Will the 49ers Hogtie the Cowboys in the Divisional Round?
These two teams have a long and storied playoff history dating back the early 1970s, but none of that really matters for this Sunday at Levi's, except for maybe lessons learned in last year's Wild Card weekend matchup between these two teams in Dallas.
In the here and now, both teams feature great defenses and both teams have above average offensive lines. The 49ers have the best weapons in football, but also have a rookie quarterback. Plus they have one of the best run games in the NFL since trading for Christian McCaffrey.
Cowboys running back Tony Pollard is an outstanding player in his own right. They have really good weapons and Dak Prescott is capable of playing exceptionally well, as we just saw him do against the Buccaneers on Monday night. He also can play very poorly, so Prescott might just be the biggest x-factor.
Both teams have a weak spot at their second cornerback positions due to the injuries to Emmanuel Moseley and Anthony Brown.
The 49ers defense is built around its line getting pressure. If that doesn't happen, or if Prescott can buy time with his feet, then their secondary tends to get exposed. Nick Bosa should win DPOY, but he doesn't have a lot of marquis pass rushers to help take attention off him.
The 49ers have the best trio of linebackers in football with Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair.
The Cowboys defense is great against the pass, but has shown itself to be susceptible to the run.
This will be the Cowboys fourth road game in a row. Last season the 49ers played four road games in a row and lost in the NDCCG to the Rams. Additionally, the Cowboys have two fewer days of rest and had to travel home to Dallas before travelling west to Santa Clara. If these two teams are as closely matched as they appear to be on paper, then less rest and travel might end up being what keeps the Cowboys from winning.
Another thing that could cost the Cowboys the game, would be if Brett Maher continues missing short kicks. I listed this last, as I do not expect his kicking woes to continue.
On the other hand, Robbie Gould has never missed an extra point or a field goal in the playoffs, so any misses by Maher could prove to be costly.
Hogtie might be too strong of a word, but I do believe that the 49ers will win a close, medium-scoring, game. As always, I will reply to this article about an hour before kickoff with my official score prediction, once we know exactly who will play and who won't.
