Summerall's lead-in for this game was epic.. "In two weeks it's the Super Bowl.. and the week after that, the Pro Bowl. Today, we'll play both.." *CUE EPIC NFL ON FOX MUSIC* (which was still new at the time as Fox only had football for a couple of seasons at that point).
Dallas put up a fight but nobody was beating the 49ers in the postseason that year. I don't care whatever hypothetical coach you swap for Switzer or "if player x was healthy" bullshit. It was the 49ers year. This win was so great that I remember watching this game over and over for weeks after. It felt great to finally beat Dallas after missing out on the super bowl two years in a row.
JHarrison The 49ers was pissed off at pre game, great memories for me as a kid. The Cowboys had it coming in a way after Steve Young and the red and gold was embarrassed twice. Payback a bitch 10 times over.
@@nikosuavesworldofsportsmusic I wouldn't call that a fluke brother. Sure the Cowboys beat the 49ers in the 1992 and 1993 NFC Championship games. But the 49ers beat the Cowboys 3 meetings in a row. 1994 regular season, 1994 NFC championship, and 1995 regular season with Elvis Grbac as the starting QB. That is why the rivalry was so good.
Jonathan Dee The One And Only The fluke was how 49ers got up 21-0. That was an anomaly. Rare. It happened and by the time Cowboys got rolling with a hobbled E Smith it was too much to overcome.
@@jasonwalker9091 Payback for what exactly? Just simply beating them? 10 times over by winning once?? 3 Super Bowls to 1 during that era so I'm pretty sure the Cowboys won the war.
Yeah, and that's for certain! The Cowboys winning was hardly Switzer's doing, who clearly won in spite of him. Hell, Ray Handley probably could have coached those mid 90's Dallas teams to a title or two I'm sure also! (L.O.L.!)
Defense was the key. The Cowboys defense dominated the 1992 and 1993 meetings so the 49ers tore up their defense and rebuilt it in 1994. They signed Prime Time, Norton, Rickey Jackson, Charles Mann, Richard Dent, Gary Plummer, and drafted 5 defensive players including Bryant Young & Lee Woodall. They were going to stop Emmit Smith at all costs.
@AmirKhan-rh6jjThe Cowboys offense was good, but their defense was great in making key stops and getting turnovers. The 49ers defense was NOT good in 92-93. Steve Young’s stats in this game were modest and he was saved by the 49ers defense. The 49ers without the key Dallas turnovers only scored 17 points and had Dallas of not gotten stupid before the half, then only 10 points. The Cowboys were the best defense coming into this game. Had the Cowboys offense not of turned the ball over, the Cowboys win this game quite easily. Cowboys defense got 9 turnovers in Super Bowl XXVII then got big huge turnovers in Super Bowl XXVIII that changed the whole game around. Super Bowl XXX it was the Dallas defense that took that game away from Pittsburgh, the MVP was CB Larry Brown. The Dallas triplets get all the national attention, but the Dallas defense was really a special group.
The cowboys of those years were so stacked. They seriously had a high chance at 4 in a row. Jerry seriously made a mistake messing with the tuning of a well oil machine.
It had nothing to do with it. Troy threw the INT, Irvin with the fumble, Emmitt injured and he was stumbling before then. This was on them. All three HOF, right? No one else to blame. 🤷🏿♂️
@Gregory Howard Well said. Ultimately, it's up to the players to execute. Give the 'Boys credit, though. They nearly pulled off a helluva comeback. In fact, had Deion been called for PI on Michael Irvin, I think the Cowboys come all the way back. But hey, that's just a guess on my part. We'll never know.
Nothing to say, really as a Cowboy fan on this one. The early turnovers had us chasing it all day but we damn near came back. That interference call gets made on Sanders with 5:00 left and we would've had the ball deep in their territory and who knows what happens then. We had all the momentum and SF was on their heels....
@@marshalmagooo3899 Disagree. The 92 and 93 were much better. Jimmy Johnson gave those teams a killer instinct. 94 and 95 they won on pure talent and muscle memory. Switzer was a disaster as an NFL head coach.
@@j_r_3404 Overall Dallas could’ve been; The first 3peat and/or 4peat Champions team of the 90’s if JerryJones wouldn’t have the dispute with JimmyJohnson. JimmyJohnson had prepared the Cowboys better than any other Cowboys coach. JimmyJohnson would always be the Kryptonite/Achilles-Heal to the 49ers. Don’t matter how mad or pumped or the additional players they acquired (KNJ or PrimeTime) during the NFC Championship run, JimmyJohnson knew how to dismantle the 49ers in pieces. That’s A FACT!
