DALLAS — There is consternation that San Francisco 49ers fans will invade AT&T Stadium during the 2021 NFC Wild Card game on Sunday, but Jerry Jones is confident that Dallas Cowboys fans can hold down the fort.
Possibly due to remembering Week 1 of 2014 when Niners fans arrived in droves in San Francisco's first game at AT&T Stadium, coupled with their unmistakable presence in Week 18 of 2021 at SoFi Stadium against the Los Angeles Rams, there is a concern of a sea of red flooding the stands.
However, Jones told "K&C Masterpiece" on 105.3 "The Fan" [KRLD-FM] on Friday that he believes Cowboys fans will represent strongly.
"I would say that every game we had the highest attendance in the NFL, considerably so. I look out across there and have some visiting team support in that game," said Jones. "But the attendance, the ability to have that kind of attendance, creates technically more visiting team fans. Percentage is what you want to look at, and I guarantee you this will be a Cowboys crowd without question.”
Although AT&T Stadium has a retractable roof and end zone doors that open at both ends of the stadium, Jones believes the roof and doors will be closed as temperatures will be around 50 degrees at kickoff at 3:30 p.m. local time.
"This is a home game and we’ll get the benefit of a home crowd," Jones said. "We just need to get them in play early, our fans, and we need to get them in play steadily. And we need their help because when you go to other places, boy, that home-field advantage can really dictate a lot about the outcome of the game, and this is a chance for us, with our fans, to dictate the outcome of this game."
The Cowboys have the NFL's highest-scoring offense at 31.2 points per game. Dallas also led the NFL with 34 takeaways in 2021. Adding a home-field advantage to an already explosive team on both sides of the ball could be what the Cowboys need to keep pace with a physical 49ers team.
"It’s an exciting time," said Jones. "It just reminds us where you’re trying to go. We all know what’s at stake. Every tackle takes on an elevated meaning, every run for two yards. Every play, every time we reach out there and get the quarterback by his foot and bring him down for no gain — all of that, each play has its own distinct meaning because you don’t get but about 60 of them in the game.”
The Cowboys and 49ers had previously met in every other round of the NFC playoffs. Sunday will mark the first time the two sides have squared off in the wild-card round.
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