FRISCO, Texas — Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer watched the last few minutes of the New York Giants’ 24-21 loss to the Washington Commanders on Thursday night, and he said Friday that he loved seeing New York lose before the Dallas Cowboys host the 7-1 San Francisco 49ers.
The loss at MetLife Stadium dropped the Giants to 5-3-1. New York still leads the NFC East, and Dallas sits second at 4-5.
Schottenheimer spoke before Friday’s practice at The Star in a press conference the Cowboys streamed on YouTube.
On Wednesday, Schottenheimer talked about embracing the challenge of a good opponent. He went back to that Friday when the Giants game came up.
“We’re excited about the opportunity,” Schottenheimer said. “I think I talked about earlier on Wednesday, embrace the challenge of playing a really good opponent. They’re a really good opponent. I saw the last few minutes of the Giants game last night and loved seeing them take the loss. But we got to handle our business and be a good challenge for us against a really good 49ers team.”
How The Giants Lost On Thursday Night
Washington won on a late touchdown. The Commanders also swept the season series with New York, which gives them the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Giants, The Washington Informer reported.
In the fourth quarter, a Giants kickoff landed near the sideline around the 5-yard line. Commanders returner Luke McCaffrey let it bounce, stepped out of bounds, and then picked it up. Officials flagged New York for a kickoff out of bounds, and Washington started at its own 40, NBC Sports’ ProFootballTalk reported.
Schottenheimer On The 49ers Challenge
Beating San Francisco will take a good game from Dallas, Schottenheimer said, and he pointed to the 49ers’ record.
“We embrace the challenge of playing a really good football team, and we have to play well to beat them,” Schottenheimer explained. “Their record proves that. They’re 7-1 for a reason. They’ve won a lot of close games, and again, be another great step for us.”
“Because I do think that, again, the challenge that they bring is really on all three fronts,” Schottenheimer continued. “And so this is going to be one of those games where you really have to play well in all three phases.”
Later in the press conference, Schottenheimer described what the 49ers want to do with the ball, and he called their defensive front elite.
“It’s going to be a very physical football game,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s a very physical football team coming in here that wants to run the football, pound the ball, get the ball on the perimeter, and then on defense, obviously their front seven is elite.”
Dallas won 27-23 at Indianapolis on Nov. 8, one week after an overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Kickoff Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington is 3:25 p.m. CT on Fox.
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