The Dallas Cowboys face the ultimate test of their championship aspirations on Sunday when they take on the unbeaten San Francisco 49ers in the latest instalment of one of the NFL’s most ferocious rivalries.
The standout fixture of week five sees the Cowboys (3-1) travel to California for a Sunday night clash against a 49ers team who many are already tipping as Super Bowl contenders following an impressive 4-0 start.
It marks the 40th time the two franchises have faced each other, a decades-long rivalry that reached its zenith in the early 1990s when the two teams collided in three consecutive NFC Championship games.
The two teams also have recent history, with the 49ers eliminating the Cowboys in the playoffs for the past two seasons running.
“It’s an important game; you understand the history,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “There’s obviously a lot of tradition with this game. That’s all part of it.
“You live to play in these kind of games. You dream to play in these kind of games. You don’t want to make it bigger than it is — but the reality is it’s just not another game.”
The significance of the fixture has not been lost on Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott, who believes that if the Cowboys are to end their 28-year wait for a Super Bowl title, they will almost certainly have to go through San Francisco.
“I’ve played them in the playoffs and we understand it’s a team that if we get to where we want to get, we have to play them again, come playoffs,” Prescott said.
‘Tough to handle’
The Cowboys head into the fixture fresh from a 38-3 drubbing of the New England Patriots last weekend in a game where their suffocating defense once again smothered the opposition.
So far this season the Cowboys defense has conceded just 10.3 points per game, while wracking up 10 turnovers.
“The (Cowboys) D-Line is tough to handle and they can make you make a lot of mistakes,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said.
“You’ve got to get rid of it quick sometimes, not always before you’re ready…they’re as good as team as any when they get you one dimensional and creating turnovers and getting after the quarterback.”
The good news for San Francisco is that they have more than enough offensive weapons at their disposal to ask serious questions of the Cowboys vaunted defense.
Quarterback Brock Purdy has barely put a foot wrong all season, while running back Christian McCaffrey has been in devastating form with a league-leading 459 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.
“The formula for San Francisco, you see the effectiveness of their starts, not just in the run game but also scoring and finishing,” Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said.
“(McCaffrey) has been at the top of that list, for sure. We’ll have our work cut out for us … but it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”
In other fixtures on Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles (4-0) will look to keep their unbeaten start going when they head to California to take on the Los Angeles Rams (2-2).
Tablet toss furore
The Miami Dolphins (3-1) meanwhile host the New York Giants, looking to put last week’s 48-20 mauling by the Buffalo Bills behind them.
The stats indicate that the Giants could be in for a torrid afternoon against a Dolphins team which continues to lead the league in total yardage (511 per game), passing (334.3 per game) and rushing (176.8 per game).
The Giants (1-3) have one of the leakiest defenses in the league, coughing up an average of 30.5 points per game so far this season.
The Giants head into the game after a 24-3 loss to Seattle on Monday that shone a light on relations between New York head coach Brian Daboll and quarterback Daniel Jones.
Daboll was seen tossing a tablet computer in frustration after one sideline exchange with Jones during Monday’s loss, but this week denied it had been aimed at his quarterback.
“I just tossed it to the side because obviously it was a little bit of frustration, but, no, I wouldn’t throw a tablet at him,” Daboll said of the tablet toss.
“Things aren’t going great. Again, I’m not exactly sure what the cameras did or did not show, but Daniel is a coachable guy. I like working with Daniel and we’ve got some things we’ve got to do better.”
