The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers have shared some truly unforgettable moments

The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers are slated for Sunday Night Football Week 5. These are two historic franchises with 10 Super Bowls, and even more bad blood, between them.

These teams have faced each other 39 times, and their all-time head-to-head record (including playoff games) is 19-19-1. For an eight-season stretch from 1988 to 1995, the 49ers and Cowboys combined to win six Super Bowls. They've met in the postseason a record nine times, with the Cowboys holding a 5-4 record in those pivotal meetings.

That said, the Niners have won each of their last two playoff meetings. This rivalry is about as close as it gets from an all-time standpoint. Here are some of the best moments.

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Terrell Owens celebrates on the Dallas star

NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens certainly knew how to rub people the wrong way with his iconic celebrations. Whether he was mimicking a mooning, signing the game ball with a pen in his sock, or eating a fan's popcorn, Owens always knew how to toe the line between fun and disrespectful...most of the time.

During a Week 4 matchup in 2000, Owens scored two touchdowns. After the first, he immediately ran to the 50-yard line and raised his arms on the Dallas star. That would've been bad enough. That star is sacred to the Cowboys and their fans. However, after his second touchdown, Owens doubled down, returning to the star and spiking it into the middle of the field. Unsurprisingly, he was hit and knocked over by Cowboys DB George Teague. The 49ers won the game 41-24, but Owens drew all the headlines.

The 1971 NFC Championship

Possessing the NFC's top offense, the 49ers were heavy favorites heading into the NFC Championship against Dallas. 49ers quarterback John Brodie won MVP that year, and surely, he and his Niners weren't going to lose to Dallas, right?

Dallas won the game 17-10, and many people consider that win to be the start of Dallas' dynasty era in the 70s. Without this win, perhaps the Cowboys never earn the "America's Team" moniker. This win also marked the beginning of a stretch of dominance for the Cowboys over San Francisco, winning six of their next seven matchups, including two in the playoffs.

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The Catch

The Niners had lost three straight postseason games against the Cowboys heading into the 1981 NFC Championship Game, and although the 49ers had dominated the Cowboys during their regular season meeting earlier in the year, 45-14, Niners fans were still uneasy about their team's ability to beat the Cowboys when it mattered most.

Sure, the 49ers were the reigning Super Bowl champs, but they didn't have to face the Cowboys during their first Super Bowl run. Cool Joe Montana didn't care who he was facing though, throwing for 286 yards and three touchdowns, including one in the final minute to Dwight Clark to put the Niners on top, where they would stay for the rest of the game.

To this day, some Cowboys fans hold on to the fact that Joe Montana ran out the back of his own endzone in celebration of the win with three seconds still left on the game clock. This is incorrect. The play was already dead. Montana had kneeled to start the play. Contrary to many salty Cowboys' fans beliefs, the referees didn't overlook a safety.

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The many star players to swap sides

With such storied, long-lived franchises, there's bound to be more than a few players to have played for both teams during their careers. However, the number of All-Pro players, Super Bowl champions, and elite talents to swap sides in their primes is astonishing.

Deion Sanders left the 49ers after just one season, a Super Bowl championship, and a Defensive Player of the Year Award. He joined the Cowboys and promptly earned another Super Bowl ring.

Terrell Owens, who I talked about earlier, didn't go straight to the Cowboys after eight years with the 49ers, but he did put up with 213 yards and a touchdown in his lone game against the 49ers in 2007.

Charles Haley was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the 49ers and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting for the team in 1990. He was traded to the Cowboys in 1992, and although Dallas made him swap from his natural linebacker position to the defensive line, Haley's production didn't stall. He won three Super Bowls in four years with Dallas and finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 1994.

Dak Prescott's infamous QB draw

To offer a more recent entry into this rivalry's long list of great moments, the 49ers and Cowboys faced off in Dallas during the 2021 NFC Wild Card Round. With 30 seconds left in the game, the Cowboys trailed 23-17, but had the ball at their own 20-yard line. After a couple quick plays, the Cowboys suddenly found themselves in Niners' territory with 14 seconds left. The odds were slim, but there was a chance.

Lo and behold, despite having no timeouts, Cowboys' head coach Mike McCarthy dialed up a quarterback draw. This was an inexplicable call. There was practically zero chance Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was going to scramble for 41 yards and a touchdown, and there was an even smaller chance that Prescott was going to get out of bounds to stop the clock. Unsurprisingly, the Cowboys couldn't get to the line of scrimmage in time to run another play.

The very next year, Dallas found themselves playing San Francisco in the playoffs again. On the last play of the game, with Dallas down 7, Mike McCarthy drew up a very odd play that had running back Ezekiel Elliott line up at center. Prescott threw an eight-yard stop route to KaVontae Turpin, which got blown up immediately. I'm not sure what forces McCarthy to pull out absolute nonsense in clutch moments, but it's clearly an epidemic in the Cowboys' locker room.

When do the Cowboys and 49ers play?

The game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara starts at 8:20 pm ET/5:20 pm PT. It will air on NBC and can be streamed on Peacock and Sling TV.

Odds:

The San Francisco 49ers (4-0) are home favorites for their Week 5 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys (3-1).

• Moneyline: Cowboys +145 | 49ers -175

• Spread: Cowboys +3.5 | 49ers -3.5

• Over/Under: 45

Niners-Cowboys: Odds, picks, and predictions

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Best all-time moments from Dallas Cowboys-San Francisco 49ers rivalry