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Wounded Cowboys have Niners Respect

By DENNIS GEORGATOS / AP Sports Writer

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Don't tell Rod Woodson the Dallas Cowboys are struggling. He says appearances can be deceiving.

"They're 4-4, but they're probably the best 4-4 team in the NFL," the San Francisco 49ers cornerback said Wednesday. "I think we know and everybody else knows that they're way better than that.

"A play here and a play there could turn their whole season around. They've lost four games by 12 points. They could be 8-0, easily."

Still, it hasn't worked out that way for the Cowboys, who head into Sunday's showdown against the NFC West-leading 49ers (7-1) with losses in three of their last four games.

"They're not scoring a lot of points right now and they've struggled in the red zone, but they've still got bigtime firepower offensively," defensive coordinator John Marshall said. "We haven't seen any kind of big change or panicking by them. They're still running the same stuff."

And the Cowboys still have Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin, although they're not enjoying the kind of offensive success that helped them to three Super Bowl wins in the 1990s.

Dallas ranks 19th in offense and is second to the last in touchdowns scored from inside the opposition's 20-yard line, reaching the end zone just nine times in 32 possessions (28 percent). In comparison, San Francisco has scored 19 TDs in 35 trips (54 percent) inside an opponents' 20-yard line.

"We've just failed to get the ball in the end zone," Aikman said. "That is frustrating. There's no question about it, especially considering play of our defense and special teams. We feel that offensively we've held this team back and we realize that in order for us to do what we want to do and go where we want to go, we've got to play better offensively."

It's just a matter of time before the Cowboys do just that, said safety Merton Hanks.

"You look at their personnel, you look at what they bring to the table, you just automatically assume they should be doing better," Hanks said. "Everybody's kind of looking for them to bust out. We're just trying to make sure it's not against us."

Hanks has a point.

The last two meetings between the Cowboys and 49ers have been won by the underdog.

In 1995, the 49ers were given virtually no chance to beat the surging Cowboys, but backup quarterback Elvis Grbac hit Jerry Rice with an 81-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the game and San Francisco pulled away for a 38-20 victory at Texas Stadium.

Last year, Dallas appeared on the brink of falling out of playoff contention, but rallied for a 20-17 overtime win at San Francisco to turn its season around.

"Rest assured, they will play their best game of the season and we must as well," San Francisco coach Steve Mariucci said. "We're going with the premise that they are a heckuva team in the red zone and that Aikman is going to be hot. We've got to be ready for their best shot."

Asked how the 49ers could be so sure the Cowboys would be at their best, Mariucci said, "Because it's us."