Cowboys, 49ers flexed out of prime time in Week 15: How did it come to this?
The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers’ rivalry is among the most storied in NFL history.
Roger Staubach’s Captain Comeback moniker can be linked to the 1972 playoff win against San Francisco. Then there was “The Catch,” Dwight Clark’s touchdown in the 1980 NFC Championship Game at Candlestick Park.
In the 1990s, there wasn’t a better rivalry than Cowboys-Niners. They watched each other from afar like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird did when the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics dominated the NBA.
Coach Jimmy Johnson’s famous, “How ’bout them Cowboys?” line after Dallas’ win in the 1992 NFC Championship Game went viral before going viral was a thing. The teams met again in the 1993 and 1994 conference title games with the teams splitting.
The Cowboys won three Super Bowls in the 1990s; San Francisco won one.
Since then, the Niners have lost in two Super Bowl trips, while the Cowboys have not returned to a conference title game.
Both entered the 2020 NFL season as top NFC contenders, and so excited was NBC that it had hoped to cash in on a rivalry renewed during Week 15 with a matchup on Sunday Night Football from AT&T Stadium.
But by last week, NBC opted to flex out of the game and into a New York Giants-Cleveland Browns matchup.
It was the first time the Cowboys have had a prime-time game flexed since it became an option in 2006. It was the fifth time the Niners have been moved from prime time but the first since 2018.
With a combined 9-17 record, the Cowboys (4-9) and Niners (5-8) simply do not have the cache for the big game. Instead, Sunday’s game (1 p.m. ET, CBS) is about 2021 NFL draft positioning more than anything else.
How did it get to this? ESPN 49ers reporter Nick Wagoner and Cowboys reporter Todd Archer take a look at what has gone wrong this season and the outlook for each team.
Wagoner: No team in the NFL has been hit harder by injuries than the 49ers. As of this week, they have more than $71 million on injured reserve. At one point, they were missing more than $80 million in salary-cap space because of various ailments.
That means most of the Niners’ best players have missed extended time this season. It’s a group that includes quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, defensive ends Dee Ford and Nick Bosa, tight end George Kittle and cornerback Richard Sherman. That doesn’t even account for key players such as center Weston Richburg and defensive lineman Ronald Blair III, both of whom have been on the physically unable to perform list all season.
To their credit, the 49ers have remained competitive despite the onslaught of injuries, but the toll has caught up to them down the stretch and has them on the brink of elimination from the postseason.
A look at the injuries that have plagued the 49ers and Cowboys this season:
Archer: Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott did not make it through five games. Offensive tackle Tyron Smith played just two. Tight end Blake Jarwin did not get through the season opener. Tackle La’el Collins didn’t play a snap and practiced perhaps a handful of times in training camp. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, their biggest free-agent signing, suffered a torn quadriceps in the first padded practice of training camp. Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch broke his collarbone in the first quarter of the first game.
Teams like to use the “next man up” phrase, but that means something only if a team wins. Injuries are viewed as an excuse, but excuses and reasons live on the same block. Injuries are a reason why the Cowboys have only four wins.
Have they handled them well? No. Did they overestimate their depth? In some cases, yes. But how many teams win games when they have to start four different quarterbacks? In addition to losing Prescott to a right ankle injury, Andy Dalton missed one game with a concussion and another after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Rookie Ben DiNucci was not ready to play and Garrett Gilbert was serviceable in his one start.
Wagoner: Most of the 49ers’ issues can be traced to injuries, but offseason moves they did and did not make have also hurt.
Trading defensive tackle DeForest Buckner was a difficult choice with sound logic behind it, but the Niners have missed his durability and production. Arik Armstead, who received a lucrative contract using a big chunk of the money that would have gone to Buckner, has struggled to replicate his breakthrough 2019 season.
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The Niners also did not address their needs on the interior of the offensive line, banking on Richburg getting healthy and Daniel Brunskill developing at right guard. But that unit has struggled from center to right tackle, leaving the Niners ranked 23rd in pass block win rate and 29th in run block win rate.
Archer: Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has said that if he could have a do-over in 2020, it would be the dramatic scheme shift on defense from coordinator Rod Marinelli’s 4-3 to Mike Nolan’s hybrid look.
Without a traditional offseason, the Cowboys were behind in getting the defense to look the way they wanted. But that shouldn’t excuse poor play as the season has gone on, and a lack of incremental improvement exists.
“The thing that has been the most difficult has been dealing with the virtual meetings and accomplishing — it’s such a hands-on profession, and teaching in this profession is like teaching a dancer. You got to put your hands on people a lot of times to show them,” Nolan said. “Whether it’s the implementation of the defense, it all comes with technique. Everything you do is technique-oriented.”
The Cowboys’ scheme was supposed to fit the players, but that has not seemed to be the case. Some of their big free-agent pickups (McCoy, Dontari Poe, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix) did not contribute because of injury or ineffectiveness.
Wagoner: The 49ers are suddenly closer to a top-five draft pick than a playoff spot, an idea that would have seemed far-fetched a few months ago. But with nearly 40 players set for some sort of free agency and limited cap space available, this offseason will be pivotal.
Of the many tough decisions that await, the Niners’ approach at quarterback will be of utmost importance. Garoppolo is easily the team’s best option and he has won a lot of games for the Niners, but his injury history and hefty price tag could force San Francisco to consider other options.
After quarterback, they also will need to focus heavily on the secondary and offensive line. If the 49ers get those areas squared away and have better luck on the injury front, they have the talent to be in contention and again on prime time next season.
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Archer: It’s the biggest question in the upcoming offseason: What happens to Prescott?
Do the Cowboys use the franchise tag on him again at a cost of $38 million? Do they sign him long term on a deal that averages potentially close to $40 million a year? Either way, it is going to chew up a lot of cap space in 2021 when the cap will be going down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
If they tag or sign Prescott, will they have enough money to add players in free agency to improve a defense that needs it? Having an early draft pick, potentially inside the top five, will help but they will need their early selections to contribute right away.