If Jerry had kept his ego in check Jimmy Johnson could have given us 4 if not 5 Super Bowls in a row.. Barry Switzer was just a Custodian of That Great Cowboys Team !!
Jimmy would have lost with Aikman tossing INTs and Irvin fumbling and Emmitt stumbling. Barry Switzer was more than a custodian. You can't blame him for 94 and then not credit him for 95. Jimmy failed in Miami with that 60 something points given up to the Jags to retire him. He was good, but he wasn't all that. He was handed Irvin. Most don't realize that along with some of that OL.
With the MLB/NHL strikes of that time and Jordan’s retirement and the NBA in flux, you could argue that in the summer and fall of 1994/early 1995, the Cowboys and 49ers were the biggest teams in all of sports. The only other squad that came close was maybe the Orlando Magic when they had Shaq/Penny Like with no baseball/hockey games from August onward of 1994, it made DAL/SF matter even more if that’s possible. It felt like a national divide- even neutral fans or fans of other teams would take sides when these teams faced off.
@fortynights1513 they had a lockout in the 1995 season. Basically caused a shortened season to start. The Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994 which was a regular sized season and then in 1995 to begin the year they locked out. The Devils won the Cup that year.
Turnovers set him up with a short field. Plus he and Ricky ran well through the mud. The only superb pass he completed was HUGE (the one to Rice right before halftime). His completion percentage wasn't like him but the no interceptions part sure was. He didn't throw ill-advised passes that day and had to chuck some away to avoid being sacked.
The last time the 49ers and Cowboys squared off in the NFC Title Game. The stage, the plane tickets, the hotels, the beers, the bars......every party place was set for this in on January 14, 1996.....whether it was Dallas or San Francisco.....both cities were prepared. They spent loads of money. I mean these teams faced off three times in a row.....each of those three times they had first round byes......they even had first round byes for the 1995-96 playoffs. But what no one expected was that the Packers were going to beat the 49ers in their Divisional Round.
That victory of the Packers over the Niners marked the beginning of the end of the Dallas/San Francisco stranglehold as both the NFC and NFL Super Bowl elite teams. While the Cowboys would finish the Packers off in the NFCCG in 95, the 96 Packers opened a new era where the NFC was up for grabs as Green Bay, SF, and Dallas were joined by teams such as Minnesota, Atlanta, and St.Louis as legit Super Bowl threats, and Buffalo would yield the stage to Denver, New England, and Tennessee which made the AFC relevant again.
1995, too, could have been DAL-SF, in the conference title game, for the 4th year in a row. But Green Bay pulled off the upset in the divisional round.
Thank god as a Dallas fan. None of us wanted to play San Francisco we all wanted Green Bay. Similar to the next season when Dallas lost in the divisional to Carlolina. I would think most Packer fans wanted to avoid the Cowboys regardless of the chance to finally knock them off.
@@supersexysega Thank you! That’s what I’ve been trying to tell all my friends my whole life. They beat us here. Then Elvis Grbac beats us 1995 with Deion! Thank god the Packers won.
If the Falcons don't beat the 49ers on the final week of the season, the 49ers get homefield advantage. Therefore, Green Bay would've had to go and most likely lose to Dallas in the divisional round and the 49ers would've hosted and eventually spanked the Eagles. When the 49ers lost to the Falcons, it seemed to spark new life in Dallas, knowing they had home field throughout the playoffs.
If Jimmy Johnson we’re still coach at this time, would have been the Cowboys again. The League probably wanted Johnson gone to keep it competitive. Cowboys probably win 5 SB’s if Johnson stays the Cowboys coach. The Cowboys where so good they even won an SB with Switzer.
This was blood boling championship game for the 49ers cause after two times they got embarrassed In 1992 and 1993. They're were pissed off, more ways than one. I was a kid watching this, man good football memories. Wait til the 1995 season highlights are up they faced each other this time in Dallas in Week 11 and Primetime was on the Cowboys ( Spoiler the only thing I gonna say is that game the Boys cashed in their chips ....more ways than one) Thank you Do you got the pro bowl of this year when Marshall Faulk was Pro bowl MVP in his rookie year and he broke O.J Simpson pro bowl rushing recond
Jason WAlker if the Steelers and pats meet I wonder if there will be a fight like here in the 90s went a lot of people loved or hated the cowboys. Now the cowboys after 1995 have yet to make another NFC title game appearance. However I won’t mind if they would get contending again over the pats for almost 20 years.
@@ssshonnn Cowboys fan for life but, I loved it when Steve Young ran, especially when he got a touchdown. Can't see that in today's league, Young was tough and so was Aikman. Qb's nowadays can't take a hit like they did.
