SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The 49ers-Cowboys rivalry is the NFL, pure and distilled.
When folks who don’t follow the NFL think of a game — this is the matchup that comes to mind.
It looks right. It feels right. And Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, arguably the league’s two premier franchises will face off in the playoffs for a ninth time in their storied histories.
It’s red versus blue, silver versus gold. It’s California versus Texas, big tech versus big oil. It’s mountains versus prairies, academics versus showmanship. It’s two teams looking for that sixth Lombardi Trophy.
This rivalry gave us Roger the Dodger, The Catch, Joe Cool, and “How Bout Them Cowboys?” The 49ers and Cowboys’ showdowns defined the league in the 1970s and then again in the 1990s.
And now that they’re set to meet in back-to-back postseasons, it’s been suggested that these two teams could define the 2020s, too.
I disagree with that notion. I say you should savor every aspect of the buildup to Sunday’s 49ers-Cowboys NFC divisional round game — and the contest itself — because I’m not sure Dallas and San Francisco will meet again on this stage, or a better one, anytime soon.
You can blame Dallas for that.
First off, when it comes to defining an era, you have to play in bigger games. It’s early in the decade, but the Cowboys and 49ers’ most recent playoff meetings pale compared to the teams’ showdowns of lore.
In the 1990s, these teams met in the NFC Championship Game for three straight years. They might as well have played in the Super Bowl itself — such was the dominance of the NFC’s two best teams.
Of the team’s first seven showdowns, six were NFC Championship Games — the biggest game these two teams can play against one another. The one playoff game that wasn’t a championship showdown — a divisional round game in 1972 — featured an incredible Dallas comeback from 21-3 down (a big deficit in those days).
Meanwhile, the Niners and Cowboys played a wild-card game last season and a Divisional Game this year. These two meetings weren’t collision courses — games that seemed inevitable throughout the regular season. Dallas didn’t even win its division.
This is no Kansas City-Buffalo.
No, this matchup is merely positive happenstance — good fate for fans and Fox, which will televise Sunday’s game.
Now, I expect the Niners — who have made the playoffs three of the past four years — to make postseason play an annual occurrence in the years to come, thanks in part to the team’s newfound (and low-cost) quarterback stability. Overall, San Francisco can make the case it’s the best-run organization in the NFL — as evidenced by how many members of its front-office and coaching staff are annually poached. But with Kyle Shanahan at the helm of the team and John Lynch running the show in the offices — with team CEO Jed York staying out of both men’s way these days — the Niners’ winning machine should keep rolling for years to come.
There’s nothing about the Dallas Cowboys that seems stable.
The team’s general manager is still owner Jerry Jones, 80, who gives press conferences after games and does weekly radio hits that make national news. Jones is pushing hard for another Super Bowl while in charge, leading to rash, imprudent decisions.
For instance: Running back Ezekiel Elliott signed a six-year contract worth $90 million in 2019, three years into his NFL career, and a five-year rookie contract.
No one else in the league signs young players to extensions that early because of exactly what happened to Jones and the Cowboys.
Elliott was an outstanding player his first four years in the league, but his production fell off a cliff after the 2019 season, right when the new deal started. This season he averaged 3.8 yards per carry but counted for 8.3 percent of the Cowboys’ salary-cap spending.
It was an all-downside, no-upside play for Dallas. Their team today is worse because of it.
Next season, Elliott might be gone — you never really know with Jones — but Dak Prescott’s new contract will count for $49 million and $52 million against the cap in 2023 and 2024.
That’s Patrick Mahomes money, given to a quarterback who has one MVP vote to his name in his career (it came all the way back in his rookie season) and who led the NFL in interceptions this season despite missing five games.
No team in the NFL manages its salary cap better than the 49ers. It’s almost disadvantageous how prudent they are on that front.
No team mismanages the cap more than the Cowboys. It’s incredible that they are competitive at all.
Add coach Mike McCarthy to the Cowboys’ mix, and you have a fully combustible situation. McCarthy’s seat always seems warm, in part because the Cowboys always seem disorganized in big moments, and you don’t exactly have the foundations of a dynasty.
Under McCarthy, the Cowboys have some truly outstanding players, but they lack cohesion. But it’s not a team, it’s merely a collection of talent.
It leads to a boom-or-bust mentality and spectacular performances one week and terrible outings the next.
My prediction is that the same truth will apply to seasons in the years to come.
Jones made his fortune and built the Cowboys into champions by taking risks, but in the modern NFL, brinksmanship is no way to run a team.
This star can fade fast.
In so many ways, the Niners are the opposite of the Cowboys. That’s why San Francisco can compete for the Super Bowl with its third-string quarterback.
And don’t forget: The Niners and Cowboys went from 1994 to 2021 without facing each other in the playoffs. Knowing how these two teams operate, to have back-to-back seasons with a San Francisco-Dallas showdown should be considered a rare treat.
Enjoy it. Sunday has a chance to be a good game, just like last season’s wild-card game, which ended with the Cowboys failing to spike the ball as the clock reached 0:00.
And while it might not carry the same weight as the showdowns of decades past, this game is something to celebrate.
It’s a great rivalry. One of the best in sports. But its best days are behind it.
