Super Bowl champion Eric Davis backs 49ers to win sixth championship ahead of Dallas showdown

Eric Davis backs the San Francisco 49ers to defeat Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys on his way to a sixth championship.

The historic rivals meet in Santa Clara on Sunday for the ninth time in the playoffs. Dallas leads the series 5-3 and the winner will win the Super Bowl five times.

Davis played in all three NFC Championships as the rivalry peaked at three straight NFC Championships in 1992 and 1994.

Dallas won the first two en route to back-to-back Super Bowls, but Davis was instrumental in the final delivery. He scored a pick-six and forced a Michael Irvin fumble in the first quarter as the Niners sealed a 38-28 victory before beating the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX.

The No. 2 seed Niners and No. 5 Cowboys last met in the wild card round last year, with the 49ers winning 23-17 at AT&T Stadium. Davis chose San Francisco that time, and he sees no reason to change his choice.

‘Dallas is a very good soccer club. They have played 18 games so far and have won enough games to say, “Okay, this is a good football club.” The 49ers are a very good football team. Simply put, they are tougher,” he says.

‘I said it last year, and I’m going to say it again. By the time you get to later rounds, they will tire of body shots. The 49ers come at you in waves and it doesn’t stop. And it’s all game. And even if it’s close, if you’re ahead, they don’t care. They don’t care. They will keep coming at you. And Dallas is not going to be able to take the punishment they are going to receive.

‘Eventually, the corps will shut down for them, and the Niners will walk away like they did last year.

“I don’t think the Dallas Cowboys club is any better than it was the last time these guys met in the postseason. The 49ers club is definitely better. So why would you expect a different result?

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott enjoyed one of the games of his career as the Cowboys eliminated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild card round.

Prescott became the fifth quarterback to throw for four passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in the playoffs. But Davis says the 49ers have enough to stop him.

‘You just need to put pressure on him and force him to make mistakes. He’s shown this season that he makes mistakes when he’s pressured like that, and that’s what the 49ers are going to do,” he said.

‘This is a defensive club and that’s what they’ve been able to do: put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. You think of Nick Bosa, but it’s more than that. You’re getting pressure across the board.

‘You have to make Dak Prescott uncomfortable in the pocket. He makes him rush and make mistakes because he’s not checking his readings, and I think that’s going to be key to it.

He’s been watching the 49ers. She knows how much pressure they put on people. So I think she’s going to feel it. And they will be able to force you to make some mistakes.

‘The back of the defense has been taking advantage of errant shots. You throw a bad ball, they’re going to take advantage. They’re getting turnovers, unlike the last couple of years. So yeah, that’s what I think is the key for Dak, just keep him uncomfortable and you’ll force him to make some mistakes.

The 49ers haven’t lost a game since October and are riding an 11-game winning streak. Backup Brock Purdy has been under center for the past six games, throwing 13 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Davis has been impressed with his development and poise since he replaced the injured Jimmy Garoppolo.

‘I said all we need is a quarterback who’s able to get the job done compared to 2020 when you didn’t have a guy who could score points, run the offense, do anything. And I was like, “Oh, we got it. We have a capable backup now. The team is fine.”

‘By the way. Purdy has shown some mobility. He has shown that he has been able to extend some plays. He doesn’t just hold the position. He is actually doing what you want done. You want the quarterback to make a few plays here and there.

‘This is not a quarterback-focused offense. But you do want the quarterback to make some plays.

‘This offense is not based on your quarterback dropping back 45 times and throwing for four 400 yards. It’s all about getting the ball into Aiyuk’s hands, Deebo’s hands and Kittle’s hands quickly. Let McCaffrey handle that outside area. He builds on it.

“From time to time, Brock has shown that he can extend the play, he can move, he can run for the first down. He can outrun a sack and still give it to a Mitchell and he can run it and score. So that’s what he’s brought to the position.

“It’s obvious he’s more athletic than Jimmy Garoppolo and that athleticism has added something defenses have to look at. And he’s competent at the job. So the confidence, the game, it’s just elevated what they were already doing.’

The 49ers defense ranks No. 1 overall, second against the run and No. 1 scoring, but 20th against the pass.

While the Niners allow an average of 77.7 rushing yards per game, the secondary has given up 223 yards per game.

Davis believes it’s the best defensive unit in the NFL today, but nowhere near the best in franchise history.

‘Not. Not well. It’s really good, but it’s not the best,” she says.

‘I played in some very good ones there. My 94 defense was very, very good. My 95 defense was very, very good. I mean, you know, the 84 defense was good. There have been some really good defenses there.

I know because we have all the Pro Football Focus and all this kind of stuff. Well, they didn’t record all those things when I was playing.

I’m going to go with my 94 defense – people don’t see that defense as one of the best defenses because of the stats. What they don’t take into account is that 8-10 games that season we weren’t even playing in the fourth quarter. The backups were messing around. We beat teams so much that our starters weren’t playing both sides of the ball!

‘Most of the time in the second half, we were getting 10 snaps and the subs were playing. So people look at the stats and say, “Well, this team didn’t give up that many yards or that many points.” Well, our games are half over. That’s how good we were!

‘So this is a great, great defense. This team isn’t as talented overall as some of the others. It’s great to have the opportunity to be great and they can put a stamp on their greatness and enter the discussion by winning a championship. You have to win a championship to even enter the discussion.

And Davis believes the current crop will do just that.

‘This is a special team. This is a Super Bowl roster. This is a Super Bowl team. They have all the elements in place, and I don’t see anything stopping them. I really don’t see it.

‘This is a champion team. So it’s going to be very difficult for them not to win it all. I just have to play the games.