NFC Championship: Dallas Cowboys travel to face San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park, one win from a Super Bowl berth. Kickoff time: 4:30pm. Winner advances to the Super Bowl. Loser carries one of the year's hardest what-ifs into the offseason.
Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship, with a Super Bowl berth on the line. The conference title round is the one that turns nameplates into legacy. For San Francisco 49ers, the home crowd at Candlestick Park is asked to be a player; for Dallas Cowboys, the road environment is supposed to be the test that breaks lesser teams. Coaches will lean on what worked all year. Players will lean on what their bodies have left in them.
Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers have outlasted everyone else in their conference. One walks out of Candlestick Park with the conference title; the other walks out with a brutal what-if. Around the league, coaches are watching tape on both staffs for next year's prep. Every Super Bowl-bound team starts the offseason as the team to beat.
Dallas Cowboys versus San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Dallas Cowboys-San Francisco 49ers cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals | 12-4 | W2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 8-8 | L3 |
| Houston Oilers | 7-9 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5-11 | L5 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 11-4-1 | W4 |
| New York Jets | 10-5-1 | W2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 10-6 | L1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 2-14 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 2-14 | L9 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 10-6 | L1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 10-6 | W2 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 9-7 | W1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 7-9 | L2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 6-10 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | 13-3 | W5 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7-9 | L3 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 6-10 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 4-12 | L4 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 9-7 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 8-8 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8-8 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 7-9 | L5 |
| Chicago Bears | 6-10 | W3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 12-4 | L1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10-6 | W1 |
| New York Giants | 9-7 | W3 |
| Washington Redskins | 8-8 | W3 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 7-9 | L2 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 10 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 1017172727 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 714212828 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Freddie Solomon 8 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) | 0-7 |
| Cowboys | Rafael Septien 44 yard field goal | 3-7 |
| Cowboys | Tony Hill 26 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick) | 10-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Dwight Clark 20 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) | 10-14 |
| Cowboys | Tony Dorsett 5 yard rush (Rafael Septien kick) | 17-14 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Johnny Davis 2 yard rush (Ray Wersching kick) | 17-21 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | Rafael Septien 22 yard field goal | 20-21 |
| Cowboys | Doug Cosbie 21 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick) | 27-21 |
| 49ers | Dwight Clark 6 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) | 27-28 |
San Francisco 49ers defeated Dallas Cowboys 28-27 at Candlestick Park in the NFC Championship. The final scoring play was 49ers: Dwight Clark 6 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick). The result came down to the final possession; San Francisco 49ers won by 1. Top line of the day: Joe Montana: 286 pass yards on 22-of-35, 3 TD, 3 INT. San Francisco 49ers advance to the Super Bowl.
San Francisco 49ers walked out of Candlestick Park as the team that survived an NFC Championship Dallas Cowboys will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 28-27. The game stayed within 1 points throughout, the kind of contest where every drive felt like a referendum and every defensive stop carried twice its usual weight. The final scoring play came from 49ers: Dwight Clark 6 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. San Francisco 49ers are bound for the Super Bowl.
San Francisco 49ers 28, Dallas Cowboys 27.
Round: NFC Championship. Q1: 3 scoring plays. Q2: 2 scoring plays. Q3: 1 scoring play. Q4: 3 scoring plays.
Top performers: - Joe Montana: 286 pass yards on 22-of-35, 3 TD, 3 INT - Tony Dorsett: 91 rush yards on 22 carries - Dwight Clark: 8 catches for 120 yards
NFC Championship, played at Candlestick Park. Final: Dallas Cowboys 27, San Francisco 49ers 28, with San Francisco 49ers taking the result by 1.
**First quarter**
- 49ers: Freddie Solomon 8 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) - Cowboys: Rafael Septien 44 yard field goal - Cowboys: Tony Hill 26 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick)
**Second quarter**
- 49ers: Dwight Clark 20 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) - Cowboys: Tony Dorsett 5 yard rush (Rafael Septien kick)
**Third quarter**
- 49ers: Johnny Davis 2 yard rush (Ray Wersching kick)
**Fourth quarter**
- Cowboys: Rafael Septien 22 yard field goal - Cowboys: Doug Cosbie 21 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick) - 49ers: Dwight Clark 6 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick)
**Top performers**
- Joe Montana: 286 pass yards on 22-of-35, 3 TD, 3 INT - Tony Dorsett: 91 rush yards on 22 carries - Dwight Clark: 8 catches for 120 yards
A 1-point margin in NFC Championship is the kind of result that defines reputations on both sidelines.