Cowboys vs. 49ers: What the experts are predicting about the game

Last week, the Dallas Cowboys faced off against a banged up Cincinnati Bengals team and picked up the win thanks to three first quarter turnovers. This week, they face off against a San Francisco 49ers team with even more injuries but enough talent to win against the Cowboys. This won't be a cake walk like last week. Expect a hard-hitting affair this week.

But don't take my word for it, let's see what the experts are saying about this week's game.

ProFootballTalk (Mike Florio): 49ers 27, Cowboys 23

The mighty have fallen, and they can’t get up.

Let’s just assume he’s referencing the 49ers and not the Cowboys here.

ProFootballTalk (Michael Smith): Cowboys 21, 49er 17

The 49er are favored, but they’re such an injury-plagued team that I have a tough time picking them against just about anyone at this point

You would have assumed he would have just said it’s a toss up due to injuries on both teams but we’ll take it.

CBS Sports (Will Brinson): 49ers 28, Cowboys 13

The Cowboys are wildly overvalued here coming off a win over the Bengals. The Bengals might be worse than the Jets right now. Seriously. And the 49ers can exploit them in the pass and run game.

Monster game for Brandon Aiyuk coming in this one, as he’s been a target hog for Nick Mullens with Deebo Samuel hurt. Aiyuk isn’t popping up on “best rookie wide receiver” leaderboards but he deserves to be mentioned among the best of this incredible young class. He’s explosive in space and a cornerstone for Kyle Shanahan moving forward. Jeff Wilson could be set for a huge game as well.

Mullens and Aiyuk getting the best of the Cowboys this week seems questionable. It will be the running game.

NFL.com (Gregg Rosenthal): San Francisco 49ers 28, Dallas Cowboys 24

This will be the last time this Cowboys team dashes the home crowd’s false hope coming off a win. This will also likely be the last time we marvel at Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh’s synchronized coaching acumen for San Francisco, with the two men making the best of a cursed season that no organization could have survived, and Saleh poised for a ride on the coming coaching carousel.

Oh Greg, they were dashed when Dak Prescott went down.

ESPN (Todd Archer): 49ers 31, Cowboys 23

The Cowboys’ run defense can feel good about its performance against Cincinnati last weekend, allowing 101 yards on 30 carries, but in facing similar run schemes to what San Francisco uses, the unit has struggled majorly. The Browns ran for 307 yards against Dallas, the most allowed in team history. Washington ran for 189 and 182 yards in sweeping the Cowboys in 2020. Gap discipline is a must vs. San Francisco, but the Cowboys have yet to show the ability to be sound when facing a zone scheme.

It is hard to see the Cowboys being able to stop this rushing attack.

ESPN (Nick Wagoner): 49ers 27, Cowboys 13

For the second time this season, 49ers running back Jeff Wilson Jr. will set a career high for rushing yards, surpassing the 112 he had against New England in Week 7. Dallas is giving up a league-worst 162.7 rushing yards per game and 5.07 yards per carry. With Raheem Mostert still dealing with the lingering effects of a previous ankle injury, this is a favorable matchup for Wilson and the Niners on the ground.

Pretty sure everyone assumes that this is going to be a very tough game for the Cowboys against the run.

It’s pretty clear that most think that the Cowboys will have problems stopping the zone running scheme of the 49ers. They will likely have trouble in the beginning but could pull it off by the end. The problem they will really need to deal with is the defense of the 49ers that has lost their best pass rushers but will be going up against the Cowboys weakened offensive line.