49ers–Cowboys rivalry

The 49ers–Cowboys rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys. The 49ers lead the series 20–19–1. It is one of the great inter-division rivalry games in the NFL. As the Cowboys play in NFC East and the 49ers in the NFC West, they do not play every year; instead, they play at least once every three years and at least once every six seasons at each team's home stadium due to the NFL's rotating division schedules when their respective divisions are paired up. Additionally, not only both teams could meet in the playoffs, but also if they finish in the same place in their respective divisions, they would play the ensuing season. Sports Illustrated ranked it as the eighth best rivalry while the NFL Top 10 ranked this rivalry to be the tenth best in the NFL. In 2020, CBS ranked it as the No. 1 NFL rivalry of the 1990s. The rivalry was also the subject of two 2015 episodes of NFL Network's The Timeline entitled "A Tale of Two Cities" with actors Sam Elliott (Cowboys) and Jeremy Renner (49ers) as narrators.

History
The Cowboys and 49ers have faced each other in the postseason nine times, the second most between any two NFL teams (behind only the 49ers-Packers rivalry; those two teams have met ten times). The rivalry between the Cowboys and 49ers started gaining traction in the 1970s. 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 from 1992 to 1994 when the two teams faced each other in the NFC Championship Game during all three seasons. Dallas won the first two match-ups while San Francisco won the third, and in each of these pivotal match-ups, the game's victor went on to win the Super Bowl. With the Cowboys winning the Super Bowl following the 1995 season, from 1992 to 1995, either the Cowboys or the 49ers were Super Bowl champions, giving both teams five each – which, at the time, was tied for the most by any NFL team and later NFC team (currently, both teams are tied for third behind the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots with six each).

The rivalry went cold for many years due to the two teams’ inability to make the postseason in the same year after and until, when both teams made the playoffs and were matched against each other in the Wild Card Round in Dallas. The 49ers won that game 23–17. The two teams would meet each other in the 2022 playoff divisional round, which saw the 49ers take a 19–12 win. Both teams qualified for the 2023 postseason. However, the teams' fellow rival, the Green Bay Packers, defeated the Cowboys, becoming the first 7 seed to win a playoff game against the 2 seed. The loss not only prevented a third straight matchup with the 49ers, but also allowed the Packers and 49ers to play in a record 10th playoff game.

Players who have won championships with both teams include defensive end Charles Haley, linebacker Ken Norton Jr. and cornerback Deion Sanders.

As of the 2023 season, the 49ers are one of two NFC teams that the Cowboys have a losing record against, along with the Green Bay Packers.