This Sunday, Sunday Night Football gives us what many may have predicted to be a thriller match. Still, two teams that dominated the regular season last year are seeing quite the opposite fate early after seven weeks of the 2024 NFL regular season. The Dallas Cowboys will travel to Santa Clara to take on the San Francisco 49ers in a Week 8 showdown between two of the NFL’s most storied franchises.

Both teams are struggling, currently sitting at third in their respective divisions. Dallas seems to be suffering from Jerry Jones’ lack of moves in the offseason, as the offense has looked horrible, and the defense looks nothing like what they were in previous years. The Cowboys, 3-3, are coming off of a historic 47-9 home blowout loss to the Detroit Lions two weeks ago (prior to their bye). There are multiple things to point at for Dallas’ struggles; poor quarterback play, an ineffective offensive line, lack of star power, injuries, etc. However, Dallas comes off of a week of rest and face a 49ers team that are depleted and not themselves.

The Niners have been without superstar running back Christian McCaffery since the beginning of the season. On top of that, they just lost Brandon Aiyuk to a season-ending injury, Deebo Samuel is currently in the hospital with an illness (supposedly pneumonia), George Kittle is day-to-day, and the list goes on. Injuries to key playmakers have made it difficult for Brock Purdy to produce. This is a trend that may continue given the injuries, but Dallas’ defense this year is not near what they were last year, and the offense’s lack of production has made it hard for any unit on either side of the ball to make the other’s job easier. The 49ers (currently 3-4), have seen their own struggles on defense, but this past Sunday saw them pick off Patrick Mahomes twice while also holding him to under 200 passing yards. Dak Prescott has underperformed this year, to say the least, and the Cowboys do not have a running game either. Their weak offensive line has made it easy for defenses to come and attack, which is scary heading into San Francisco, even if they have been a shell of themselves.

While Dallas has had a week of rest, they have been atrocious all across the board. Though the Niners are not much better, the Cowboys winning this prime-time match-up on the road after their most recent performance seems far-fetched.

Prediction: 49ers 23, Cowboys 10