Many viewers of this afternoon’s game in San Francisco will think the Dallas Cowboys will be playing for revenge against the 49ers.

After all, the 49ers derailed the Cowboys season last year with a 42-10 beat down. Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch’s career ended in this game on a dirty play by Trent Williams.

Of note, Williams was thrown out of last Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs for punching a player in the helmet.

Prior to last year’s game, the 49ers had eliminated the Cowboys in the previous two postseasons, a 19-12 win in San Francisco in 2023 and a 23-17 win at AT&T Stadium.

So yes, the Cowboys will be motivated by the current three-game losing streak.

However, Dallas has more pressing concerns. Namely, at 3-3, they are currently in third place in the NFC East and 1.5 games behind the first-place Commanders.

The Cowboys are also currently one game out of the playoffs.

Yes, there are still 11 games to go, but the Cowboys can’t afford to fall even further behind.

Keys To Today’s Game

Dallas is getting some players back on defense. That is most welcome news.

The 49ers wide receivers are banged up, having just lost Brandon Aiyuk to a torn ACL, but they still have George Kittle to throw to.

They also have Jordan Mason to run the ball, an area that has proven to be a major issue for Dallas’ defense.

While Dallas is coming off a bye week and should be rested, the 49ers are coming off a bad loss to the unbeaten Chiefs. San Francisco will be a motivated team today.

If Dallas wants to win this game and get back above .500, while dealing the 49ers’ playoff hopes a serious blow, here’s how they’ll have to do it.

On defense, they have to stop the running attack and make Brock Purdy try to win with lesser options to throw to.

Kittle has to be removed from the equation. This is how Kansas City turned Purdy into the last player picked in the draft last week.

On offense, the Cowboys have to finish drives in the end zone and not with Brandon Aubrey kicking a 50-yard field goal.

One thing the Chiefs did, once they got into the red zone, was pound the ball at the 49ers defensive line. All four of Kansas City’s touchdowns were via the run.

Patrick Mahomes was a pedestrian 16-for-27 for 154 yards and two interceptions.

Note to Dak Prescott, do not try to force a pass into the 49ers secondary, no matter what the scoreboard says.

A nice, low-scoring affair benefits Dallas.

A shootout likely leads to a loss. A defeat that could spell the beginning of the end for the Cowboys in 2024 at that.

All-Time Against The 49ers

The 49ers are 20-19-1 all-time against Dallas. San Francisco has won the last three meetings, with two of the wins coming in the playoffs.

The 49ers are 11-10 at home all-time against Dallas and have not lost a home game to the Cowboys since 2017, a 40-10 final.

In that game, Dak Prescott was 16-for-25 for 234 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. One scoring pass went to Ezekiel Elliott.

Elliott also added two touchdown runs and 147 yards on 26 carries.

In that win, Dallas ran the ball 43 times against 27 pass attempts. That’s a ratio they should strive to repeat today.

The last Cowboys victory over the 49ers was in 2020 at AT&T Stadium, a 41-33 shootout with Andy Dalton at quarterback.

Two good omens coming into today’s contest: The Cowboys are 1-0 all-time against the 49ers in Week 8 games. Dallas beat San Francisco 39-31 in 1965, scoring the last nine points in the game for the close win.

Dallas is also 24-11 all-time in games played following a bye week.

Week 8 All-Time Record

The Cowboys are 36-20 all time in Week 8 games. They lost a game to the 1982 strike and had seven bye weeks fall on the eighth week of the schedule.

The Cowboys are 24-10 at home, but only 12-10 on the road.

They have won their last three Week 8 games, the last loss at Philadelphia in 2020.

ALL-TIME WEEK 8 RECORD VS. OPPONENTS

(Sorted by total games played)

• Cardinals (7-2)
• Eagles (2-5)
• Giants (2-3)
• Commanders (4-1)
• Falcons (3-0)
• Saints (3-0)
• Seahawks (1-2)
• Bears (2-0)
• Chargers (2-0)
• Buccaneers (1-1)
• Jaguars (1-1)
• Lions (1-1)
• Raiders (1-1)
• Bengals (1-0)
• 49ers (1-0)
• Panthers (1-0)
• Dolphins (1-0)
• Rams (1-0)
• Vikings (1-0)
• Chiefs (0-1)
• Colts (0-1)
• Packers (0-1)