The San Francisco 49ers (10-7) snagged a wild card slot in the NFL playoffs with an overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 18. The 49ers fell behind 17-0 before clawing their way all the way back to tie the game, force overtime and get the game-winning field goal. Their wild card round opponent is the Dallas Cowboys (12-5), who won the NFC East. The two teams last met in the 2020 regular season, with Dallas prevailing, 41-33, in a track meet of a game. The Cowboys enter as three-point favorites, which basically means that the sports betting community sees the game as a push, granting Dallas the three points generally associated with home field advantage.
Let’s take a closer look at the NFL betting preview this postseason scrum.
NFL Wild Card Preview (Sunday, January 16) | San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys
When: Sunday, January 16, 2022, 4:30 pm ET
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
TV: CBS
Radio: Westwood One
Live Stream: Hulu
NFL Odds: Dallas -3 / O/U 51 // Dallas -160 / San Francisco +140
Why should you bet on the 49ers?
The 49ers finished with four wins in their last five games to scrape into the postseason; that overtime win in Los Angeles was just the most recent in a string of thrilling contests. San Francisco had entered the game as 3 ½-point underdogs, despite the fact that they won the earlier meeting this season. In their last five games, San Francisco has covered four times.
Jimmy Garoppolo turned a corner as the season drew to an end, as he completed more than 70 percent of his passes. Turnovers are still an issue, as he has six interceptions in the team’s last five games. On the season, he has a 20:12 TD:INT ratio, which is serviceable, but adding more turnovers in the last third of the season has made life tougher for the 49ers. He does have a bone chip in the thumb on his throwing hand, but it did not affect the quality of his throws in Week 18.
The running game has done a lot for San Francisco, and Elijah Mitchell has been the top tailback, hitting the 100-yard mark in five of the 11 games in which he has played and totaling 963 yards for the regular season. Deebo Samuel has also moved to the backfield on occasion, carrying the ball as the offense just wants the ball in his hands. When Samuel has run routes, he has picked up 1,405 receiving yards, fifth overall. The key for San Francisco is their defense, though, which ranks sixth against the pass and seventh against the run.
Why should you put your money on the Cowboys?
The Cowboys won five of six to close out the regular season and swept the remainder of the NFC East. The only loss in those six games came at home to Arizona, by three points, in a game that saw the Dallas offense struggle mightily for three quarters before starting to register some plays. In Week 18, Dallas routed Philadelphia, 51-26, although it is worth noting that Philadelphia dressed just 42 players and was missing key starters on both sides of the ball.
Quarterback Dak Prescott has had a terrific season by the numbers, with 4,449 passing yards, but he was much more effective in Weeks 1 through 7; since Dallas returned from the bye week, the offense has been much less consistent in terms of moving the ball. Prescott has a 12:0 TD:INT ratio over his past three games, but most of those touchdowns came against the undermanned Washington Football Team in Week 18 and against Philadelphia in the finale. For the season, Prescott has a 37:10 TD:INT ratio and has not thrown a pick in his last four games.
The running game is solid for Dallas, as Ezekiel Elliott broke the 1,000-yard mark. Tony Pollard is a solid running back as well but is questionable (foot). Corey Clement is an interesting third option who can spell Elliott as needed. In the passing game, the team will miss deep threat Michael Gallup, but they already have two elite receivers in Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb, and Cedric Wilson can make big plays as well. The Dallas offense has broken the 30-point mark eight times during the season.
Final Score and Betting Prediction
The 49ers can pound the ball on the ground and get the ball out quickly in the passing game; the Cowboys’ defense thrives on pressuring the quarterback while struggling to stop the run. This gives San Francisco an advantage; if one considers the fact that the 49ers came in fifth overall in sacks, and that Dak Prescott loses significant amounts of accuracy when under pressure, it looks like the 49ers have an advantage here. I predict a final score of San Francisco 27, Dallas 23
San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys: Bet the Game Today
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