DALLAS — Some of the most legendary games in NFL postseason history have been between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers. From ‘The Catch’ to Jimmy Johnson’s guarantee, these two teams have duked it out for NFC supremacy many times before.
However, there’s been a drought of 27 years since these storied franchises have met in the playoffs. That ends on Sunday with a matchup between the conference’s No. 3 seeded Cowboys and No. 6 seeded 49ers during Wild Card weekend.
Dallas (12-5) won the NFC East going away and most recently finished off a sweep of the division with a 51-26 stomping of the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 18. Led by Dak Prescott and a reinvigorated defense, the Cowboys figure to be a tough out in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, San Francisco (10-6) started the season 3-5 before turning things on in the season’s second half to storm their way into the playoffs. Their hopes were still on life support in Week 18 when they trailed the Los Angeles Rams 24-17 with 2:29 left in the game. However, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo valiantly led them to a score in the waning moments and a victory in overtime to punch their ticket to Arlington.
With that in mind, here are 100 facts and stats as the Cowboys look to kick off a playoff run by defeating their longtime postseason rivals:
SERIES FACTS (15)
-This is the Cowboys’ 34th postseason appearance, the most in league history.
-This is the Cowboys’ 63rd postseason game, the most in league history. The Pittsburgh Steelers will play their 63rd game Sunday night at the Kansas City Chiefs to tie the mark.
-Dallas is 1 of 7 teams that have never participated in an overtime playoff game. The other seven teams are Detroit, Washington, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, and Baltimore.
-This will be the Cowboys’ 31st home playoff game, the third-most in NFL history. Only the 49ers and the Steelers have more with 33 apiece.
-The Cowboys are 19-17-1 against the 49ers with a 9-8-1 record at home.
-The Cowboys are 9-8-1 against the 49ers at home. Here is the breakdown by venue:
Cotton Bowl: 1-1-1
Texas Stadium: 7-6
AT&T Stadium: 1-1
-Dallas is 12-8 against the NFC West in the postseason with a 6-3 record at home.
-The Cowboys are 29-29 in January, playoffs included, with a 16-7 record at home.
-The Cowboys are 7-5 in the wild-card round with a 6-2 record at home.
-AT&T Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, and Heinz Field hosted a playoff game in their first year, the three venues that opened since 2000 to do so.
-The 49ers are 35-22 in January, playoffs included, with an 8-11 record on the road.
-The 49ers are 4-2 in the wild-card round with a 1-2 record on the road.
-The Cowboys are 1 of 15 teams that the 49ers have most recently won in their postseason series.
-The 49ers are 1 of 10 teams that the Cowboys have the most recent loss to in their postseason series.
-Since 1970, San Francisco is 95-103-2 in the Central Time Zone, including the playoffs, with a 15-7 record in late afternoon games.
DAK PRESCOTT FACTS (18)
-Prescott finished with 4,449 passing yards, the seventh-most in the NFL.
-Prescott’s 4,449 passing yards are the second-most of his career in a single-season. The most is 4,902 in 2019, which is also the second-most in the Cowboys’ single-season annals.
-Prescott’s 4,592 intended air yards are the eighth-most in the league.
-Prescott’s 2,425 completed air yards are the sixth-most in the NFL.
-Prescott has benefited from 2,024 yards after the catch, the eighth-most in the NFL.
-Prescott finished tied with Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes for the fourth-most passing touchdowns with 37.
-Prescott is tied with Mahomes for the sixth-most red zone touchdowns with 26.
-Prescott’s 1.7% interception percentage finished tied with Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady for the seventh-lowest in the league.
-Prescott’s 7.5 yards per pass attempt is tied for the eighth-best in the NFL.
-Prescott’s 278.1 passing yards per game are the seventh-most in the NFL.
-Prescott’s 104.2 passer rating is the third-best in the league.
-Prescott’s 4.8% sack percentage is tied for the fifth-lowest in the league.
-Prescott has been pressured on 19.2% of his drop backs, the sixth-fewest in the league.
