Two of the most historic franchises in the NFL go head-to-head on Sunday night as the Dallas Cowboys travel to Santa Clara, California, to play the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams entered the season as Super Bowl contenders but thus far have looked anything but.
Dallas is coming off a 47-9 drubbing at home against the Detroit Lions and have seen their once vaunted defense falter throughout the season. San Francisco, partially because of a multitude of injuries to star players, has been inconsistent for all seven weeks. The 49ers have lost two of their last three matchups.
Who turns around its season Sunday night? Stay with NBC News all night for the latest from Levi’s Stadium.
Dak Prescott throws 7th interception of season
For a third consecutive game the Cowboys quarterback throws an interception. This time, it ends his team’s second drive after five plays and gives the 49ers the ball back with 4:27 to go in the opening quarter.
‘Sunday Night Football’ is under way
As Melissa Stark reports from the sideline, 49ers all-purpose playmaker Deebo Samuel is active tonight and will play after spending two nights in a hospital this week for fluid in his lungs. He had been treated for pneumonia following a Week 7 game.
Samuel’s presence can’t be overstated for San Francisco, whose offense became perhaps the most dangerous to defend last year because of its variety of ways to open up the field. But with SF still missing Christian McCaffrey, the field has shrunk for quarterback Brock Purdy. Let’s see if Samuel can make a difference.
What the loss of Brandon Aiyuk means for 49ers
49ers star WR.Brandon Aiyuk tore his ACL and MCL in the loss last week to Kansas City, ending his season after just seven games.
Aiyuk led San Francisco in receptions (75) and receiving yards (1,342) last season, earning second team All-Pro. He reportedly requested a trade this offseason and did not practice during training camp while looking for a new deal. That extension came on Aug. 30, a 4-year, $120 million deal, tying him with Tyreek Hill as the fifth-highest paid wide receiver in the NFL in terms of AAV ($30M).
Aiyuk ends his season without a touchdown, and with just one game over 50 receiving yards.
Cowboys offense leaning heavily on Prescott and Lamb
The Cowboys’ offense has been one of the most pass-heavy in the league, with their 65.6% pass rate the second-highest in the NFL, per TruMedia (behind only Seattle — 66.5%).
QB Dak Prescott is third in the NFL in pass yards/game (267.0), but he’s had a relatively uneven season — he’s on pace for the lowest passer rating of his career (85.5) and his worst completion pct (63.4%) since 2017.
Last season, All-Pro WR CeeDee Lamb set franchise records in receptions (135 — most in the NFL) and receiving yards (1,749). This year he once again leads the Cowboys in catches (32) and receiving yards (467) and is tied for the team lead with two TD receptions.
San Francisco offense dealing with heavy dose of injuries
The 49ers have been ravaged by injuries this season and the Week 7 loss against the Chiefs was no different. San Francisco lost WR Brandon Aiyuk for the season, while WR Deebo Samuel played just four snaps before exiting with pneumonia and TE George Kittle also left with a sprained foot. The team was already playing without RB Christian McCaffrey (calf/Achilles) and WR Jauan Jennings (hip).
49ers, Cowboys looking to end postseason slump
While Dallas and San Francisco combined to win 10 of the first 30 Super Bowls, neither team has won a title in the last 28 years. Both franchises have sent teams to the playoffs frequently over this span (13 playoff appearances for Dallas, 12 playoff apps for San Francisco), but neither has been able to get over the hump.
Since winning Super Bowl XXX (the Cowboys’ fifth Super Bowl title), Dallas is 5-13 in the playoffs, and has failed to reach the NFC Championship Game. Over that same span, San Francisco has made the NFC Championship Game eight times and reached the Super Bowl three times (2012, 2019, 2023) but is still seeking its sixth Super Bowl title.
Key stretches coming up for both teams
Adding pressure in Week 8 is the fact that both teams will face difficult schedules in the weeks following Sunday’s game.
• Three of Dallas’ next four opponents enter Week 8 leading their respective divisions, with the only non-division leader being Philadelphia, who still sits a game above the Cowboys in the NFC East.
• San Francisco has its bye next week but beginning in Week 10 the 49ers face five straight opponents that enter this week with a winning record, including the Seahawks (who lead the NFC West by a game) in Week 11 and the AFC East-leading Bills in Week 13 game on SNF.
Slow start nothing new for 49ers
The slow start is nothing new for San Francisco, who is now 3-4 for the third time in the last four seasons. In each of their two previous 3-4 starts, the 49ers bounced back to make the NFC Championship Game (lost at the Rams in the 2021 season and lost at the Eagles in the 2022 season).
After San Francisco's Week 5 loss vs. Arizona, it dropped the 49ers to 2-3. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said he didn’t think that San Francisco's previous slow starts would play a role in how the team would respond.
“I think every year’s different and we’ve got to write our own story this year and it has nothing do with other years.”
Cowboys and 49ers both off to rocky starts
San Francisco and Dallas finished last season seeded No. 1 and No. 2 in the NFC, each with a 12-5 record. While the Cowboys were ousted in the Wild Card, losing 48-32 to the Packers, the 49ers reached the Super Bowl, where they lost in OT to the Chiefs.
Both teams entered this season with expectations of staying at the top of the NFC but enter Week 8 outside of the NFC playoff picture:
• Dallas is 3-3, its worst start since 2020 (coach Mike McCarthy’s first season in charge). Following their bye in Week 7, the Cowboys are third in the NFC East behind the 5-2 Commanders and the 4-2 Eagles — both of whom won this past week.
• San Francisco is 3-4, trailing Seattle (4-3) by a game in the NFC West, although the 49ers won at the Seahawks in Week 6 (they play again in SF in Week 11). The 49ers are 1-2 in the division after blowing double-digit fourth-quarter leads to the Rams and Cardinals.
