The Dallas Cowboys have a tough task this week when they host the 7-1 San Francisco 49ers. If the Cowboys plan to launch an upset, they will need a balanced offense that gives Dak Prescott time to work. Here is how the Dallas offensive line matches up with the 49ers defensive line.
Trench Dashboard
Here are the Cowboys offensive line metrics for the 2026 season so far.
Pass Block Win Rate – 53% (8th)
Run Block Win Rate – 69% (31st)
Pressure rate allowed – 30% (15th)
Sacks allowed – 14 (4th)
Last three-week trend: Run game
finding life
The Pressure Point
Every opponent will look at the Cowboys offensive line and ask, where can we break it? Here’s what to watch for.
PRESSURE POINT: Nick Bosa is back, and Terence Steele should expect attention
The season statistics can be misleading with San Francisco. The 49ers have only 15 sacks, ranking 27th in the NFL. That does not sound particularly frightening. But the defensive front Dallas faces Sunday is not the same one that produced most of those numbers.
Nick Bosa returned against Las Vegas after missing five games with knee and calf injuries. He immediately played 39 defensive snaps and produced two pressures. San Francisco also brought DeForest Buckner back in a trade with Indianapolis.
Bosa currently has an 89.6 overall PFF grade in his limited action this season. Before suffering the calf injury, he had generated six pressures on only 41 pass-rush snaps and was winning 20% of his rushes. That brings Terence Steele into focus again. Steele’s current 58.6 PFF overall grade ranks 59th among 70 qualifying tackles. Before Indianapolis he had allowed 17 pressures and two sacks.
Bosa moves around, so Tyler Guyton will see him as well. But whenever San Francisco puts Bosa over Steele, that is the matchup Dallas should worry about. Steele winning enough one-on-one snaps could decide how aggressive Dallas can be offensively.
PRESSURE POINT: San Francisco suddenly has an intimidating interior rotation
DeForest Buckner was playing for Indianapolis only two weeks ago. Buckner currently has 21 pressures and six sacks, with a 72.9 pass-rush grade. San Francisco can now rotate him alongside former Cowboy Osa Odighizuwa.
Odighizuwa produced three pressures against Las Vegas last week and led all 49ers defenders with an 84.4 pass-rush grade. He now carries a 51.6 overall season grade after the game. That creates a very different problem from simply stopping Bosa.
Dallas has Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker at guard, with Cooper Beebe between them. That is arguably the strongest part of this Cowboys offensive line. San Francisco is going to test it anyway.
Buckner is huge and can use his length to keep blockers away from his body. Odighizuwa wins more with quickness and already knows many of the Cowboys linemen extremely well after spending five seasons in Dallas.
Dallas cannot allow pressure from the middle to combine with Bosa attacking from outside. If that happens, Prescott will have nowhere to move.
Where to Attack
Every defensive line has a weakness, here are the 49ers soft spots and where the Cowboys offensive line should attack.
GREEN LIGHT: Use the screen game against San Francisco’s aggression
Trying to simply run through San Francisco may be the wrong answer. The 49ers are allowing only 81 rushing yards per game, second-best in the NFL, and their 3.33 yards allowed per carry ranks first. Over their last six games, opponents have averaged only 70.5 rushing yards at 3.1 yards per carry, and Las Vegas managed just 24 rushing yards at 1.6 per carry last week.
Dallas cannot spend Sunday repeatedly running straight into that wall. This is where screens become important. San Francisco has allowed running backs to catch 6.8 passes per game, the highest in the league. That gives the Cowboys an opportunity to use the 49ers’ aggression against them.
Suddenly the defenders charging toward Prescott are on the wrong side of the play.
GREEN LIGHT: Make the 49ers prove the upgraded rush can finish
San Francisco’s defensive line looked much more dangerous against Las Vegas, but it still produced zero sacks. The 49ers generated plenty of disruption but they could not bring the quarterback down. Their sack rate sits around 5%, also near the bottom third of the league. Dallas has allowed 14 sacks, ninth-fewest, and its 3.8% sack rate allowed ranks fifth. That is where the Cowboys have to trust themselves.
If San Francisco sends four rushers, Dallas should be willing to protect with five meaning they do not automatically keep extra players in protection because of the names standing across the line. Dallas needs as many receiving options as possible against Fred Warner and a talented 49ers secondary.
The Chaos Report
Here are the San Francisco 49ers defensive trends for this season at the defensive line.
Sack Total – 15 (28th)
Pass Rush Win Rate – 49% (20th)
Run Stop Win Rate – 29% (22nd)
QB Pressure Rate – 27% (22nd)
Last three-week trend: Front is fully loaded
Matchup of the week
Terence Steele vs. Nick Bosa
There really is only one choice this week. When Bosa lines up opposite Steele, watch them. Steele is coming off one of his better run-blocking performances of the year against Indianapolis, earning an 81.7 PFF run-blocking grade, but pass protection still remains the concern.
Bosa does not need five sacks to ruin the afternoon, one quick pressure can end a drive on third down. Steele’s job is simple to describe but extremely difficult to execute, keep Bosa outside.
If Steele can survive without constant help, Brian Schottenheimer can send tight ends into a route instead of leaving him to help the tackle.
Best Route to Success
Dallas does not need to try and prove they can overpower the NFL’s best run defense. That would be playing directly into San Francisco’s hands.
Dallas should still run the football. Williams is coming off a big game and the offensive line just produced one of its better run-blocking performances of the season, but this week requires more variety with screens, quick passes, counters, and play-action.
Injury Updates:
Dallas has quite the lengthy injury report so far this week, but none of the starting offensive linemen are on the list. Jake Ferguson’s injury situation is the biggest injury among potential blockers.
The biggest confirmed San Francisco injury up front is Gracen Halton. The rookie defensive tackle suffered a fractured and dislocated ankle against Las Vegas and is expected to undergo surgery and move to injured reserve. C.J. West is also trying to return from IR after a knee injury he suffered in September.
