The biggest game of the season for the Dallas Cowboys is only a few days away.
Sitting at 3-1, the Cowboys will travel to Santa Clara, CA to take on the 4-0 San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers have been the Cowboys' Achilles heel the past two postseasons, sending Dallas home with no dinner twice by an average of 6.5 points.
Throughout Cowboys Nation, the wide sentiment is that the 49ers are the favorites, and there is no reason to look at it any other way until Dallas proves otherwise.
I'm not totally opposed to that line of thinking, but I do believe the media and fans are making it seem like a David & Goliath matchup.
I have to disagree.
This is much more of a Goliath & Goliath face off than most people want to give the Cowboys credit for.
How quickly a loss on the road to the Arizona Cardinals makes everyone forget the Cowboys are 3-0 in the other games, winning by a combined score of 108-13.
That's dominant football in all three phases, and the obliteration of Bill Belichick and the Patriots by the largest margin in his career proved that Arizona was an anomaly.
Moving forward, two defensive juggernauts will take the field Sunday night in San Francisco.
Their offenses can score points with the same ferocity that their defenses protect the endzone.
The question now becomes which defense is more likely to break when put under the offensive pressure?
There are plenty of opportunities for both offenses this weekend, and that leads us into my bold predictions for the Battle by the Bay on Sunday night.
These takes are bold in comparison to the previous two matchups versus San Francisco and the progress in the first four games of this season.
Brandin Cooks Eclipses His Season Stats
It's not a stretch to say that newest wide receiver Brandin Cooks was acquired by the Cowboys specifically for this matchup.
In last year's Divisional round playoff loss, the Cowboys managed only 12 points on the scoreboard, spoiling a Herculean effort by the defense.
Some blamed Dak Prescott. Others blamed Kellen Moore.
No matter who you blamed, everyone was in agreement that the offense lacked playmakers after CeeDee Lamb and Tony Pollard.
Pollard getting hurt at the tail end of the first half didn't help matters, leaving Lamb as a possession receiver, but no other speed of note to keep the 49ers' defense honest.
Enter Brandin Cooks and his 4.3 speed to help take the top off of the Niners' defense, and keeping them from crowding the line of scrimmage to harass Prescott.
I believe HC Mike McCarthy has purposely played vanilla football in regards to Cooks, saving his best schemes and play calls for this big matchup.
In three games, Cooks currently has eight receptions for 66 yards.
The threat of his speed will open up the underneath routes in the 49ers Cover 3 Zone scheme.
Cooks will cook to the tune of 11 receptions for 105 yards, and might even get himself his first touchdown reception as a member of the Cowboys.
Dak Prescott Will Complete 85% Of His Passes
This isn't far-fetched considering Prescott already has two games under his belt this season with a completion percentage north of 80.
It's bold, however, considering he has only reached that milestone five times in his career, and not since Week 2 of the 2021 season.
It's even bolder when you consider Prescott hasn't had a completion percentage higher than 62 versus the 49ers unless you go back to his rookie season.
The offense, and by association Dak Prescott, are different this season than years past.
Prescott has shown the willingness to forego the big play, and just take what defenses are giving him for free.
This is a stark change to a gunslinger Prescott under former OC Kellen Moore, who encouraged his quarterback to take chances down the field at every opportunity.
Dak is different, and his approach to the 49ers defense will be also.
San Francisco loves to let you complete passes underneath, and rally to the football.
Prescott will gladly take those five to seven yard completions, and patiently matriculate his offense down the field.
His deep shots will be calculated after lulling the Niners' secondary to sleep, and will finish with an efficient stat line in the neighborhood of 28/33 for a season high 290 yards.
Christian McCaffrey Will Be Held Under 50 Total Yards
Christian McCaffrey is far and away HC Kyle Shanahan's most dynamic weapon on offense.
The 49ers get the ball in his hands in many different ways, and McCaffrey can chop up defenses both as a running back and a wide receiver.
Currently, McCaffrey leads the NFL in rushing attempts (80), rushing yards (459), and rushing touchdowns (6).
He is the catalyst to Shanahan's offense, and elevates the play of others around him when he is at his best.
Dan Quinn also knows this. Which is exactly why he will throw everything but the kitchen sink to slow him.
In the Divisional playoff game, Quinn and the Cowboys' defense limited McCaffrey to 16 total touches for 57 yards.
With arguably a better defense than last season after beefing up the interior and secondary, McCaffrey won't reach the 50 yard mark on Sunday night.
