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The Cowboys-49ers Playoff Matchup That Didn't Happen (Thank Goodness)



We are all aware of the numerous playoff games that the Cowboys and 49ers have played against each other since the 1970 NFL merger. Eight postseason games, to be exact, with the ninth coming up on Sunday. The playoff series includes epics like Roger Staubach's first comeback, "The Catch" (more like Danny White's "The Fumble," but I digress) and three straight NFC Championships in the early 90s.

But it should have been four straight NFC Championships. By the 1995 season, Barry Switzer's Cowboys had lost three straight to the 49ers - two at Candlestick in 1994 (regular season and NFC Championship) and in the 1995 regular season. The latter game was especially shocking, as the 49ers were starting backup QB Elvis Grbac and San Francisco had lost four of their last six games. The 8-1 Cowboys were favored by 14 at home, but ended up getting crushed 38-20, a difference of 32 points. In those three straight losses to the Cowboys archrival, Troy Aikman had thrown 7 interceptions and had a passer rating of 57.7. It was clear that the 49ers had the Cowboys number. San Francisco used that upset to win six straight, while the Cowboys stumbled to a 3-3 record. The final week of the 1995 season had the Cowboys and 49ers atop the NFC with 11-4 records, and if they both finished 12-4, the road to Super Bowl XXX would go through San Francisco.

But then what Skip Bayless calls "the Switzer luck" happened. The 49ers were favored by 10 over the Atlanta Falcons in the regular season finale, and why not? The Falcons had lost to the NFC West bullies in their last three games by a combined scored of 27-133 (avg. 9-44). But then their starting QB Jeff George was knocked out of the game and veteran Bobby Herbert came in toss the go-ahead touchdown with under two minutes left, and Steve Young threw an interception just as the 49ers were driving into field goal range, resulting in a somewhat miraculous 28-27 Falcons victory. And with that Christmas Eve gift unwrapped, the Cowboys finally took care of business on Monday night and smothered the Cardinals, leaving the Cowboys as the NFC's #1 seed.

However, just because the road to the Super Bowl now went through Dallas, it didn't mean that the Cowboys were a lock to get there. Everyone still remembered the 38-20 thrashing the 49ers put on Dallas in Texas Stadium a few weeks earlier. Everyone was still skeptical that Barry Switzer could manage to defeat Steve Young, Jerry Rice et al. That's why it came as a welcome surprise on January 6, 1996, when the Green Bay Packers jumped out to a 21-0 lead at San Francisco in the NFC Divisional round. Although Steve Young threw an NFL record 65 passes (a record just surpassed by Mr. Tom Brady), the defending Super Bowl Champion 49ers ended up losing at home to the up-and coming Packers. But Green Bay wasn't quite ready to reach the summit yet, as Brett Favre lost to the Cowboys in the NFC Championship the next week, 38-27, and Dallas went on to (barely) win Super Bowl XXX against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Looking back, it is clear that the decline and fall of the 90s Cowboys dynasty started with that 38-20 blowout and continued through the remainder of the 1995 season. Despite the many talented players on the Cowboys, the lackadaisical coaching and rapidly depleting roster meant that the Glory Days were quickly vanishing. And if the 1995 San Francisco 49ers had managed to win enough to face Switzer's Cowboys just one more time, it may have been a matchup of the 49ers and the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. As it happened, the Dallas Cowboys got one last hurrah, and one last Super Bowl ring, before it all came crashing down.

Barry Switzer and Jerry Jones accel

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