(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)
Normally, we ask this question about our Cowboys, but do you see this being a trap game for the 49ers? Do the Cowboys have an advantage in any area of this game? – Walt DeBell*/Troy, NY*
Nick: I wish I could say that but it just never seems to happen, especially when teams come into AT&T Stadium. I feel like the Cowboys always get everyone's best shot, at least for a while.
But I can't see the 49ers coming into this game, especially with the way I expect the atmosphere to be. There will be A LOT of 49ers fans and they'll be easy to spot. But that usually just raises the intensity for the home team and it'll be a fun game from that aspect.
I don't see the 49ers overlooking the Cowboys, but that doesn't mean it's going to be a blowout. San Francisco has played some close games to the Cardinals and Commanders and lost their road game in Atlanta. Let's not forget, there were a ton of 49ers fans in the ATL, just like there are when the Cowboys play there.
So I don't think the Cowboys will get any favors by the 49ers not coming into this game prepared or focused. I do think the Cowboys can hang with them if they can stay balanced on offense and somehow create some turnovers and good field position on defense and special teams.
Patrik: No NFL contest is 100 percent toward any one team, regardless of who that team might be and/or how dominant they might look. Yes, the 49ers have plenty of advantages over the inconsistent Cowboys and that's one right there: consistency. But have they been perfect? No. This is a team that lost to the now 3-6 Falcons, quiet as it's kept, not long ago. How'd Michael Penix and the Falcons do it? They introduced a lot of pre-snap motion, for one.
That's a category the Cowboys need to exploit (they finally unleashed it in Indy) to give eye candy to the aggressive 49ers defense and though it won't always fool Fred Warner, everybody on that side of the ball isn't Fred Warner — so confuse others. Atlanta used motion on 70% of their snaps, and then spammed the underneath passes while also committing to giving Bijan Robinson the ball 20 times (despite struggling to move the ball on the ground). Seems a good formula (hint, hint) and if George Pickens returns, the Cowboys' WR duo is better than any CB duo you can line up against them.
Mailbag
Here's your chance to ask a question for the staff writers. Submit your entry now!
