The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers kicked off the season as top contenders in the NFC, both coming off three straight seasons of double-digit wins and playoff berths.
However, the 2024 season has been challenging for both teams, with injuries and inconsistent performances raising major concerns ahead of their Sunday matchup.
Dallas (3-3) had a bye week to regroup after a rough 47-9 home loss to Detroit — their biggest home defeat since 1988. San Francisco (3-4), on the other hand, recently lost a highly anticipated Super Bowl rematch to Kansas City and faces difficulties as they head toward their bye week following the Dallas game.
“We’re in similar spots — two teams that need to right the ship and get on a better trajectory,” said Niners defensive end Nick Bosa. “For them, they’re coming off the bye; we’re heading into it after this. They want to get going and start the second half of their season the right way, and we want to go into the bye feeling good about where we’re at.”
The Cowboys used their bye to assess their heavy loss to the Lions, with coach Mike McCarthy and his staff working to address the issues behind their major losses to New Orleans and Detroit, as well as ongoing inconsistencies.
Dallas has struggled in rushing yards, averaging 66 fewer yards per game than their opponents — the league’s worst and one of the worst rates in franchise history after six games. Dak Prescott and the passing offense have had trouble finding rhythm, and the defense has faced challenges under new coordinator Mike Zimmer.
Turnovers remain the biggest issue; the Cowboys have given up the ball 11 times and only generated five takeaways, a sharp drop from leading the league with 59 takeaways over the past two seasons under Dan Quinn.
“That’s the huge blinking light for us,” McCarthy said. “I think just like anything in the game of football, where you put your time, the time on task, taking care of the football, taking it away, and we’ve added some drills.”
An improvement would be possible if Micah Parsons, who has missed two games with an ankle injury, could return, but he was unable to practice early in the week.
