The 49ers and Cowboys renew a rivalry that has been on of the biggest in sports. These two teams dominated the NFL in the 1980’s and 90’s. This is a rivalry that gave us miraculous moments such as Roger Staubach’s 1972 comeback, “the catch” from Dwight Clark, etc. These two teams have seen the emergence of decades of dominance, whether it was Bill Walsh in 1981 or Jimmy Johnson in 1992. Both times these teams had to get through each other to play for the biggest honor in football, the Superbowl. Present day, these two teams offer up alot of problems for each other and should make for one of the best matchups during Super Wild Card Weekend. The 49ers will bring their hard hitting roster into Dallas to challenge the NFC East Champion Dallas Cowboys.
Defense Wins Championships
Again, D.J. Jones just continues to make plays against the run. This is why the #49ers have the second-best rushing defense in the NFL.
— Akash Anavarathan (@akashanav) January 12, 2022
He’s double-teamed, yet still beats it. Misses the tackle, but holds up 23 for just long enough so the others can make the stop. pic.twitter.com/6HgJhu6rmn
The 49ers’ defense has kept them in games, and last week they made Matthew Stafford feel their presence. Sacking Stafford five times, hitting him 13 times, and picking him off twice. The Niners need to bring this energy into this game against Dallas. Key guys for this team like Arden Key, who has averaged 34% snap share but has turned that into 6.5 sacks and 17 QB hits this season. Key’s prowess and phenomenal work this season have seen him making big-time sacks. Arik Armstead showed up last week sacking Stafford 2.5 times. The 49ers paid him like top talent, and now he needs to show more in the pass rush on Sunday. DJ Jones has been the “immovable object” in the middle of the Niners d-line. Jones has ten tackles for loss and two sacks this season, showing his strength in stopping the run game. This unit upfront will be essential to the 49ers’ success against the Cowboys. In the five losses for the Cowboys, Dak was pressured at least 6.2 times in each game.
The Niners Secondary will need to continue to play well for the 49ers this week. In the second half of last week’s game, the Niners only allowed Stafford to complete 4 of 14 passes to receivers not named Cooper Kupp. Two of those passes were intercepted, including Ambry Thomas’s game-sealing interception. Thomas has come on strong since his gruesome debut against rookie sensation Jamarr Chase. Thomas has logged four pass deflections in the past three weeks, allowing four catches for 89 yards. Emmanuel Moseley’s return made Niner fans happier than a kid on Christmas. Mainly because that meant Josh “PI machine” Norman would be on the bench. Moseley returned and gave the 49ers a lead corner performance with six tackles, one pass deflection, and an interception. Moseley and Thomas will have their hands full again this week with Amari Cooper and Ceedee Lamb.
The final group that will need to continue their fantastic play is the duo of Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. This duo is starting to look like one that led the 49ers to a Superbowl in 2013. Greenlaw returned strong in only his third game of the season. He played 97% of the snaps and totaled 12 tackles and one QB hit. He was also a force in the coverage game, taking on Van Jefferson in the slot. While Warner hasn’t been near the impactful player this yeaer, he still brings contagious energy to the defense that this team thrives off. John Lynch sounded optimistic when talking about Azeez Al-Shaair, “The nice thing now is it looks as though Azeez is going to be ready to roll,”. Azeez was on a roll before he went out with an elbow injury, getting 32 tackles, two sacks, and four tackles for loss in his last three games. Getting this linebacking core back together and a healthy secondary will offer problems for the Dallas offense.
Keep That Offense Rolling
Elijah Mitchell found his way through some non existent gaps vs the Rams.#TheMagician
— John Chapman (@JL_Chapman) January 12, 2022
For full breakdown of every offensive and defensive snap https://t.co/XvXOpboJzP pic.twitter.com/fcxAxYqazd
The 49ers have only lost one time when Elijah Mitchell goes for 100 rushing yards in a game. The Niners have found a running back for their style of football. He’s tough, decisive, and runs with bad intent. The guy doesn’t get pushed back, and if you think he’s going to lose four yards, then he’ll move forward for a two-yard gain. Mitchell will need to be on top of his game against a Cowboys defense that allowed the 11th fewest yards (1,455) to running backs in 2021. Mitchell will be the key to the Niners game plan. They will most likely try to set a slow pace to keep Dak Prescott and this high-powered offense off the field.
The Niners need to continue to get everyone involved in this offense. Once thought of as a team that could only supply one receiver with production. Last week Brandon Aiyuk went for 107 yards on six catches, Jauan Jennings broke out for 94 yards and two touchdowns, and Deebo Samuel was the best player on the field. This Cowboys’ secondary is somewhat of a smokescreen. They have picked off the ball 26 times and Trevon Diggs has been incredibly opportunistic. Diggs also owns one of the lower grades for a corner, according to PFF (59.6), with a coverage grade of 66.9. PFF referenced it in the article on Diggs’s season, “The first and most apparent reason Diggs has a lower grade than you might expect is that he gives up a lot of yardage between interceptions”. PFF has recognized that Diggs has given up the most coverage yards since they’ve begun recording the stat. This points out the obvious that Diggs is incredibly boom/bust. While he has hands like his brother, he also hurts the defense by giving up 19 yards per reception.
