Cowboys Countdown To Kickoff: Top 100 Iconic Games – Day 86

It is Day 86 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff. We are looking back at the 100 most iconic games in Dallas Cowboys history. The countdown will leads us right up to the opening game of 2026. Our look back doesn’t depend on just one criteria for our rankings. We take into consideration things like how big the game was for the organization, how memorable the game was, games that had unusual events take place, games that are a part of NFL lore, Cowboys firsts, and games where the Cowboys just plain dominated. Variety is the spice of life and we have all different kind of Cowboys games to review. At the bottom, we’ll link each day of the countdown so you can go back and check out any you missed.

At Day 86 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff we revisit a modern-era road blowout that came at a much-needed time for Dallas. In 2017, the Cowboys entered their Week 7 trip to San Francisco at 2-3, coming off their bye week and trying to stop a two-game losing streak. The 49ers were winless, but road games are still road games, and Dallas turned this one into exactly the kind of get-right performance it needed. By the end, the Cowboys had piled up 501 total yards, 265 rushing yards, and a 30-point victory at Levi’s Stadium. 

Sunday, October 22, 2017 — 4:05 p.m. ET

Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California

Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 40, San Francisco 49ers 10

The tone was set almost immediately. San Francisco made an early special-teams mistake, and Dallas needed only a short field for Ezekiel Elliott to punch in a one-yard touchdown. A few minutes later, Elliott scored again, this time from 25 yards out, giving the Cowboys a 14-0 lead before the first quarter was even halfway over. Robbie Gould answered with a 42-yard field goal for the 49ers, but the game already felt tilted heavily toward Dallas.  

Dak Prescott stretched the lead in the second quarter with one of the day’s prettiest throws, finding Jason Witten for an 18-yard touchdown. The extra-point situation got weird from there, because Dan Bailey injured his groin and Dallas had to adjust on the fly. The Cowboys initially went for two and failed. 

The knockout came on Dallas’ first possession of the second half. Prescott dumped the ball to Elliott, and Zeke turned it into a 72-yard touchdown, racing away from the defense and effectively ending any suspense. Prescott added a two-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, and then found Dez Bryant for a two-yard score in the fourth. San Francisco finally reached the end zone on a C.J. Beathard four-yard run, but by then Dallas was already cruising.  

Elliott was the headliner, finishing with 147 rushing yards, 72 receiving yards, and three total touchdowns. His 219 yards from scrimmage were a career high at the time, and the performance came just days after a legal reprieve temporarily kept his NFL suspension on hold. Prescott was sharp as well, completing 16 of 25 passes for 234 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 134.0 passer rating.    

This game belongs on the countdown because it captured the 2016-17 Dak and Zeke era at full force. The opponent was struggling, but Dallas did what good teams are supposed to do to bad teams, jump on them early, run the ball down their throat, protect the quarterback, win the turnover battle, and never let the game get uncomfortable. It was not a classic thriller, but it was a reminder of how overwhelming the Cowboys could look when Elliott was rolling and Prescott was playing clean football.

Interesting Facts About the Game

Jeff Heath became one of the strangest side stories of the day. After Bailey’s groin injury, Heath handled kickoffs and made two of three extra points, including one that bounced off the upright and through. 

Countdown To Kickoff by day:

100, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 91, 90, 89, 88, 87