-Prescott has been blitzed 187 times, the absolute most in the NFL.
-Prescott is tied for the ninth-longest pocket time at 2.4 seconds per drop back.
-Prescott has thrown 118 passes out of play-action, the 10th-most in the NFL.
-Prescott has had 10 passes batted at the line of scrimmage, tied for the seventh-most in the NFL.
-Prescott has had 28 passes dropped, the eighth-most in the league.
JIMMY GAROPPOLO FACTS (13)
-Garoppolo’s 68.3% completion percentage is the sixth-highest in the NFL.
-Garoppolo’s 2.7% interception percentage is tied with Joe Burrow for the ninth-most in the league.
-Garoppolo’s 8.6 yards per pass attempt is the second-most in the NFL.
-Garoppolo is tied with Ryan Tannehill for the ninth-lowest intended air yards per pass attempt at 7.5.
-Garoppolo’s 6.1 completed air yards per pass completion is the 10th-highest in the NFL.
-Garoppolo’s 4.2 completed air yards per pass attempt is the seventh-highest in the league.
-Garoppolo benefits from 6.5 yards after the catch, the most in the NFL.
-Garoppolo has the highest yards per completion at 12.7.
-Garoppolo’s 98.7 passer rating is the ninth-most in the NFL.
-Garoppolo is tied for the fifth-shortest pocket time in the NFL at 2.3 seconds.
-Garoppolo has been pressured on 18.7% of his drop backs, the fifth-fewest in the NFL.
-Garoppolo is 1 of 12 quarterbacks to have engineered at least three fourth quarter comebacks.
-Garoppolo is 1 of 13 quarterbacks to have engineered at least three game-winning drives.
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT FACTS (9)
-Elliott is 1 of 7 running backs to crest the 1,000-yard mark in 2021.
-Elliott’s 1,002 rushing yards are the seventh-most in the NFL.
-Elliott tied Derrick Henry and Jalen Hurts for the sixth-most rushing touchdowns with 10.
-All 10 of Elliott’s rushing touchdowns were inside the red zone, which accounted for the sixth-most in the league.
-Elliott’s 4.2 yards per carry are the 10th-most among running backs with at least 200 carries.
-Elliott picked up 593 yards before contact, the fifth-most in the NFL.
-Elliott is tied with James Conner for the fourth-most third down conversions on the ground with 18.
-Elliott carried 27 times on third down, the sixth-most in the NFL.
-Elliott’s three rushing touchdowns on third down are tied for the most in the NFL.
MIKE MCCARTHY FACTS (10)
-McCarthy was offensive coordinator for the 49ers in 2005, his lone season at that post before taking the head coaching job with the Green Bay Packers.
-A win would join McCarthy with Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer, and Jason Garrett as the only Cowboys coaches to win their first ever playoff games with the team.
-McCarthy is 4-2 in the wild-card round with a 2-1 record at home.
-McCarty is 14-11 in January, including the playoffs, with a 6-5 record at home.
-McCarthy is 6-4 against the 49ers with a 4-2 record at home.
-McCarthy’s 6-4 record against the 49ers is his second-best against any NFC West opponent:
Rams: .625 (5-3)
49ers: .600 (6-4)
Seahawks: .500 (6-6)
Cardinals: .333 (3-6)
-McCarthy is 0-2 against the 49ers in the playoffs with an 0-1 record at home.
-McCarthy is 74-55-1 against playoff-winning coaches with a 43-15-1 record at home.
-McCarthy is 50 for 100 on challenges for his career with a 2 for 3 rate in 2021.
-McCarthy is 5 for 9 on challenges in the postseason.
KYLE SHANAHAN FACTS (8)
-Shanahan is 4-1 in January, including the playoffs, with a 1-0 record on the road.
-Shanahan is 2-1 in postseason play and has yet to coach in the wild-card round.
-Shanahan has never coached in the wild-card round. Here is how other 49ers coaches fared:
Bill Walsh: 0-1
George Seifert: 1-0
Steve Mariucci: 2-1
Jim Harbaugh: 1-0
-Shanahan is 3-7 against the NFC East with a 2-3 record on the road.
