2022 NFC Divisional Round Preview: Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers
In the fourth-and-final game of our 2022 NFL Divisional Playoff Round, we have an NFC bout between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Cowboys have won seven of their last nine, while San Francisco enters winners of 11 straight, the longest active streak in the NFL. The two foes, who have a long history of playoff affairs, both took care of business handedly against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys, respectively. Now, they meet again — for the 10th ever time in the playoff — with an NFC Championship berth on the line.
Let’s dive into a few reasons why each team could win plus my prediction below!
Why the Cowboys will win:
Dallas can win any game if Dak Prescott is on his game:
In the five games leading up to its Wild Card win over Tampa, Dak Prescott was completing 64.3 percent of his passes, but had nine turnovers (one fumble loss, eight INTs) to just 10 touchdown passes. Despite him not being solely responsible for every turnover, we still witnessed perhaps the most careless version of himself. Against Tampa, however, Prescott looked as good as he has all season, going 25-for-33 with 305 passing yards and five total touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) and zero turnovers. We were, once again, reminded of how dominant Prescott can be when he’s seeing every read and comfortable in the pocket. Against San Francisco, he will see heavy pressure, disguised looks on the back-seven and endure plenty of chaos. So it’ll be hard to expect another performance like that against this stout Niners defense, but they’ll have a shot to win any game if he’s at his peak performance.
Don’t turn the rock over:
This second point bounces off the first point; San Francisco has been among the best in the NFL in forcing turnovers, finishing the season an NFL-best plus-13 in turnover. Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard have been especially good at taking care of the ball, having not fumbled once this year. Prescott can be another issue — but Dallas still finished middle-of-the-pack with 23 giveaways (to 33 takeaways!). The Cowboys’ best shot at winning is by preventing any dumb mistakes that forfeit points/possessions.
Micah Parsons, and winning the trenches:
This game might be all about the two trenches. San Francisco has Nick Bosa, but the Cowboys have Micah Parsons. Two of the sport’s best game-wreckers square off on opposite sides. If one person can disrupt a rookie quarterback well enough to force a few errant mistakes, it’s Parsons, who will be up arguably the league’s top left tackle in Trent Williams with Mike McGlinchey on the other side. San Francisco’s line isn’t as pretty up the middle, which is where I expect Parsons to be lined up plenty on passing downs — possibility getting in the face and disrupting the flow of Purdy, who hasn’t quite faced a player of Parsons’ caliber yet. If Dallas — specifically Parsons — dominate the trenches, they can very well win the game.
Why the 49ers will win:
Best defense in the NFL:
Dallas might field one of the NFL’s top defenses, but the 49ers have the NFL’s best defense. And it all begins with Bosa, the ultimate 25-year-old game-wrecker who’s logged four sacks over the last five weeks and at least one tackle-for-loss in nine of his last 11 games (13 TFL, 12 sacks over that span). But their lightning quick, sideline-to-sideline attack features Charvarius Ward, Dre Greenlaw and All-Pro honorees Fred Warner and Talanoa Hufanga, among others. They swarm you like a hive of hornets…relentlessly and ruthlessly.
More dominant skill position players:
In addition to their dominant defense, the Niners are one of the few teams who might have a better crop of skill position players than Dallas. Their group features George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and, most of all, Christian McCaffrey, who they acquired from the Carolina Panthers mid-season. Kittle and Aiyuk have become personal favorites of quarterback Brock Purdy, who’s looked as good as ever. Purdy’s completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 1,432 yards, 14 touchdowns to just two interceptions in six career starts, where he’s 6-0. And we all know what McCaffrey’s capable of if he has a sliver of space.
Consistency, consistency, consistency:
The Niners have been the league’s top model of consistency. They’ve won 11 straight, and you know what you’re getting each week. San Francisco has scored at least 30 points in six of the last seven weeks while limiting its opponents to 20 or fewer in five of those games. They’re an elite rushing attack, possess a very formidable passing attack and have an elite defense that creates chaos and forces a bevy of turnovers.
Prediction:
At home in front of an energized crowd, I see the more well-coached, more-disciplined Niners squad advancing to the NFC Title game. They’re just the better team and will have two days of more rest. In a playoff game, that might be the most important factor above all else. I don’t see them losing at home to a Cowboys squad riding-high off its Monday night thrashing.
Final Prediction: 49ers 31, Cowboys 20
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