Steve Young, Tony Romo suggest Cowboys are not on the 49ers' level

The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers are two of the top teams in the NFC, but one is clearly closer to contending for a Super Bowl than the other.

Since 2018, Dallas has just two playoff wins and hasn’t made it past the divisional round of the playoffs, while San Francisco has six postseason wins along with three NFC Championship appearances and one Super Bowl appearance.

Oh, and the 49ers have eliminated the Cowboys from the playoffs each of the last two years. So, what is San Francisco doing right that Dallas is doing wrong? Well, if you ask former 49ers quarterback Young, it all seems to start at the top.

“The 49ers have a head coach who is as innovative as anybody in the league, at a time when the Cowboys last year are running 2015 plays and don’t have a chance,” Young said during a recent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. “Kyle [Shanahan] leans in and figures out ways to make it better for quarterbacks. So we’re ahead of the game already right there. And then we have as good a roster as anybody—it’s not perfect, but it’s as good as anybody.”

San Francisco has perhaps the deepest roster in the NFL with a top-five player at arguably eight positions (Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, Javon Hargrave, Fred Warner, Talanoa Hufanga.)

But aside from Dak Prescott, Tony Pollard, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons, the Cowboys don’t offer much in terms of playmakers and their roster doesn’t seem to stack up well compared to some of the NFC’s other top teams like the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, or the 49ers—a sentiment shared by ex-Cowboys QB Tony Romo.

“[The 49ers have] difference-makers who change the game, and you have to account for these guys when you go against them,” Romo told the San Francisco Chronicle. “When the 49ers overspend, I believe they’re doing it for the correct positions and the right guys.”