SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL WEEK 5: DALLAS COWBOYS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

BY ADAM GREENE

Oh, this one is so good Cris Collinsworth is already oiling up his ass so the slide into Mike Terico’s left cheek goes off without a hitch. Two of the best teams in the NFC meet up on Sunday Night Football when Mike McCarthy brings his Dallas Cowboys to face the team for which he was a downright nightmare as an offensive coordinator for 18 years ago, the San Francisco 49ers.

Back in the early 1990s, this was the preeminent playoff rivalry in the NFL, determining who was going to win the Super Bowl for four consecutive seasons. Let’s just say, in the years since, that’s not held up. The Cowboys have been knocked out of the postseason in consecutive seasons by San Francisco and Mike McCarthy, again a guy that used to work for the Niners, is 0-4 against them in the playoffs.

Last season San Francisco ended the Cowboys’ Super Bowl hopes with a 19-12 win the NFC Divisional Round. Dak Prescott was 23 of 27 passing for 206 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the loss. Dallas didn’t even hit 100 yards as a team on the ground. CeeDee Lamb caught 10 passes for 117 yards.

In the win, Brock Purdy was 19 of 29 for 214 yards, no touchdowns and no picks. They too did not do much on the ground, in spite of the presence of Christian McCaffrey (which really shows that Dan Quinn should be the Cowboys head coach. I mean, come on), but they did get a TD from McCaffrey that made the difference.

DALLAS COWBOYS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (-3.5, O/U: 45)

Location: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.

Broadcast: NBC

Kickoff: Oct. 8. 8:20 p.m.

DALLAS COWBOYS (3-1)

Thanks to obliterating the New England Patriots 38-3 last week, the Cowboys can go back to thoroughly enjoying the smell of their own farts. Which is a good thing too, since Mike McCarthy was seen ordering 132 rolled tacos in the Taco Bell drive thru this week. Dak Prescott was 28 of 34 passing for 262 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions in the win. He was sacked three times. Tony Pollard rushed 11 times for 47 yards. Jake Ferguson caught seven passes for 77 yards. The defense sacked Mac Jones once, picked him off twice, forced a fumble and held the Pats to just 53 yards on the ground. Hey, that Dan Quinn, defensive coordinator for Dallas, seems like a good coach. Maybe somebody should give him another head coaching job?

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (4-0)

The Arizona Cardinals decided to show up last week, giving their best effort in a losing cause, falling 35-16 to the 49ers in a game that was actually close for an entire three quarters. Brock Purdy was a ridiculous 20 of 21 passing for 283 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions in the win. Chrisitan McCaffrey rushed 20 times for 106 yards and a touchdown and caught seven passes for 71 yards and a score. Brandon Aiyuk hauled in six passes for 148 yards. The defense sacked Joshua Dobbs once.

THE PICK

I’m going to need to see Mike McCarthy beat San Fran in real life before I can ever pick against the Niners when he’s on the other side of the field. Especially since he’s “calling the offense” from a Waffle House menu now. 49ers, 41, Cowboys 23

Last week

Straight up: 11-5

Against the spread: 9-7

Season

Straight up: 43-21

Against the spread: 36-28

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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