The San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys share a storied rivalry, once considered one of the NFL's finest. The rivalry has lost some of its luster since the 90s, when the two teams vied for NFL supremacy. However, things have started to heat up in recent years.
The 49ers have ousted the Cowboys in each of the past two postseasons. Cowboys fans would love nothing more than to watch their team finally knock off the 49ers on Sunday night, even in a regular-season bout.
The recent rivalry may feel somewhat one-sided, with the Cowboys desperate for a win over the team that has ended their last two seasons. However, inside the 49ers locker room, players recognize the significance of this weekend's clash between NFC powerhouses.
"It's a big game," defensive end Nick Bosa said before Wednesday's practice. "They're a really good team, and they bring it every time we see them in the playoffs, the past two years. So it's a big game, but also, you don't want to make it too big because it's just another regular-season game."
Before 2021, San Francisco had suffered three consecutive losses to Dallas. What accounts for the 49ers' recent success against the Cowboys?
"Just being on it," Bosa responded. "When two really good teams play each other, it's just whoever shows up and is on the details more, and I think we've been a little better in those games. They've been tough, and they've played well, but we've just grinded it out a little longer than them."
Bosa noted that the Cowboys now have former 49ers quarterback Trey Lance on their roster. Does Lance's intimate knowledge give Dallas an edge in the Week 5 matchup?
"I think the NFL is a copycat league, and everybody knows pretty much everything," Bosa said, downplaying the significance. "But obviously game plan stuff, they won't know, and we won't know, so there'll be some surprises."
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was also asked about the advantage of the Cowboys having Lance in the meeting room following the quarterback's trade to Dallas.
"I mean, you can see the plays on tape," Shanahan said. "You can explain what we look at and stuff like that, which usually you can when you can stack up a lot of tape over years, and we've been here for a while, and previous [to Lance being drafted]. So hopefully, he's talking to them all the time and making them focus totally on that instead of the simple stuff of watching the tape."
