A storied playoff matchup from the 1990s is renewed when the San Francisco 49ers visit the Dallas Cowboys in a NFC Wild Card game on Sunday. The franchises dominated the NFL in the early part of that decade meeting three straight seasons in the NFC Championship. At the time many felt those games were the actual Super Bowl, and in a sense they were since the winner went on to claim the title. Dallas won three Super Bowls in a four-year run twice beating the Niners en route to the title. San Francisco won the matchup in the 1994 season and went on to win the last of their five championships. This is the first playoff game between the clubs since then with the Boys positioned as a 3-point favorite on the NFL betting line.
This NFL Wild Card playoff matchup will take place on Sunday, January 16, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. ET at ATT Stadium in Arlington, TX and will be televised on CBS.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
San Francisco 49ers +3
Dallas Cowboys -3
Total 50.5
Odds Analysis
For a while on Sunday it didn’t look like the Niners would qualify for the postseason. They needed to beat LA or have New Orleans lose to Atlanta. The Saints won so it was up to SF to get the job done. They fell behind 17-0 but rallied to win in overtime, their seventh victory in the last nine games while going 7-2 ATS. While the Niners had to claw out a victory in the finale the Cowboys had already clinched the NFC East title and were playing out the string in Week 18. Don’t tell the Eagles that. Dallas got five touchdown passes from Dak Prescott to beat Philly 51-26 in a nice tuneup ahead of the postseason. Dallas closed on a nice run winning five of its last six games going 5-1 ATS. The only loss in that stretch was a big one though. The 25-22 setback to Arizona in Week 17 spoiled any chance the Cowboys had at the No. 1 seed. Despite two relatively strong defensive teams, the total surfaced at 50.5, the largest on the Super Wild Card Weekend board.
Player to Watch
I’m going to double book Jim Garoppolo as a player to watch and a key injury. I guess he’s worth watching since he is hurt. Anyway, playing with an injured thumb that had ligament damage and a chipped bone and some other stuff, Jimmy G. made the start last week in a must win game. And he sparkled leading the Niners back from an early hole. He threw for 316 yards and the game-tying touchdown in the final minute of regulation. He then directed a methodical drive in OT that chewed up more than seven minutes to get his club the go-ahead field goal.
There were the usual Garoppolo gaffes, though. He tossed a pair of interceptions and was sacked three times. And he’ll face a ball hawking defense in Dallas that led the league in interceptions and takeaways. The good news is that Garoppolo gets another week to heal the digit. The bad news is that Dallas is relentless defensively. We’ll see how that works out.
Key Stat
I mentioned this above and I’ll elaborate more in this section. Turnovers play a huge role in the outcome of NFL games and the teams that take more than they give almost always have success. Dallas led the league with 34 total takeaways and had the most interceptions with 26. Over their last six games, of which they won five, the Boys were plus-10 in turnover margin forcing 15 opponent miscues. And there’s a good chance the defense returns to full strength in time for this game. Interceptions leader Trevon Diggs didn’t play in the finale with a non-COVID illness and rookie sensation Micah Parsons was sequestered in the league’s protocols leaving him unavailable. Those two and several other key performers should be back making things much worse for the Niners.
Free ATS Pick
While the numbers weren’t off the chart, the Cowboys defense played solidly all season under first-year coordinator Dan Quinn. And they should be stronger on Sunday with the expected return of Diggs and fellow starting corner Anthony Brown along with teams sack leader Parsons. And don’t forget about the offense. Prescott and his mates got in three quarters of work in the finale and looked razor sharp. They Boys scored more than 50 in each of their last two wins with the ground game having success against Philly and I think that continues in this contest.
NFL Pick: Dallas Cowboys -3 / OVER 50.5
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