Dallas Cowboys-San Francisco 49ers matchup continues rich playoff tradition
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (CBSDFW.COM) — It doesn't get much better than this on Divisional Playoff Weekend; two of the most tradition-rich NFL franchises squaring off for a record-tying ninth time in the playoffs.
The two teams are the highest scoring in the league over the last 11 weeks and two of the top five scoring defenses in the league this year. The Cowboys have averaged 33 points a game since Dak Prescott came back from injury while the 49ers have averaged 31 points a game since trading for Christian McCaffrey at mid-season.
But what makes this game most intriguing is a playoff rivalry that goes back more than a half century and one that coincides with the greatest eras of each of these franchises. The Cowboys beat the 49ers in the playoffs three straight years in the 70s, leading to their first two Super Bowl appearances in 1970 and 71. The moniker "Captain Comeback" was born when Roger Staubach came off the bench to throw two touchdown passes in the final two minutes to win 30-28 in San Francisco in 1972.
Dwight Clark sailed over Everson Walls to make "The Catch", one of the iconic plays in league history, as San Francisco came from behind to beat Dallas in the 1981 NFC Championship Game, leading to the first of four Super Bowl wins for San Francisco in the 80s.
And then Jimmy Johnson coached the Cowboys to two straight conference championship wins over San Francisco in the 90s. Jimmy popularized the phrase "How 'Bout Them Cowboys" with those wins. Before the '93 title game, he called into Randy Galloway's radio show on WBAP Radio and famously proclaimed, "We will win the ball game! You can put it in three inch headlines! We will win the game!"
In Barry Switzer's first year replacing Jimmy, the Cowboys lost to the 49ers in the '94 Championship Game after turning the ball over three times and falling behind 21-0 in the first five minutes of a 38-28 loss.
And now nearly 30 years later, the Cowboys and Niners are meeting for the second straight year in the postseason after Deebo Samuel and San Francisco swaggered into AT&T Stadium and beat Dallas 23-17 last January.