with Dallas, than the Cowboys will with San Francisco’s receivers.
What do you think, #CowboysNation?
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