Who is playing Sunday Night Football in Week 5?
By Jerry Trotta
Week 5 of the 2023 regular season is underway and the Dallas Cowboys will play their second Sunday Night Football game of the young campaign.
Sunday Night Football typically prides itself on being the premier matchup every week. That oftentimes doesn't come to fruition. The product this season has been less-than-desirable, though it's coming off a surprisingly intriguing clash between the Chiefs and Jets in Week 4.
This weekend, however, has game-of-the-year written all over it, as the 4-0 San Francisco 49ers welcome the 3-1 Dallas Cowboys to Levi's Stadium. These are two of the best teams in the NFL, let alone the NFC, and they share a long history of meeting in January.
While the 49ers have won the last to meetings against Dallas -- both in the playoffs -- this series all-time is dead even at 19-19-1. Before the two playoff defeats, the Cowboys had won four of their last five games against the Niners dating back to 2011.
Micah Parsons: "I feel like (the 49ers) play us harder than anybody. I definitely believe it's going to be one of them games. ... I've been tapped into my mode all week. I feel great. I'm ready to kind of get after it now. ... It's one of the biggest stages. Cowboys-49ers.… pic.twitter.com/iEfH6qHis6
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 4, 2023
Sunday Night Football Week 5: Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers
Games don't get much bigger than this and while it will be tough to judge these teams' respective season-long outlooks based on a matchup in early October, players and coaches on both sides will remember the result and every detail in between if they're to meet in January for a third straight year.
This is very much a case where an unstoppable force (the Cowboys defense) meets an immovable object (the 49ers offense). Dallas' +9 turnover differential is the best in the NFL. They've forced 10 takeaways -- seven interceptions and three fumbles -- and have turned the ball over on offense just once.
San Francisco, meanwhile, has only forced five turnovers, but like the Cowboys, only have one turnover on offense. Brock Purdy hasn't thrown an interception and is running Kyle Shanahan's offense to a tee. The second-year starter leads all quarterbacks in yards per pass attempt, passer rating and QBR.
As of this writing, the 49ers are favored by -3.5 points, per FanDuel. That's a fair spread as it suggests San Francisco would only be favored by a half-point on a neutral field. It's the ultimate measuring stick game for both squads, but the Cowboys will be kicking themselves if they don't end up as the victors.
Games odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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