Though not fully reminiscent of the rivalry’s heyday in the mid-1990s — when the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys played each other in three straight NFC championship games from 1992 to 1994 and one of them won the Super Bowl every year — the 49ers and the Cowboys have been three of the best teams in the conference for most of this decade.
Both franchises have made the playoffs in three straight seasons, with Dallas winning 12 games each from 2021 to 2024. In the same period, San Francisco has won 35 games in the regular season and made the NFC championship game every year — including an appearance in the Super Bowl last season.
Last year, the 49ers were the top seed in the NFC, while the Cowboys finished second. The ultimate success, a championship, hasn’t been there, but the consistency from both teams has been an accomplishment in its own right…