The 49ers (7-1) host the Dallas Cowboys (5-3) at 3Com Park for a 1:00 PT kickoff. Troy Aikman is the Cowboys' starter; Sherman Williams and Emmitt Smith share the backfield. Anthony Miller and Michael Irvin are the receivers. The Cowboys come off three of four wins.
The 49ers come off the 23-0 road shutout at New Orleans. Steve Young is the starter; Garrison Hearst is the lead back. Brent Jones is at tight end.[1][2]
Troy Aikman comes to 3Com Park for the seventh straight year of the rivalry the conference's two top franchises have produced. The Cowboys, off three Super Bowl titles in four years, are 5-3 with the offense built around Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith. The Sunday matchup is the kind of home game where the defensive front has the chance to define the wild-card seeding.
Week 10 has the conference's most-anticipated home game at 3Com plus a slate where the conference's playoff race is settling. The Packers sit at 8-1; the Cowboys 5-3; the Vikings 7-2. The AFC East has the Patriots at 7-1 and the Bills 5-3. Inside the division the storyline is the 49ers-Cowboys rivalry, the seventh straight calendar year the franchises have played at least once. The Sunday at 3Com is the only NFC matchup where the home team is the projected one-seed contender.
Through eight games the 49ers sit at 7-1 with a plus 109 point differential. Young is on pace for 3,900 passing yards. Hearst is on pace for 1,290 rushing. Bryant Young has 9 sacks. The Cowboys are 5-3 with Aikman averaging 235 passing per game and Emmitt Smith 4.2 a carry. Vegas opens the 49ers as 4-point home favorites. Stat worth watching today: Aikman's first-quarter completion percentage against the 49ers' defense, sitting at 58 percent across his last five trips.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-2 | W5 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 5-3 | L2 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 4-4 | W1 |
| Tennessee Oilers | 4-4 | W3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1-7 | L7 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 5-3 | L1 |
| New England Patriots | 5-3 | L2 |
| New York Jets | 5-3 | W1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 4-4 | L1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 0-8 | L8 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 7-1 | W1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 6-2 | W2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 5-3 | W3 |
| San Diego Chargers | 4-4 | W1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 3-5 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | 7-1 | W7 |
| Carolina Panthers | 4-4 | W2 |
| St. Louis Rams | 2-6 | L4 |
| New Orleans Saints | 2-7 | L3 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 1-7 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 6-2 | W3 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 6-2 | W4 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-3 | L3 |
| Detroit Lions | 4-4 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 1-7 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 6-3 | W5 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 4-4 | L1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 4-4 | W2 |
| Washington Redskins | 4-4 | L2 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 1-7 | -- |
Garrison Hearst ran for 104 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown, Steve Young threw for 180 yards and the 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys 17-10 at 3Com Park. The defense produced two sacks of Troy Aikman; Michael Irvin caught 6 for 51 with the Cowboys' only touchdown. Anthony Miller caught 4 for 85. The 49ers led 14-0 at halftime and held on after a Dallas fourth-quarter field goal.[1][2]
Garrison Hearst ran for one hundred and four yards on twenty-two carries and the 49ers beat the Cowboys 17-10 at 3Com Park. The fourth straight rivalry victory for San Francisco. Steve Young threw for 180. Michael Irvin caught the only Dallas touchdown.
The 49ers led 14-0 at the half. Aikman went 22-of-36 for 218. Emmitt Smith ran for 54 on 17 carries against a front rotation that held the Cowboys' running game below 4.0 yards a carry. The Sunday at 3Com was the kind of rivalry home game that, in calendar 1997, anchored the conference one-seed posture.
The 49ers walk away 8-1 with the road trip to Philadelphia on Sunday next. The wire copy is going to spend the column on Hearst's fourth 100-yard rushing day. The film room is going to spend the week on the defensive front's run-stop play against Smith.
49ers 17, Cowboys 10. Margin: plus 7. Record: 8-1.
A 17-10 home win over the Cowboys. The 49ers improve to 8-1 with the fourth straight rivalry victory.
How it unfolded
The first quarter was scoreless after a Dallas drive ended on a missed field goal. The second quarter produced two 49ers touchdowns: a Hearst rushing touchdown and a Young touchdown to Marc Edwards to make it 14-0 at the half. The third quarter saw the Cowboys cut it to 14-7 on the Aikman-to-Irvin touchdown. A Wade Richey field goal pushed the lead to 17-7. Dallas added a fourth-quarter field goal to make the final 17-10.
The turning point
The second-quarter Hearst rushing touchdown. With the 49ers driving from midfield and the offense facing third-and-three at the Cowboys' 8, Hearst broke through the right side for the score. The 7-0 cushion put the home team in script-the-clock posture against a Cowboys offense that had produced 25 points in three of the last four games.
By the numbers
Hearst 104 on 22 carries (4.7 ypc) with a touchdown; his fourth 100-yard rushing day of 1997. Young 15-of-23 for 180 with no touchdowns and one pick; his lowest passing yardage of the year. Owens 3 catches for 57. Defensively the front produced two sacks of Aikman; the linebacker rotation held Smith to 54 rushing on 17 carries.
Personnel watch
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Steve Young #8 | 15/23 | 180 | 0 | 1 | |
| DAL | |||||
| Troy Aikman | 22/36 | 218 | 1 | 2 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Garrison Hearst | 22 | 104 | 1 | 12 |
| Terry Kirby | 4 | 13 | 0 | 6 |
| William Floyd | 4 | 8 | 1 | 3 |
| Steve Young #8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| DAL | ||||
| Sherman Williams | 17 | 54 | 0 | 13 |
| Emmitt Smith | 7 | 31 | 0 | 12 |
| Troy Aikman | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Terrell Owens | 3 | 57 | 0 | 26 |
| J.J. Stokes | 2 | 31 | 0 | 29 |
| Chuck Levy | 1 | 30 | 0 | 30 |
| Iheanyi Uwaezuoke | 3 | 29 | 0 | 18 |
| William Floyd | 3 | 14 | 0 | 8 |
| Greg Clark | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Garrison Hearst | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Brent Jones #84 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| DAL | ||||
| Anthony Miller | 4 | 85 | 0 | 54 |
| Michael Irvin | 6 | 51 | 1 | 13 |
| Stepfret Williams | 5 | 36 | 0 | 9 |
| Eric Bjornson | 4 | 22 | 0 | 8 |
| Sherman Williams | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Herschel Walker | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Emmitt Smith | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
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