NFL wild card playoffs – Key moments from the Dallas Cowboys-San Francisco 49ers rivalry

The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers will write another chapter in their storied rivalry Sunday in the NFC wild-card game.

The two familiar foes have met a total of 37 times, with the Cowboys possessing a thin lead on the series, 19-17-1. Dallas won the last meeting 41-33 in Week 15 of the 2020 season.

Both coaching staffs are well-versed in the longtime rivalry.

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan shared his own memories from when his father, Mike Shanahan, served as the 49ers’ offensive coordinator and quarterback coach from 1992 to ’94 — when the teams met in three consecutive NFC Championship Games.

“Those are part of my childhood. That was such cool football because everyone knew that for those three NFC championships, those three years were the Super Bowl.”

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is also familiar with the rivalry. He served as the Niners’ offensive coordinator in 2005 and suffered a 34-31 loss to Dallas in Week 3. He named “The Catch” as his first recollection of the rivalry.

“Great tradition, great games, but more importantly these games always mean something, and that’s no different this year,” McCarthy said. “So you’re always playing for more and it’s a privilege to be a part of this tradition.”

Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was an assistant in San Francisco from 2000 to ’04 and is looking forward to the matchup

“There’s a new heightened sense of things that happen in the playoffs. All the teams are good, they usually come down right to the end. … I’m fired up and ready to go.”

Here are some of the top moments that made 49ers-Cowboys one of the greatest non-division rivalries in NFL history, selected by NFL Nation reporters Nick Wagoner and Todd Archer.

Introducing “Captain Comeback”

A separated shoulder kept Cowboys QB Roger Staubach sidelined for most of the 1972 season, but he solidified his status as “Captain Comeback” in the fourth quarter of the divisional round.

Craig Morton started the game at quarterback for Dallas but threw two…