1 Dallas Cowboys (Week 15): A valid argument can be made that 49ers/Cowboys is the greatest rivalry in NFL history, considering the magnitude of several games that have matched these two premier franchises and the impact they had on the NFL landscape. A new NFL era was launched when Dwight Clark climbed high in the Candlestick Park sky to make “The Catch” during the 1981 NFC Championship that propelled San Francisco to its first Super Bowl. The NFL recently named that game and that play No. 2, respectively, on its lists of the greatest games and plays in league history. But the high-stakes rivalry actually heated up earlier in the 1970s, when 49ers/Cowboys was a playoff showdown for three consecutive seasons to begin the decade, with the Cowboys prevailing twice in the NFC Championship game. The rivalry was at its best in the early 1990s, when juggernaut 49ers/Cowboys teams met three consecutive years in the NFC Championship, with the winner of each game going on to record blowout Super Bowl victories. Greatest game: 49ers 28, Cowboys 27 (1981 NFC Championship).
This story is from the October 2020 edition of Niner Report.
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This story is from the October 2020 edition of Niner Report.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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EIGHT IS ENOUGH
Set 49ers lineup still has several new starters
Calling all cornerbacks
Loss of Verrett exposes 49ers’ thin depth at CB
Always finding their way to run
49ers system accomplished at developing homegrown talent
ANOTHER COMEBACK?
Resilient veteran Verrett to miss rest of season
TOP 10 Rookie running backs
THE BACK LIST
STOCK UP STOCK DOWN
DEOMMODORE LENOIR | AMBRY THOMAS
Will Mostert run for 49ers again?
Raheem Mostert was primed this year to be the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses, featured as the lead performer in San Francisco’s grinding rushing attack while making his climb among the league’s top running backs.
THE WONDER OF WARNER
49ers make All-Pro star highest-paid LB in NFL
Making the right choice at QB
In the weeks that follow after you read this — and perhaps sometime even sooner than that — Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the 49ers organization will make a titanic decision that will have present, future and perhaps even everlasting implications for the franchise. It will chart the course for the team’s pivotal 2021 season while determining whether San Francisco really does have the juice to return to powerhouse status and again be considered a legitimate contender to get back to the Super Bowl.
TOP 10 Linebacker seasons
Fred Warner vaulted to stardom with a spectacular 2020 season — and the 49ers rewarded him this summer with a $95.225 million deal that makes him the highest-paid inside linebacker in NFL history. By today’s standards, Warner’s performance last year was worth the money as he posted an Approximate Value of 19 — matching the highest score ever recorded by a San Francisco defender according to a Pro Football Reference formula that puts a single number on each player-season across all positions since 1960. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman (twice) also had seasons with an AV of 19 as they dominate this list of the greatest individual seasons by a linebacker in 49ers history.