"You never play the real dallas team, as you know. Every time you beat them it's because somebody was missing, because the plane didn't have the proper food on it, whatever. The accommodations weren't right. Something, some reason they lost the game other than getting their ass kicked." -Bill Walsh
It was a good game. Overall Dallas could’ve been; The 3peat and/or 4peat Champions team of the 90’s if JerryJones wouldn’t have the dispute with JimmyJohnson. JimmyJohnson had prepared the Cowboys better than any other Cowboys coach. IMO
Sad thing is that the Cowboys damn near pulled out the comeback win…….such a bogus non-call on Deion but Jerry Jones screwed it by letting Jimmy Johnson leave….never will know how good that Cowboys team would have been!
@@edwardsarinana1997 he did, but SF made the adjustments to rise back to the level of the Cowboys that offseason. We'll never know if SF still wins this game if Jimmy is still coaching but they may have as it was never a gimmie for either side when these two heavyweights played each other.
Oh yeah,people forget the fact that the NFL found out that the DeBartolos had the Refs in their back pockets for that game,and Declared this game AND SB 29 NULL AND VOID;SF is still stuck on 4 lombardis.
I will always remember this game for several reasons. The Cowboys committed three early turnovers the 49ers converted into three touchdowns. The 27 yard touchdown pass Steve Young threw to Jerry Rice before halftime was the biggest play of the first half. The 49ers went ahead by 17 points 31-14. The Cowboys held the 49ers to only one touchdown the entire second half of this game. But it was the 49ers turn to finally advance to the Super Bowl after a five year absence. 49ers cornerback Deion Sanders should have been flagged for pass interference on the Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin in the fourth quarter. The 49ers won this NFC Title Game 38-28. The 49ers also defeated the Cowboys at Candlestick Park during the regular season as well 21-14!!!
The pass from Young to Rice for the TD before the end of the first half was huge, but what set that up was the horrible punt by John Jett that gave the 49ers terrific field position which I think was biggest play of the game.
@@Mark-xl1ze You're right. John Jett's lousy punt gave the 49ers great field position. If Jett's punt had been better, the 49ers probably wouldn't have scored a touchdown before halftime. Young's touchdown pass to Rice before the first half ended was the last time Rice would catch a pass in this game. Jerry Rice had only 2 catches for 36 yards and 1 touchdown. If you remember, Rice dropped a touchdown catch early in the second quarter, which is why Doug Brien had to kick a field goal.
Steve Young was a better quarterback than Troy Aikman. He only lost to Aikman in 1992 and 1993 because the team around him wasn't as good. After those two defeats, the 49ers front-office spent a lot of money on defensive players and a better offensive line.
thats what Dallas did in their wins also, particularly in 92. If you take away the 4 turnovers 49ers win. If the turnovers were flukes the same thing would not have happened in 95.
The Niners really shat on the salary cap rules that year. You will never see a roster that good again. Witness: 11 All-Pro selections, around just half of which were homegrown: not to mention former studs/ring chasers like Rickey Jackson, Tim Harris and Deion (didn’t play enough games to get AP consideration). They’d get fined for the violations in the aftermath. Didn’t care: got the ring.
During this game I said "If the Niners win, tomorrow @ doctor we'll find out we'll be having another son".. Niners, Phili & Steelers (2 sons in playoffs) 😍🤩
I remember watching this game and being the lone 49er fan surrounded by cowboy fans. I got many "it's fixed", "cowboys are still better" all that. The next season the 49ers went into Dallas with no running game and a backup QB, same result lol. Dallas did win that year though. Not much since, Jerry Jones just won't learn....
Steve Young had to win this game or he would've been out of the bay area that night I was so happy we beat Dallas I didn't go to work the next day I was still celebrating
Lmao @ that night😂😂😂😂 But you might be right, lm from the east coast so l wouldnt know. But you can add Siefert to that list! Hell, they wanted to fire him after winning the SB that year!
@@TheWakeup011 I know, right? I believe the Niners brass wanted OC Mike Shanahan to take over, but he agreed to take over as HC/GM in Denver. It paid off nicely for the Broncos.
They don’t play games like this anymore. I remember it like it was yesterday. Was actually a closer game than the score throughout the game. This clip didn’t show the controversial No-call when Aikman threw it up to Irvin. Had the call been made…
Probability of 4 Straight by Dallas was VERY high! You don’t throw a wrench in a well oiled machine! Ridding Jimmy and bringing in ole college/drinking buddy switzer was beginning of the end! Sure switzer won a SB...with Jimmy’s team.
26 players from the Cowboys 95' championship with Barry weren't on the championship team in 93' with Jimmy 😳 Probably a false narrative worth looking into for a multitude of reasons. Like it takes an entire organization to build a team. Scouting, coaching staff etc.
