Just like that, the Divisional Round is upon us. And for the second time in as many years, it’s a playoff matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.
Wednesday marked the 49ers’ return to practice after securing an extra day off, courtesy of their early Saturday slate, while the Cowboys come in on a short road week after traveling to Tampa on Monday night.
Injuries
While injuries don’t figure to play a major role, there could be some key absences. At least, the Cowboys might have to shuffle their offensive line a bit.
Veteran offensive tackle Jason Peters, now 40 years old, suffered a hip injury against the Buccaneers. Dallas adjusted by removing guard Connor McGovern from a hilarious fullback role, and moved him to left guard. Rookie guard/tackle Tyler Smith moved outside from left guard to left tackle.
While Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the injury to Peters wasn’t as severe as initially worried, he also acknowledged Peters isn’t exactly a spring chicken at this stage in his career. He was the only absence from the Dallas walkthrough on Wednesday:
Did not practice:
- T Jason Peters (hip)
Limited
- S Jayron Kearse (knee)
- DE Demarcus Lawrence (foot)
Full participant:
- S Israel Mukuamu (hamstring)
- CB Trayvon Mullen (illness)
- T Tyron Smith (knee)
For the 49ers, there were no major surprises. Jauan Jennings and Samson Ebukam both had ankle injuries this past weekend, but were active in limited fashion at practice.
Didn’t practice
- Jimmy Garoppolo (foot)
- Ambry Thomas (ankle)
- Trent Williams (rest)
Limited:
- Jauan Jennings (ankle)
- Samson Ebukam (ankle)
- Javon Kinlaw (knee)
Nick Bosa, who often gets the first day of the week off, was a full participant, in more ways than one.
At the end of defensive line drills, when two players line up and practice get-offs on a sled, assistant defensive line coach Darryl Tapp and Akeem Spence lined up against one another.
Bosa grabbed the pipe coaches use to indicate the ball being snapped, and helped run the drill as Kris Kocurek yelled on behind the sled. It should be noted that Tapp won at least one of those reps.
That ole rivalry
The thing about rivalries is that they generally don’t evaporate. They go dormant. It’s still too early to say that the 49ers and Cowboys rivalry of the 90s is back, but it’s taking the right steps.
Rivalries develop with consistent meetings in high-stakes games and for the second-straight year, these two teams are meeting in the playoffs. Both, it seems, have improved since last season.
Depending on how Sunday’s game goes, those old flames might be stoke back to life. Kyle Shanahan said he remembers those games in the 90s between San Francisco and Dallas:
Yeah, I think that’s how rivalries happen. You guys knew it from the ‘80s when it started out. And I remember so much from my childhood from sixth grade to ninth grade, because I was here ‘92 to ‘94, so it was the biggest rivalry in football to me growing up. And then usually that goes away when you don’t meet in the playoffs a bunch and we had a big game last year, we have a big game this year, so the more you do that, the bigger it gets again.
It’s also going to be the most expensive game of the playoffs thus far and the most expensive divisional round game ever. The 49ers and Cowboys brands are staples of the old NFL that have stuck around for decades, even through the peaks and valleys.
While so much of this matchup is being propped up with memories of the past in mind, these are two very talented teams, and there’s an understanding that things could go either way.
Other notes: Kickers, coordinators and so on
Kicking woes and all-time pros: Dallas signed Tristan Vizcaino to its practice squad after its kicker Brett Maher, had a total collapse this weekend, missing four extra-point attempts. The Cowboys have said they’ll stick by him, but it does beg wondering whether they could make a switch to Vizcaino — a member of the 49ers, briefly, in 2020 — if they don’t feel comfortable with Maher.
On the 49ers side, it’s Robbie Gould, who is a perfect 25-of-25 on field goals and 38-of-38 on extra points in the playoffs. Kyle Shanahan called him “one of the best kickers in our generation.”
Dan Quinn, DeMeco Ryans, DCs potentially on the move
Both Dan Quinn and DeMeco Ryans are head coaching candidates, with a lot of rumbling suggesting that Quinn could go to the Denver Broncos and bring Brian Schottenheimer — a coaching analyst with Dallas — with him. Meanwhile, Ryans is as appealing of a coaching candidate as anyone, and has reportedly been requested for interviews by at least four of the five teams with head coaching vacancies. Both Quinn and Ryans could be head coaches by the offseason.