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The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers have engaged in a fierce rivalry over the last six-plus decades, a rivalry that was once ranked as one of the top 10 in NFL history despite the fact that the two franchises have only played one another 39 times, a number that includes both the regular season and postseason.

Perhaps it’s because the Cowboys and 49ers have matched up six times in the NFC Championship (including three straight in the 1990s), with the winner of those games going on to win the Super Bowl on five of those six occasions.

While the matchups certainly weren’t nearly as significant for two decades or so as the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers didn’t make the playoffs in the same season from 1999 to 2020, there was still always a big-fight feel when the two teams got together.

And they’ve certainly renewed that postseason rivalry, squaring off following both the 2021 and 2022 campaigns.

So which team has the most wins in this storied rivalry?

The San Francisco 49ers have a 15-14-1 edge in the regular season

Dallas Cowboys San Francisco 49ers
(L-R) Dallas Cowboys helmet; San Francisco 49ers helmet | Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images; Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys have matched up 30 times in the regular season, with the Niners holding a 15-14-1 edge.

The teams first matched up in the Cowboys’ inaugural season of 1960, a campaign in which Dallas went winless, with the 49ers taking a 26-14 victory on the road. San Francisco took three of the first four matchups between the two teams, and the fifth game resulted in the lone tie in the rivalry, a 24-24 draw in Dallas in 1969.

The Cowboys have won the last three non-playoff meetings between the two teams, the most recent coming in December 2020 when Dallas bested San Francisco in Big D, 41-33. Here’s a quick look at the regular-season results.

DateAwayHomeResult
11/20/60San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysSF-26, DAL-14
11/10/63Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersSF-31, DAL-24
11/7/65San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysDAL-39, SF-31
12/16/67Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersSF-24, DAL-16
11/27/69San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysSF-24, DAL-24
11/23/72San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysSF-31, DAL-10
11/10/74San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysDAL-20, SF-14
12/12/77Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersDAL-42, SF-35
9/9/79Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersDAL-21, SF-13
10/12/80San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysDAL-59, SF-14
10/11/81Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersSF-45, DAL-14
12/19/83Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersSF-42, DAL-17
12/22/85Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersSF-31, DAL-16
10/13/89San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysSF-31, DAL-14
11/11/90San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysSF-24, DAL-6
10/17/93San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysDAL-26, SF-17
11/13/94Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersSF-21, DAL-14
11/12/95San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysSF-38, DAL-20
11/10/96Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersDAL-20, SF-17 (OT)
11/2/97Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersSF-17, DAL-10
9/24/00San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysSF-41, DAL-24
12/30/01San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysDAL-27, SF-21
12/8/02San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysSF-31, DAL-27
9/25/05Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersDAL-34, SF-31
11/23/08San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysDAL-35, SF-22
9/18/11Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersDAL-27, SF-24 (OT)
9/7/14San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysSF-28, DAL-17
10/2/16Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersDAL-24, SF-17
10/22/17Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersDAL-40, SF-10
12/20/20San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysDAL-41, SF-33

The Dallas Cowboys have a 5-4 advantage in the postseason

Dallas Cowboys San Francisco 49ers
(L-R) Deion Sanders; Jerry Rice | Focus on Sport/Getty Images

The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers first met in the postseason following the 1970 season in the NFC Championship Game in January 1971, with the Cowboys emerging victorious, 17-10.

Dallas would go on to lose Super Bowl 5 to the Baltimore Colts, marking the only time that the winner of the NFC title game between the Cowboys and 49ers would lose the Super Bowl. Dallas and San Francisco met again in the NFC Championship one year later, with the Cowboys winning that matchup as well, 14-3.

Dallas would then defeat the Miami Dolphins in the Super Bowl, 24-3. The only postseason matchup between the Cowboys and 49ers that didn’t decide the NFC representative in the Super Bowl came following the 1972 season, with Dallas beating San Francisco in the Divisional Round, 30-28.

The 49ers picked up their first postseason win over the Cowboys following the 1981 season, famously beating their rivals in the NFC Championship Game that featured “The Catch” from the late, great Dwight Clark. The Niners won the game, 28-27, and went on to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl 16, 26-21.

As mentioned, the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers met in three consecutive NFC title games in the mid-1990s, with Dallas taking the first two and San Francisco winning the third. Their most recent matchup came in the Divisional Round following the 2022 season.

DateRoundAwayHomeResult
1/3/71NFC Champ.Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersDAL-17, SF-10
1/2/72NFC Champ.San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysDAL-14, SF-3
12/23/72NFC Div.Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersDAL-30, SF-28
1/10/82NFC Champ.Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersSF-28, DAL-27
1/17/93NFC Champ.Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersDAL-30, SF-20
1/23/94NFC Champ.San Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysDAL-38, SF-21
1/15/95NFC Champ.Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersSF-38, DAL-28
1/16/22NFC WCSan Francisco 49ersDallas CowboysSF-23, DAL-17
1/22/23NFC Div.Dallas CowboysSan Francisco 49ersSF-19, DAL-12

Overall, the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers are tied in their historic rivalry at 19-19-1.

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Luke Norris

Luke Norris began his sportswriting career in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2020. The former Section Editor of the NFL and Motorsports sections, he now spends his time here in the role of Senior Writer-Programmer. His well-rounded sports knowledge allows him to cover the NFL, NBA, PGA Tour, MLB, boxing, WWE, and NASCAR for Sportscasting.

Luke is an avid golfer who finds inspiration in the way sports can bring people together and provide a distraction from the real world. He hopes to provide a little entertainment or an escape from the real world with every article he writes, even if only for a few minutes.

In addition to his work here at Sportscasting, Luke’s work has appeared on  The Sportster, Inquisitr, GiveMeSport, FanSided, Yahoo! Fox Sports, and Sports Illustrated.