George Toma had to use a lot of green paint on that field to make it look like grass!! No amount of paint could make Switzer look like a real NFL coach!!
This was a great rivalry the cowboys were the bullies w that o line tho.... Deion helped both teams but he wasn't the deal breaker ... That Dallas o line and skill position players were the key! I'd give the edge to Dallas barely early 91-95
The 49ers put everything they had into this game. If they lost their season would be a failure and all their actions to get free agents for naught. The Cowboys on the other hand were arrogant thinking the last game was fluke. They slept walk through the first 3 drives and when it was 21-0 it was too late. This is where Jerry getting rid of Jimmy backfired. The Cowboys sure as hell wouldn't be going down 21-0 in the first 3 drives if Jimmy was there.
redmustang04 redmustang04 and then came the Off field and on field drama in 1995 and 1996 Leon Lett getting suspended for the whole 1997 season, the sexual assault case involving Erik Williams and Michael Irvin. Barry didn't install discipline in that team as Jimmy did, and too much egos in a way. It all went to hell after they captured their 3rd title in Super Bowl 30.
Chris Kreager But Detroit was great in 1991. You couldn’t beat them in the Silverdome. I think had they won that game they’d have kept it close against Washington in the title game.
Thank god we didn’t have to play San Fran the next year in the Championship game or they would have went to the SB again. Thank you Bret Farve for eliminating them from the playoffs that year!
71/2 minutes "n" the niners still needed Sanders to interfere on Irvin. What really made me mad Was the niner didn't get to the N.F.C. title game the next year.
Yes they needed those lucky first qtr turnovers to win and a sure non pass interference call on Deion Sanders to win...Greatest game I ever saw Aikman play because he was getting hit in the Pocket Everytime he threw the ball and he stood tall and fought to the end.
False. Based on the rules of the time, that was indeed a catch and fumble. By today's rules, it would have been ruled a drop. There was no need for a "football move" for a catch to count back then.
Now I realize George seifert didn't smile that much Him and my mother shared the same birthday and she never smiled either, and I always thought she was very weird just like seifert
Damn was that 49ers team just so stacked that year! You wonder how the hell they not only lost, but got totally annihilated by a mediocre Philadelphia Eagles team in an early home game that season someway, somehow too?
I was pissed when we didn't offer deion and contract after this and ricky and the 49ers paid for it the running game was terrible for anfew years after that and although the 49ers defense was still good it hurt them in the playoffs i truly believe if deion and Ricky was there Packers wouldn't have beat them prime would locked Freeman up keeping a fs in the middle and the te wouldnt have been in the middle running wide open over and over btw i think rice had alot to do with prime not coming back
The Cowboys are great! The NFL is weak without a Super Bowl NFC Championship game Dallas at San Francisco in a muddy, rainy, CandleStick Park Captain America (Heisman's trophy winner) and the Doomsday Defense vs Notre Dame's favorite son Joe Montana and the gold rush. Dallas by 4, O/U 24.
It's funny, after San Francisco scored 21 points, they seemed to lose ground, once Dallas started scoring they were building momentum, and slowly but surely the momentum had been sucked out of San Francisco and into Dallas, after 21-0, Dallas outscored them 28-17.
Dallas could have come back to win this IMO . . . if only they hadn’t coughed up the TD to Rice right before the half. Just a terrible series of mistakes: they called a bunch of incomplete passes that took no time off the clock, shanked the punt, and then somehow let Jerry Rice get behind them in the end zone. That really killed them.
No alvin, you were NOT 'the real number 80'. Hey Larry Brown, you still think you 'own Jerry Rice'??? But I digress, this was a great rivalry and for the third straight year was the REAL Super Bowl.
No they would have lost in 94' with Jimmy. Then they would have given up on him in 95' and the grass is greener theory can be put to rest. Barry had swag and got them a third super bowl. Could have been a 4th in 96' but the offense was one of the worst in the league and completely let down a championship caliber defense. Jimmy wanted out anyways and didn't do **** in Miami with Dan Marino.
@@RichM0410 The Cowboys were every bit as good in 94' with Barry as they would have been with Jimmy. I guess people think Jimmy would have stopped Erik Williams from ruining his body in a car accident? He would have healed Emmitt's hamstring and cured Larry Allen's leg? Also because Jimmy is Jimmy they wouldn't have turned the ball over. Let's keep in mind Barry kept as much of the coaching staff intact as he could. So there wasn't any scheme changes or philosophy changes on offense, defense or special teams. Also the 49'ers were stacked.
Just like the year before when the Niners did it, the Cowboys lost this game as soon as they started crap in pregame. That is a clear sign you don’t think you’re good enough to win.
