The rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers is one of the most iconic in the NFL.
In addition to 31 regular season meetings – dating back to 1960 – the teams have clashed nine times in the playoffs. Six of those games were for the NFC championship.
The team that won five of those six games went on to win the Super Bowl in the next game.
San Francisco holds an overall record of 20-19-1 over Dallas – 16-14-1 in the regular season.
The Cowboys have gotten the better of the 49ers in the post season however. Dallas is 5-4 in playoff games against San Francisco.
The Cowboys are 4-2 in NFC Conference championship games against the 49ers – winning in 1970-71 and 1992-92.
The 49ers claimed their first conference win over Dallas in the 1981 title game and their second in the 1994 title game.
San Francisco has eliminated the Cowboys from the playoffs the last two times the teams met in 2021 and 2022.
Against The 49ers
In the regular season, the 49ers are 8-7-1 in games played at Dallas and 8-7 when playing in San Francisco.
The Cowboys hold a 2-1 advantage in playoff games played at home and the teams are 3-3 in postseason play in San Francisco.
The first meeting took place at the Cotton Bowl in 1960, a 26-14 49ers win and San Francisco made it two in a row with a 31-24 win at home in 1963.
Dallas finally got its first win in 1965 – at the Cotton Bowl – 39-31 then lost at San Francisco 24-16 in 1967. The teams tied 24-24 in the 1969 Thanksgiving Day game.
Starting with the 17-10 NFC Conference championship win at San Francisco in 1970, the Cowboys would win seven of the next eight games.
Only a 31-10 win at Texas Stadium in 1972 denied the Cowboys a nine-game win streak. Danny White threw four touchdowns in a 59-14 rout in 1980 at the end of the run.
The next 10 years belonged to San Francisco.
The 49ers would win the next six meetings – including the 1981 NFC title game. The Cowboys would turn the tables in the 1990s.
The Cowboys won the next three games (1992-94) only to see the 49ers win three straight in return (twice in 1994 and once in 1995).
Dallas would win just two of the next five games between 1996-2002. But the Cowboys would take six of the next seven games between 2005-2020.
The last three meetings, including two playoff games, have gone to San Francisco.
While the playoff games were decided by a touchdown or less, the 2023 regular season 42-10 loss was a complete embarrassment.
Week 8 History
Dallas will bring a 36-20 overall record in the Week 8 contest this year. They are 24-10 at home and 12-10 on the road.
They lost the Week 8 game in the 1982 strike and have had seven byes fall on Week 8.
This is the most total byes for a single week in Cowboys’ history.
This will be the second time the Cowboys and 49ers have met in Week 8. The first meeting was the 39-31 win in 1965.
Dallas will bring a three-year Week 8 winning streak into the contest having beaten the Vikings in Minnesota (2021) and the Bears (2022) and Rams (2023) at home.
Week 8 is one of the rare times an NFC East rival isn’t the most faced NFL opponent for a given week.
The Cowboys have played the Cardinals nine times in Week 8, and hold a 7-2 record against them. The Eagles are next at seven and hold a 5-2 mark against Dallas in those games.
Week 8 is also the only week in Cowboys’ history that the team has played all 15 NFC opponents at least once.
Last year’s game against the Rams accomplished that feat. Dallas has only played seven of the 16 AFC teams in a Week 8 contest.
My Prediction
(based on rosters as of today)
The Cowboys woes against the 49ers will continue for at least one more year. The 49ers are just a better team right now.
Its nice to have a competent front office, isn’t it?
Predicted season record: 2-5.