Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers Matchup Preview (12/20/20): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Streams

The Dallas Cowboys will be hosting the San Francisco 49ers at home for week 15 of the NFL season. The Dallas Cowboys are coming off of a dominant win over the Cincinnati Bengals to improve their record to 4-9 this season. The San Francisco 49ers went through a tough loss to the Washington Football Team to make their record 5-8, and they may be due for a quarterback change. For odds movement and full matchup history, visit the Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers Matchup Page.

TV Schedule

Date: Sunday, December 20th, 2020
Time: 1:05 PM ET
Location: AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas
TV Coverage: CBS

Cowboys vs. 49ers Live Stream

Where can you watch Cowboys vs. 49ers online? You can stream this game, and many other NFL games live online with Hulu. Hulu has a 7 Day free trial and is cheaper than cable options at $5.99/month. Watch Cowboys vs. 49ers Free Online Now.

Injuries:

Dallas Cowboys: Questionable: Donovan Wilson, Anthony Brown
San Francisco 49ers: Questionable: D.J. Jones, Raheem Mostert, Emmanuel Moseley, K’Waun Williams, Fred Warner, Hroniss Grasu, Out: Deebo Samuel

Dallas Cowboys Analysis

The Dallas Cowboys still have slight playoff hopes in the NFC East with a 4-9 record. But, it looks like the Washington Football Team might pull out the playoff berth in that division at 6-7. The Cowboys just snapped a two-game losing streak last week over the Cincinnati Bengals. Right now, they are slated for the 5th pick in the draft, so their logic to win more games seems irrational outside of McCarthy wanting to stay on the squad. They will play the San Francisco 49ers next weekend.

Andy Dalton made a return to his former team’s stadium to play against the Bengals last week. He led the team to a solid and efficient victory passing for 185 yards and two touchdowns during the game. He connected with Amari Cooper for a touchdown and Tony Pollard for another. This was quite the easy game all around for the Cowboys, considering the Bengals are without Joe Burrow. Next week, however, the 49ers offer quite a challenge in passing defense. They allow a 64.75% completion percentage to their opponents, the fifth least amount of passing yards, and the 13th least amount of passing touchdowns per game. Luckily, they have only recorded 21 sacks on the year, the 10th least in that category.

The run game for the Dallas Cowboys has been stagnant and seemingly reserved for Ezekiel Elliot now that the end of the season is near. Last week, the team ran the ball 25 times for 101 yards total. Zeke ran the ball just 12 times in this one for 48 yards. Tony Pollard took 11 carries for 39 yards and added one receiving touchdown too. The 49ers are certainly better defending the run, allowing the 8th least amount of rushing yards per game, the fourth least amount of touchdowns on the ground, and just 3.9 yards per attempt. The Cowboys will have to figure a way to mix both in a while hammering the passing game.

Sadly, the Cowboys’ defense is one of the worst in the league this season, allowing the most points per game to opponents (30.8) and the second-most touchdowns per game (3.7). Last game, however, they did force and recover three fumbles against the Bengals and returned one of them for a touchdown. The 49ers’ offense is not healthy and has not put up many points of their own this season.

Dallas Cowboys Depth Chart

QB: Dak Prescott
RB1: Ezekiel Elliott
RB2: Tony Pollard
WR1: Amari Cooper
WR2: Michael Gallup
WR3: CeeDee Lamb
TE: Blake Jarwin

San Francisco 49ers Analysis

The San Francisco 49ers have struggled with injuries to most of their big-name players this season, but they still have the playoffs in mind. Last week, however, they suffered a tough loss to the Washington Football Team in a low scoring game. They are two games away from the final wild-card spot, currently held by the Arizona Cardinals. They should capture a win next week against the Dallas Cowboys to fight back for a possible playoff spot.

Kyle Shanahan indicated this week, per ESPN, that Jimmy Garoppolo will not play this weekend and may not play the rest of the year unless there are hopes of playoff contention. That being said, Nick Mullens’s spot as the starting quarterback may change over to C.J Beathard due to his poor performances. Last week, Mullens threw for 260 yards and one touchdown while turning the ball over twice. Dallas offers some obstacles with their passing defense, allowing the 6th least amount of passing yards per game, but also has a 13.9% DVOA on passing defense, which is 23rd in the NFL.

The run game for the 49ers is their mainstream offense considering their injuries this season. Last week, Raheem Mostert led the teams in carries with 14 and tacked on 65 yards with it. Jeff Wilson scored the lone rushing touchdown of the day off of 11 carries and 31 rushing yards. This will be the way to go for San Francisco’s offense next week due to the atrocity that is the Dallas Cowboys’ run defense. They allow the most rushing yards per game, the 5th most rushing touchdowns per game, and 5.1 yards per attempt, which is the worst in the NFL.

The 49ers’ defense has been holding strong this season with injuries battled on their end too. They are one of the best rushing defenses in the league and certainly hold their own in the passing game. They allow 23.9 points per game this season and 316.1 yards per game, which ranks 5th in the NFL. They should not have too difficult of a time scheming around the Cowboys’ offense.

San Francisco 49ers Depth Chart

QB: Jimmy Garoppolo
RB1: Raheem Mostert
RB2: Tevin Coleman
WR1: Deebo Samuel
WR2: Brandon Aiyuk
WR3: Trent Taylor
TE: George Kittle

Betting Corner 49ers -2.5

Spread: +/- 2.5
Moneyline: 49ers -145, Cowboys +125
Over/Under: 45

Prediction

Spread: 49ers -2.5
Moneyline: 49ers -145
Over/Under: u45

The San Francisco 49ers have a better defense and a decent enough offense, in my opinion, to get by the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are starting to focus on next year, while the 49ers can still look forward to making some noise at the end of the year. I would take the 49ers for the money line and the spread in this one.

The 49ers’ have hit the under in three of their last five games, and the Cowboys have hit the under in their last two games. Both of these teams have struggling offenses, and the 49ers have one of the better defenses in the league. I would take the under for this game.

Love/Hate Fantasy Picks

Love

Raheem Mostert has been having mediocre games over the past three weeks in fantasy football. Owners have most likely given up on him at this point. But, the Cowboys have one of the worst rushing defenses in the league this season and allow the 6th most fantasy points to running backs in fantasy on the year. I would start Mostert, considering he has projected 13.35 fantasy points next week.

Hate

Ezekiel Elliot has been struggling on this poor offense and cannot get anything going because his presence is very predictable. He has not scored a rushing touchdown since week five and has not scored a touchdown in three weeks. He has struggled against better rushing defenses, too, and is not worth starting against the 49ers. The 49ers have allowed the 8th least amount of fantasy points to running backs this year.