Playoff losses to 49ers have Cowboys motivated ahead of Week 5 tilt

Todd Archer, ESPN Staff WriterOct 2, 2023, 06:00 AM ET
Close

ARLINGTON, Texas — Dak Prescott almost let a cuss word come out of his mouth.

After the Dallas Cowboys dominated the New England Patriots 38-3 at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, the subject turned to next week’s opponent, the San Francisco 49ers.

In each of the past two years, the Cowboys’ season has ended with a playoff loss to San Francisco, including a 19-12 loss at Levi’s Stadium in the divisional round on Jan. 22. While that defeat is more than eight months old, it still drives Prescott.

“I mean every eff –,” Prescott said, catching himself. “Every day. Every day. Every day. Every day.”

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones called the win against the Patriots “surreal” and admitted it was hard to believe the Cowboys handed coach Bill Belichick the largest defeat of the future Hall of Fame coach’s career.

But even the owner is ready to think about the 49ers.

“There’s nothing early about that,” Jones said. “Here it is.”

Since walking out of Levi’s Stadium last January, the Cowboys’ driving force has been to find a way to beat San Francisco. They added veteran pieces in cornerback Stephon Gilmore and wide receiver Brandin Cooks in trades. They added a big defensive tackle in Mazi Smith in the first round, in part, to slow the running games of the 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles.

“I’d like to think we’re able to stop the run — which that, in and of itself, would be meaningful — and then hopefully we can do a good job of not turning that ball over,” Jones said. “We’ve worked in both areas in the offseason. We’ve tried to strengthen our run defense and we’ve tried to work on turnovers and [not] giving the other team the ball.

“That materially beat us last time when we played them. If we could have eliminated our turnovers and we could have stopped the run, I think we might have been in that Super Bowl. That’s a big statement, by the way. I almost say that tongue in cheek.”

In San Francisco’s 23-17 wild-card win on Jan. 16, 2022, at AT&T Stadium, the Niners ran the ball 38 times for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Prescott was intercepted once and the game ended when the Cowboys were unable to spike the ball in time for a final play after the quarterback ran 17 yards.

In their 19-12 win last January, the Niners ran the ball 32 times for 113 yards and a touchdown. Prescott was intercepted twice, including one at the San Francisco 12 when the score was tied in the second quarter.

The locker room was raw, so much so that Prescott did not feel like recounting it Sunday.

“I mean we’re so far past that that to be honest with you, that’s obvious,” Prescott said. “I mean, you just want to piss me off going into this week, I appreciate that. I do actually. I do.”

Prescott takes most of the criticism of the playoff losses. Jones has been around for an even more disappointing loss, conjuring up the 1994 NFC Championship Game at Candlestick Park.

“I can remember leaving the stadium when we had a great team [in 1994] and Deion Sanders was on San Francisco and we lost. I cried,” Jones said. “And so, yeah, those San Francisco games have those kinds of memories.”

When the schedule came out in the spring, several Cowboys took note.

“I’ve been having this one on my calendar for a long time,” defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins said, “so it’s exciting that the week is here.”

Said linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, who had an 11-yard fumble return for a touchdown that accelerated the blowout of the Patriots: “That’s one I’ve definitely had my eye on and I know everybody else has. But we can’t let the emotions get to us. We just have to go out there and play the game of football like we know how to and bring that relentless style that we always usually play with. It’s got to be another great week of preparation.”

Beating the 49ers would not erase the ill feelings the Cowboys have had the past two Januarys, but it would help validate the Cowboys even more than the three wins by a combined 108-13 against the New York Giants and Jets and Patriots.

It just so happens that San Francisco and Philadelphia are the last two unbeaten teams in the NFL. The 3-1 Cowboys will have two chances against the Eagles (Nov. 5 and Dec. 10) in the NFC East race, but now their focus — their only focus — is on facing the 4-0 Niners on Sunday (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC).

“I just think a win against that team would just feel like you’re playing for the marbles in the NFL,” Jones said. “When you play against a team here that is undefeated as we play them, we’re going to come in there and try to stay on the field with them.”

That time, Jones was being tongue in cheek.