The Cowboys are walking into a brutal trench test this week against the 7-1 San Francisco 49ers, and the whole thing starts with one simple question: can Dallas keep Dak Prescott upright long enough to make the offense work?
That’s the challenge for a line that has been uneven in 2026. The Cowboys rank 8th in pass block win rate at 53%, but they’re 31st in run block win rate at 69%.
They’ve allowed pressure on 30% of dropbacks, which sits 15th, and they’ve given up 14 sacks, the fourth-most in the league. The encouraging sign is that the run game has started to find some life over the last three weeks.
San Francisco’s season numbers don’t jump off the page at first glance. The 49ers have only 15 sacks, which ranks 27th in the NFL. But that stat doesn’t tell the full story, because the front Dallas is about to see is not the same one that piled up those numbers earlier in the year.
Nick Bosa is back after missing five games with knee and calf injuries, and he wasted no time making an impact against Las Vegas. He played 39 defensive snaps and logged two pressures. San Francisco also brought DeForest Buckner back in a trade with Indianapolis, which changes the look of the entire front.
Bosa’s limited action this season has still been elite by the numbers. He owns an 89.6 overall PFF grade, and before the calf injury he had six pressures on just 41 pass-rush snaps while winning 20% of his rushes.
That puts Terence Steele in the spotlight again. Steele has a 58.6 PFF overall grade, which ranks 59th among 70 qualifying tackles, and before Indianapolis he had already allowed 17 pressures and two sacks.
Bosa moves around, so Tyler Guyton will see him too. Still, the matchup Dallas has to worry about most is Bosa lined up over Steele. If Steele can hold up in those one-on-one snaps, it opens the door for Dallas to be more aggressive on offense.
The 49ers also have a much more intimidating interior rotation now. Buckner has 21 pressures and six sacks, along with a 72.9 pass-rush grade.
San Francisco can pair him with former Cowboy Osa Odighizuwa, who had three pressures against Las Vegas last week and led all 49ers defenders with an 84.4 pass-rush grade. His season overall grade now sits at 51.6 after that game.
That creates a real problem for Dallas in the middle. The Cowboys have Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker at guard, with Cooper Beebe between them, and that group is arguably the strongest part of the line.
San Francisco is still going to test it. Buckner’s length lets him keep blockers off his frame, while Odighizuwa wins with quickness and knows plenty of the Cowboys linemen well after five seasons in Dallas.
Dallas cannot let pressure collapse from the inside while Bosa is coming off the edge. If that happens, Prescott won’t have anywhere to escape.
There is also a path for Dallas to attack this defense without trying to bully it on the ground. The 49ers are giving up only 81 rushing yards per game, second-best in the NFL, and 3.33 yards per carry, which ranks first. Over their last six games, opponents have averaged just 70.5 rushing yards and 3.1 yards per carry, and Las Vegas managed only 24 rushing yards at 1.6 per carry last week.
So instead of banging into that wall over and over, Dallas should lean into the screen game. San Francisco has allowed running backs to catch 6.8 passes per game, the most in the league. That gives the Cowboys a chance to use the 49ers’ aggression against them and turn those charging defenders into traffic going the wrong way.
Dallas can also make San Francisco prove it can actually finish the job. The 49ers looked more dangerous against Las Vegas, but they still didn’t record a sack.
Their sack rate is around 5%, which is 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 need to trust their protection and stay balanced.
If San Francisco sends four rushers, Dallas should be willing to protect with five instead of automatically keeping extra bodies in. That matters because the Cowboys need as many receiving options as possible against Fred Warner and a talented 49ers secondary.
The matchup of the week is obvious: Terence Steele against Nick Bosa. Steele just posted one of his better run-blocking games of the year against Indianapolis, earning an 81.7 PFF run-blocking grade, but the pass protection is still the issue.
Bosa doesn’t need a pile of sacks to wreck a drive. One quick pressure on third down can do the damage.
Steele’s job is simple to say and hard to pull off: keep Bosa outside.
If he can do that without constant help, Brian Schottenheimer can send tight ends into routes instead of leaving them in to chip and protect.
Dallas doesn’t need to try to overpower the NFL’s best run defense. That would play right into San Francisco’s hands.
The Cowboys should still run the ball, and Williams is coming off a big game while the line just turned in one of its better run-blocking efforts of the season. But this week calls for variety: screens, quick passes, counters and play-action.
Dallas has a lengthy injury report this week, but none of the starting offensive linemen are on it. Jake Ferguson’s injury situation is the biggest injury among potential blockers.
For San Francisco, the biggest confirmed 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.
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