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The Cowboys are favored over the 49ers on Sunday, but will the game be the low-scoring affair many expect?
Over the last three games, the Cowboys scored, 31, 30, and 28 points. That's the third-highest total among all NFL teams over their last three games.
One could reasonably assume that the Cowboys will continue their high-scoring ways against the 49ers, but our panel of experts gathered below disagrees. Only one of the eight panelists below sees the Cowboys scoring more than 28 points.
Do you think the Cowboys will be able to score 30+ points on Sunday? And more importantly, given the outcome of their recent games, do you think that will be enough?
Pro Football Talk (Florio): Cowboys 30, 49ers 17
Once upon a time, these two teams ruled the conference. Now, one of them already is done — and the other one isn’t all that far behind.
NFL (Harrison): Cowboys 26, 49ers 20
Looks like Ezekiel Elliott will be playing, barring some late ruling from the High Court of Minas Tirith. In this matchup last year, Elliott and the Cowboys offense took over in the second half -- after NaVorro Bowman departed with an injury. He's now departed San Francisco -- period -- weakening the 49ers' run defense. The Niners currently rank 18th in rushing yards allowed, but a lofty fourth in yards per carry. If DeForest Buckner plays out of his mind, the game might come down to Dak Prescott being accurate, which has been an issue on intermediate throws. On that note, C.J. Beathard will make his first career start Sunday. He'll probably rip up the Dallas secondary in the second half. The Cowboys point diff in the latter half of games is a woeful minus-29. Not woeful: The history between these two teams. If you got 13 minutes, you must watch this. Awesome highlights, some of which you've probably never seen.
Upset Alert! SF has lost five in row by three points or fewer, an NFL record. Niners are due. 'Boys off a bye, though, and facing first-time starting QB in C.J. Beathard.
If there is such a thing as a good 0-6 team, it’s the 49ers, who have lost their past five games by a total of 13 points. The Cowboys might be considered a good 2-3 team, but that doesn’t dismiss a defense that has allowed 35 points in each of their back-to-back defeats.
The Cowboys are coming off their bye and might not have Ezekiel Elliott. The 49ers haven’t won, but they’ve played five close games. They will play another here as rookie C.J. Beathard makes his first NFL start at quarterback. Cowboys win a close one.
The Cowboys are in no position to look past a winless team, not this one: the 49ers have lost their last five games by a total of 13 points. C.J. Beathard gets his first start at quarterback. They’re still a liability on defense … but the Cowboys have been a liability on defense, too.
The 49ers are better than their winless record suggests; they’re competitive week in and week out. And yet some teams just find a way to lose. I think that trend continues on Sunday.
Legal action by the N.F.L. Players’ Association cleared the way for Ezekiel Elliott to play for at least one more week before his suspension proceeds (or is thrown out), which is good news for the Cowboys (2-3) and bad news for the 49ers (0-6). Elliott has had a frustrating sophomore season, but he ran for 116 yards against Green Bay two weeks ago, and coming out of his team’s bye-week he will face an inexperienced front-seven in San Francisco that got even younger when the team released NaVorro Bowman.
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