Wild Card Weekend: 49ers at Cowboys Betting Preview

Three things you need to know before betting on 49ers-Cowboys:

1. This is the kind of spot in which San Francisco has thrived in recent years, as the 49ers are 6-1 both straight-up and against the spread as a road underdog of fewer than six points since the start of the 2019 season. Dallas, meanwhile, is 4-11 straight-up and 3-13 against the spread in that same timeframe in games where the line is between +3 and -3. That includes a 1-8 against-the-spread mark in such games since the start of 2020, with the Cowboys having been outscored by an average margin of 11 points over those nine games.

2. San Francisco was one of 13 NFL teams to score an average of more than 25 points per game during the 2021 regular season, with 11 of those 13 teams having advanced to the playoffs. (Only the Chargers and Colts failed to reach the postseason after having scored an average of more than 25 points per game.) The 49ers were able to clinch a playoff spot with a 27-24 overtime road victory over the Rams this past Sunday. Since the start of the 2017 season, NFL road underdogs that are scoring an average of at least 24 points per game are 18-6 against the spread when coming off a win by three points or fewer.

3. Dallas is 3-7 straight-up and 2-8 against the spread over its past 10 games against NFC West opponents since the start of December 2017. That includes each of the Cowboys’ past two playoff appearances, both of which were played in January 2019: a 24-22 victory as a 3-point home favorite against the Seahawks and a 30-22 loss as a 7-point road underdog to the Rams. Dallas is 3-10 both straight-up and against the spread over its past 13 playoff games dating back to the start of January 1997. San Francisco is 6-1 straight-up and 5-1-1 against the spread over its past seven January playoff games dating back to the start of the 2013 calendar year.