The Cowboys vs. 49ers rivalry in the ’90s was no joke. It was intense, personal, and at the center of it all were stars like Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders, arch rivals who defined that era.
Dallas had knocked San Francisco out in two straight NFC Championship games, but the 1994 season flipped the script. That year, the 49ers had something Dallas didn’t: Deion Sanders locking down at corner.
His arrival gave San Francisco the defensive edge they had been missing. When the two teams met in the NFC Championship for the third consecutive year, Deion’s impact was obvious, shutting down the Cowboys’ top receivers, disrupting timing, and forcing Troy Aikman to look elsewhere. It wasn’t just another game; it was the moment Deion tipped the balance and kept Dallas from pulling off a three-peat.
Deion Sanders Explains How He Stopped Cowboys’ Three-Peat
In the Netflix Docuseries, America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys, Deion Sanders went straight into the play that swung momentum away from Dallas.
The Cowboys were trailing 21-31 with six minutes left on the clock. If they had scored in that drive, they would have been only down three points, with a tie or a win in reach.
Deion remembered lining up against Michael Irvin, reading the route, and breaking the pass, which Irvin thought should have been a flag. That single pass breakup became the defining moment, killing a crucial drive and tilting the game toward San Francisco.
“Yeah. You’re darn right, I’m the reason. I’m the reason, the season, the treason. Whatever you want to rhyme it with, I’m It,” Deion said when asked if he was the reason the Cowboys didn’t three-peat.
He explained, “I knew they were gonna take a shoot. Instead of just running and looking up, I slipped because the field was horrible. But, you know, I got the Lamborghini in me, so I hit it.”
Michael Irvin, to this day, argues there should have been a flag. Deion didn’t hold back in response: “He always feels like that should have been a penalty because he’s Mike Irvin. But he forgot I was Prime.”
That play didn’t just send San Francisco to the Super Bowl; it cemented Deion as the difference-maker in the rivalry.
Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith Still Haunted by That Loss
Smith has never let go of that play. In the Netflix Docuseries, he called Deion Sanders’ infamous pass breakup a foul, saying that in today’s NFL, it would be ruled a pass interference without question.
The moment, which came in the 1994 NFC Championship, still eats at him nearly three decades later. “I don’t have f*cking peace. All I think about is that one play. Not a day goes by I don’t question myself on it,” Irvin admitted.
Emmitt Smith backed him up, recalling how costly that single snap was in keeping Dallas from a historic three-peat.
And if the same play happened today, the flag likely changes everything, maybe even NFL history itself. That’s the lasting debate fans and players still wrestle with.
Also Read: When the Dallas Cowboys Reduced Deion Sanders’ Signing Bonus Because Jerry Jones Felt Superstitious