-Shanahan is 0-2 against the Cowboys with an 0-1 record at AT&T Stadium.
-Shanahan is 6-13 against Super Bowl-winning coaches with a 3-8 record on the road.
-Shanahan is 16 for 28 on challenges for his career with a 2 for 3 rate in 2021.
-Shanahan is 0 for 1 on challenges in the playoffs.
BROADCAST FACTS (8)
-This is the 21st time that the Cowboys will face the 49ers on CBS, including the playoffs. Here is the Cowboys’ record in the series broken down by network:
CBS: 11-8-1
ABC: 1-1
FOX: 7-7
ESPN: 0-1
-This is the seventh postseason game in the series to be broadcast on CBS:
CBS: 6
FOX: 1
-CBS will have broadcasted every level of the playoffs in the series. The only other opponent that this has happened for with the Cowboys is the Los Angeles Rams.
-The Cowboys are 3-1 in wild-card games on CBS.
-Since CBS took over the AFC package, the Cowboys are 28-19 on that network. Overall, the Cowboys are 295-196-6 on CBS, including the postseason.
-Jim Nantz and Tony Romo are the 26th different play-by-play team in the series.
-The Cowboys are 23-16 when Nantz calls their games, playoffs included.
-Dallas is 5-6 when Romo calls the action.
ALEX KEMP FACTS (11)
-This week’s referee is Alex Kemp. Dallas is 1-0 all-time with Kemp making the calls, having had him in Week 14 at Washington. Dallas prevailed 27-20 and had fewer penalties: 7/60 to 7/65.
-The 49ers are 1-3 with Kemp:
2018 – CHI, 9-14 – L
2019 – @TB, 31-17 – W
2019 – SEA, 24-27 – L-OT
2021 – @SEA, 23-30 – L
-The 49ers have had fewer penalties 2 of 4 times with Kemp:
2018 – CHI: 4/30; SF: 6/45
2019 – TB: 8/87; SF: 11/87
2019 – SEA: 9/75; SF: 5/40
2021 – SEA: 6/40; SF: 10/86
-Kemp is tied for the second-lowest home team winning percentage (.438).
-Kemp’s crew has the highest percentage of home teams with fewer penalties (.813).
-Kemp’s games were tied for the sixth-lowest number of sacks (4.4) per game.
-Kemp is tied for the third-lowest offensive holding calls (1.9) per game.
-The Cowboys have yet to challenge Kemp. Opponents are 1 for 1. Replay Assistant is 0 for 1 with that lone call benefiting the Cowboys.
-The 49ers are 1 for 1 challenging Kemp. Opponents are 2 for 4. Replay Assistant is 3 for 9 with six of those calls benefiting the 49ers.
-Kemp is tied for the second-highest number of coaches challenges (.714, 5 for 7).
-Kemp has the lowest booth review overturn rate (.375, 3 for 8) among officials.
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS (8)
-The Cowboys generated the most takeaways with 34.
-The 49ers generated the most tackles for loss with 98.
-The 49ers were tied with the Dolphins for the fifth-most sacks with 48.
-Opposing passers compiled a 97.0 passer rating against San Francisco’s defense, the eighth-most in the NFL.
-The 49ers had the eighth-fewest missed tackles with 99.
-The Cowboys are 3-0 on Jan. 16. Here are the results:
1971^ — MIA, 24-3 — W
1982* — GB, 37-26 — W
1993* — GB, 27-17 — W
*playoffs
^Super Bowl VI
-The 49ers have never played a game on Jan. 16.
-The Cowboys have four birthdays to celebrate on Jan. 16:
1940 — John Meyers, DT, 1962-63
1944 — Harold Deters, K, 1967
1963 — Steve Cisowski, OT, 1987
1984 — Doug Free, OT, 2007-16
Do you think the Cowboys will grab a 20th all-time victory over their playoff rivals? Share your predictions with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.
