49ers–Cowboys rivalry

San Francisco 49ers-Dallas Cowboys

San Francisco 49ers Dallas Cowboys
Latest meeting	October 22, 2017 Cowboys 40, 49ers 10
Next meeting	TBD (will not play in 2018, unless they meet each other in playoffs)
Statistics
Meetings total	36
All-time series	Dallas leads 18-17-1
Postseason results	Dallas Cowboys lead 5–2 Most recent January 15, 1995 Dallas Cowboys 28, San Francisco 49ers 38
Largest victory	San Francisco 49ers 14, Dallas Cowboys 59 (1980)
Current win streak	Dallas Cowboys, 2 win (2017)
Championship success during tenure of rivalry
Super Bowl titles (10) Dallas Cowboys (5) – 1971, 1977, 1992, 1993, 1995 San Francisco 49ers (5) – 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994 NFC Championships (14) Dallas Cowboys (8) – 1970, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1992, 1993, 1995 San Francisco 49ers (6) – 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994, 2012 Super Bowl appearances (14) Dallas Cowboys (8) – 1970, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1992, 1993, 1995 San Francisco 49ers (6) – 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994, 2012

The 49ers–Cowboys rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys lead the series 18-17-1. It is one of the great inter-division rivalry games in the NFL. The two teams do not play every year; instead, they play once every three years due to the NFL's rotating division schedules, or if the two teams finish in the same place in their respective divisions, they would play the ensuing season. Sports Illustrated ranked it as the eighth best rivalry^[1] while the NFL Top 10 ranked this rivalry to be the tenth best in the NFL. The rivalry was also the subject of two 2015 episodes of NFL Network's The Timeline series.

History

The rivalry between the Cowboys and 49ers has been going on since the 1970s, including seven postseason games. The Cowboys defeated the 49ers in the 1970 and 1971 NFC Championship games, and again in the 1972 Divisional Playoff Game. The 1981 NFC Championship Game in San Francisco, which saw the 49ers' Joe Montana complete a game-winning pass to Dwight Clark in the final minute (now known as The Catch) is one of the most famous games in NFL history. The rivalry became even more intense during the 1992–1994 seasons. San Francisco and Dallas faced each other in the NFC Championship Game three consecutive times. Dallas won the first two match-ups, and San Francisco won the third. In each of these pivotal match-ups, the game's victor went on to win the Super Bowl. Both the Cowboys and the 49ers are second all time in Super Bowl victories to the Pittsburgh Steelers with five each.

Game results