49ers, Cowboys renew rivalry in divisional-round showdown originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The 49ers already destroyed the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers late in the season, so, perhaps, it should come as no surprise there will be no rematch in the NFL playoffs.
The Bucs won the NFC South despite an 8-9 record, but they made a quick and quiet exit from the playoffs, as the Dallas Cowboys went on the road Monday night and came away with a decisive 31-14 victory over Tampa Bay in the final game of Super Wild Card Weekend.
Now, the Cowboys must travel across the country on a short week to face the 49ers, who have won 11 consecutive games. Kickoff against Dallas is scheduled for Sunday, 3:30 p.m. PT, at Levi’s Stadium.
"Excited for it," Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott told ESPN's Lisa Salters when asked about the 49ers matchup after the win over the Bucs. "That's a good team. They took us out last year. We know what we've got ahead of us. Just going to be another great week of preparation and looking forward to it."
Prescott picked apart the Tampa Bay defense while Brady had a forgettable performance in what might have been his final game in a Buccaneers uniform.
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Tampa Bay was looking for a rematch of their Week 14 game, in which the 49ers cruised to a 35-7 win over the Buccaneers in Brock Purdy’s first career NFL start.
Now, the big question is what the future holds for Brady. Will Brady, at 45, wish to continue his career with his legacy secured with a record seven Super Bowl titles?
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Brady’s future will be a major storyline of the offseason.
But this season continues. And it will continue with Purdy facing Prescott, not Brady.
The 49ers will be favored against the Cowboys to advance to the NFC Championship Game against the winner of Saturday’s other divisional playoff game featuring the top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants.
The 49ers advanced past the first round of the NFC playoffs over the weekend with a 41-23 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. San Francisco entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the NFC, while Seattle was the seventh and final team to qualify for the playoffs from the conference.
The Cowboys offer plenty of challenges to the 49ers with Prescott, running backs Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott, receiver CeeDee Lamb, and edge rusher Micah Parson, who for most of the season was considered a front-runner, along with 49ers’ edge rusher Nick Bosa, for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
It will be the second consecutive season in which the 49ers have faced Dallas in the playoffs. Last year, San Francisco was the No. 6 seed and beat third-seeded Dallas, 23-17, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The 49ers had a 23-7 lead entering the fourth quarter and held onto the victory when time ran out on the Cowboys when they had the ball at the 49ers’ 24-yard line.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo played with an injured thumb and sustained a shoulder injury that would require offseason surgery. The 49ers turned to their rushing attack. Elijah Mitchell gained 96 yards and a touchdown on 27 rushing attempts, and receiver Deebo Samuel added 72 yards and a touchdown on just 10 rushing attempts.
The teams will meet for the ninth time in the playoffs histories of the franchises. The Cowboys won the first three playoff meetings in the early 1970s.
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Then, the 49ers broke through on Jan. 10, 1982, when Dwight Clark came down with The Catch from Joe Montana to lift Bill Walsh’s team to its first Super Bowl.
On Sunday, the two storied NFL franchises will add another chapter to their rivalry.
