They have been the highest two seeds within the NFC. Now they’re each in peril of lacking the playoffs.
Each franchises have made the playoffs in three straight seasons, with Dallas profitable 12 video games every from 2021 to 2024. In the identical interval, San Francisco has gained 35 video games within the common season and made the NFC championship sport yearly — together with an look within the Tremendous Bowl final season.
Final yr, the 49ers have been the highest seed within the NFC, whereas the Cowboys completed second. The last word success, a championship, hasn’t been there, however the consistency from each groups has been an accomplishment in its personal proper.
Till now.
Getting into their Week 8 showdown on “Sunday Evening Soccer,” Dallas and San Francisco have been two of the extra disappointing groups within the NFL. The Cowboys are 3-3, and their three losses — all at dwelling — have come by a median of twenty-two factors. The 49ers are 3-4 and in third place within the NFC West.
If the playoffs began immediately, neither group would qualify for the primary time since 2020. So what’s gone unsuitable?
Accidents have been a significant component for each groups.
San Francisco has been with out star operating again Christian McCaffrey all season due to an Achilles subject. The group can also be lacking linebacker Dre Greenlaw after he tore an Achilles within the Tremendous Bowl and defensive sort out Javon Hargrave, who's out for the season.
That's along with accidents to vital items like left sort out Trent Williams, receiver Deebo Samuel and tight finish George Kittle, the latter two who’ve needed to miss video games. (Samuel, for good measure, was hospitalized final week with pneumonia. And fellow receiver Brandon Aiyuk tore an ACL final sport and is finished for the season.)
Dallas has been hit notably arduous on the defensive aspect of the ball.
Star move rusher Micah Parsons has missed a number of video games, defensive finish DeMarcus Lawrence is on injured reserve with a foot downside, linebacker Eric Kendricks missed a sport, and cornerback DaRon Bland — who led the league in interceptions final season — hasn’t performed but this yr.
Each group, in fact, offers with accidents. However the 49ers and the Cowboys have taken hits in areas the place they have been beforehand dominant.
With out McCaffrey, San Francisco remains to be operating the ball properly. The pink zone offense is functioning poorly, nevertheless. The Niners are twenty seventh in pink zone landing proportion after they completed first a season in the past. And the push protection has taken a step again with the accidents to the center of the unit, sliding from third final season to twelfth coming into Week 8.
The added stress hasn’t been good for quarterback Brock Purdy. After having thrown solely 15 interceptions in his first 25 video games, he has thrown seven in seven video games this season. He's additionally posting profession lows in completion proportion and passer ranking.
Dallas’ protection has gone from energy to weak spot, as new coordinator Mike Zimmer has been unable to recapture the magic of Dan Quinn, who's now head coach of the Washington Commanders.
The Cowboys have been fifth in opponent yards per sport final season and have fallen to twenty fourth this season. They're particularly dangerous stopping the run, with the sixth-worst common of dashing yards surrendered per sport. Consequently, their scoring protection has dropped precipitously from fifth to thirty first.
Offensively, Dallas’ slide is extra confounding, as a result of the forged of characters is basically the identical. However the Cowboys have gone from having the NFL’s high scoring offense a yr in the past to its twentieth this season, averaging almost 9 factors per sport much less.
Dallas proprietor and basic supervisor Jerry Jones tried to supply an evidence for the offensive drop-off this week, principally blaming his head coach.
“We’re designing dangerous performs, or we’re designing dangerous ideas,” Jones said Tuesday on his weekly radio look on the group’s community. “The details are that there’s a few of that, however there’s additionally some execution [issues]. There’s a number of the expertise. I like our expertise; I actually do like our expertise. I like our younger expertise, however younger expertise has just a few extra errors related to it than for those who’re coping with a veteran participant.”
(Jones, it needs to be famous, opted in opposition to signing veteran operating again Derrick Henry within the offseason despite the fact that he lives in Dallas and stated publicly he would have been eager about enjoying for the Cowboys. Henry leads the NFL in dashing yards, whereas Dallas has the worst dashing assault within the league.)
It’s nonetheless early sufficient within the season for both group to rebound and make the postseason. However for both the Niners or the Cowboys to succeed in the heights of their final three seasons would require a miraculous climb.
Then once more, contemplating how all that common season success hasn’t manifested right into a championship but, possibly this path will show to be extra fruitful for 2 franchises who can’t fairly totally run the NFL like they used.