It doesn't get much bigger than the Cowboys and 49ers in the NFC. Ten combined Super Bowls, eight all-time postseason meetings, and a storied list of history between the two organizations. Both teams enter with high expectations as Dallas (12-5) has won five of their last six, and San Francisco (10-7) took four of their last five.
Here are 12 additional 'big facts' to note ahead of Sunday's Wild Card matchup at 3:30pm CT kickoff at AT&T Stadium.
Here are 12 additional 'big facts' to note ahead of Sunday's Wild Card matchup at 3:30pm CT kickoff at AT&T Stadium.
Field of All-Pros
The NFL announced their NFL All-Pro teams earlier this week and the five First-Team honorees combined between the Cowboys and 49ers is the most out of any Wild Card game this weekend. San Francisco's WR Deebo Samuel and OT Trent Williams were honored along with Dallas OT Zack Martin, LB Micah Parsons, and CB Trevon Diggs. No other Wild Card matchup has more than three First-Team All-Pros in a single game and the Cowboys-49ers meeting has more All-Pros than the entire AFC Wild Card round combined (4).
POW POW POW!
When Dak Prescott was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week award this week, it marked the third time he's won the award this season. No other Cowboys QB has won it three times in a season. Only Emmitt Smith has claimed this award three times in a season – doing it in 1992 and 1995. Those seasons both ended with Super Bowl titles.
QB Experience
Of the seven NFC starting quarterbacks in the playoffs, Dak Prescott ranks fourth among postseason wins, with just one. His opponent this Sunday – San Francisco's Jimmy Garoppolo has two playoff wins as he led the 49ers to the Super Bowl two seasons ago. Tom Brady is the NFL's all-time leader with 34 and Aaron Rodgers has 11. Jalen Hurts, Matthew Stafford (0-3) and Kyler Murray have yet to win a playoff game.
Jimmy G's Picks
49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo is a perfect 7-0 as a starter this year when he doesn't thrown an interception. The 49ers are 2-6 when he throws a pick. The Cowboys lead the NFL with 26 interceptions.
Just Two Snaps
Garoppolo is finishing up his eighth season in the NFL, he's been a part of two Super Bowl wins in New England and made a run to the Super Bowl as the starter with the 49ers. However, he will do something on Sunday that he's never done in his professional career. He will take snaps as the starter against the Dallas Cowboys. In his career, he has taken only two snaps against
Dallas and both were as the backup to Tom Brady in 2015.
11 = 11
Trevon Diggs finished the regular season with 11 interceptions, tying him for the franchise record with Everson Walls. But Diggs either tied or out-picked 11 different NFL teams this year interceptions. Four teams had 11 total picks and seven of them finished with under 10.
Deebo Making History
49ers superstar Deebo Samuel is the first wide receiver in the Super Bowl era (1970) to rush for over 300 yards and have an average per catch over 18 yards. Samuel's 18.2 average per catch led the NFL this year, and his 365 rushing yards easily led all receivers.
Handful of Rings
Sunday's playoff game marks the first time in NFL history that two franchises with 5+ Super Bowl titles are meeting in the playoffs. The Cowboys and 49ers are third in NFL history with five Super Bowl wins each, behind the Patriots and Steelers – who have six each.
Maximum P.I.
While dealing with the 49ers pass-rush can be a problem, the back-end could be a different story. San Francisco, by far, leads the league in pass interference penalties against its secondary with 23. The next-highest team has been flagged just 16 times.
California Hot Defense
Since Week 10, the 49ers have employed one of the more consistent defenses in the NFL. They ranked top five in scoring, sacks and takeaways since that mark in the season and have tallied a 7-2 record over those games.
Gold Rush?
The 49ers are getting a lot of attention for their physical-style of play and their ability to run the ball. San Francisco ranks seventh in the NFL, averaging 127.4 yards per game. The Cowboys are right there as well, averaging 124.6 yards, good for ninth in the league.
23 First-Timers
Of the Cowboys' entire roster, two dozen players will be making their playoff debut this year. The Cowboys do have 29 guys who have played in at least one postseason game, led by long snapper Jake McQuaide, who has six appearances. CJ Goodwin, DeMarcus Lawrence, Zack Martin, Keanu Neal and Ty Nsekhe have each played in five.
Here are the players making their playoff debut: Biadasz, C. Wilson, Steele, McGovern, Rush, Pollard, Farniok, McKeon, Gallimore, Parsons, Diggs, Basham, T. Hill, Odighizuwa, Gifford, Armstrong, Bernard, N. Wright, D. Wilson, Joseph, Bohanna, Golston, Fehoko.