This offense will be given chances to cash in on touchdowns. The 49ers own the best red-zone scoring percentage for touchdowns (66.67%). They’ve been good in the most crucial area, but the Niners have a red zone scoring percentage of 41.67% in their last three games, the fifth-lowest in that period. Converting touchdowns and not settling for field goals will be significant for this team.
Getting Big Names Back
Trent Williams murdered a man pic.twitter.com/N6C3n881RU
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 13, 2020
The 49ers have been banged up all season and are finally looking as close to 100% as they can be in the playoffs. All-Pro tackle Trent Williams was taken off the injury report on Friday, and after back–to–back limited practices is looking like he’ll start Sunday. This is fantastic news as the Niners will have quite a challenge with the Cowboys’ talented front seven. The Cowboys blitz 27.1% of the time, leading to the team pressuring the quarterback 189 times (third-most) and collecting 41 sacks (tenth most). Dallas’s defense is a big-time threat, but having PFF’s highest-ranked lineman back should help protect Jimmy G.
K’waun Williams is back and will be rested and ready to play on Sunday. He’ll need to be against the monster in the slot Ceedee Lamb. Williams was a staple of this defense in their 2019 run and is the team’s best option at nickel corner. K’waun has had a rough season this year, as he’s been asked to play all over the field and hasn’t excelled in other corner spots. The positive thing for Williams this year is that he hasn’t the lowest burn rate in the league (0.0%). This at least gives us confidence in Williams’s ability to keep his opponents in front of him. Lamb is good after the catch averaging 5.13 yards/reception. Keeping him under wraps should be one of the Niners’ defense’s main focuses. Having Williams out there instead of the backup should greatly help the effectiveness of this defense.
Jimmy Needs to Stay Fired Up
Now that the playoffs are here, #49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo is well aware that the next game he plays could be his last with the team. But he’s trying to ride it as long as he can. Reporting for SportsCenter this evening… pic.twitter.com/XkR5rSC8C7
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) January 13, 2022
Jimmy Garoppolo has had his fair share of doubters, myself included, but I have to give it to him. This past Sunday was a gutsy and firey comeback to propel the 49ers into a Wildcard matchup. Jimmy G led that final drive for the Niners, completing four of five passes for 50 yards, setting up a go-ahead field goal. This was the cherry on top in a redemption half for Jimmy G. One that may have saved his career as a starter in this league. The one moment I want to target as a major turning point for Jimmy G and fans of the 49ers was his second interception of the game. A pass he has made 1000 times in practice and games, George Kittle was right down the middle and covered by three rams. Jimmy hits it a little high, and it’s tipped by Jalen Ramsey and miraculously intercepted.
This led to the first outburst from Jimmy G that I think I’ve ever seen. He was frustrated with the refs not calling a roughing the passer penalty. That outburst was different from the usual sulking we get from the 49ers quarterback. I know it might be farfetched, but the 49ers were 0-3 this year when Jimmy G threw two or more interceptions. Instead of sulking on the sideline, he came back in and completed four of five passes for 83 yards and a touchdown to Jauan Jennings.
This is the type of intensity and fire that the Niners need from their quarterback in the playoffs. If they can get this Jimmy G on Sunday, then the Niners will be a force to be reckoned with against the Cowboys.
Will the Real George Kittle and Nick Bosa Please Show Up
George Kittle has been good in whatever role he’s been given this year. During a three-game stretch from Weeks 13-15, Kittle was without a shadow of a doubt the best player in the NFL. He tallied 425 yards and three touchdowns on 28 receptions. Since then, he’s been targeted 12 times. The Niners need to get him more involved in this game, not with screens but with play-action passes across the middle. The Cowboys have a very athletic linebacking core, but they haven’t been the best against tight ends. Dallas has allowed the thirteenth most yards (920) and sixth-most touchdowns (6). Jimmy G owns the second-best play-action completion percentage (71%), matched with Kittle’s contested catch rate of 50% (7th best in the league). Those factors have led to an incredible high-risk/high reward connection that has paid off for the Niners in the past. Long story short, get Kittle involved, especially with this offensive line getting its Hall of Famer back.
With a phenomenal playoff run, Nick Bosa solidified himself as a legitimate defensive force in his rookie season. Bosa logged five QB hits, four sacks, 11 tackles, and a forced fumble. This year, he has been an absolute force with 15.5 sacks and 49 pressures. Bosa picked up his game after having a two-game stretch without a good stat sheet. He came back in the biggest game of the year, pressured Matthew Stafford three times, and shared a sack. Tyron Smith and La’el Collins are great, but Nick Bosa goes against the game’s best tackle every week. So he’s very prepared. If the Niners are to succeed, they’re going to need “Playoff Bosa.” The 49ers need to remind him that the league snubbed him of the DPOY and All-Pro honors. San Francisco’s success on Sunday will be predicated on how good Kittle and Bosa play on their respective sides of the ball.
Conclusion
This game has all the components of a “barn burner”. Both teams offer up a style that should give each other some trouble and the best coached team will win. Being a huge fan of this rivalry I can’t wait to get to see it rejuventated on Sunday. The history between these team is just that, but in the past these two teams have been the gatekeepers to each others success. Will that be the case yet again in 2022?
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