“Sunday Night Football” in Week 8 will see two 2023 playoff teams match up in each team’s third prime-time game. One team is coming off of a bye week after a brutal Week 6 loss, while the other just lost its chance to exact its vengeance on its Super Bowl opponent.
The Dallas Cowboys will try not to fall back under .500 for a second time this season after a 47-9 home loss to the Detroit Lions before their bye.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers are battling to get back to .500 after a 28-18 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl.
Both teams are currently sitting in third place in their respective divisions after 12-win seasons just one year ago. Their disappointing early returns set up the Week 8 “Sunday Night Football” clash as an important matchup for each of the two teams.
Here’s what to know for tonight’s “Sunday Night Football” game:
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Two teams that had 12 wins and playoff berths last year will face off on this week’s edition of “Sunday Night Football.”
The 49ers are just one year removed from an NFC title and one week removed from a loss to the Chiefs in a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl. To make matters worse, San Francisco lost both of its top two receivers in the Week 7 loss.
Deebo Samuel was unable to play a full game through his bout of pneumonia, and he needed to spend a day in the hospital for treatment. He was released from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
In the same game, Brandon Aiyuk suffered a knee injury when he took a hit after making a catch during the second quarter against the Chiefs. An MRI the next day confirmed the 49ers’ worst fears: the receiver tore his ACL and MCL and is done for the season.
No. 3 wide receiver Jauan Jennings was also battling a hip injury and missed the Week 7 game. Going forward, the 49ers hope to get Jennings back for Week 8 and will have to lean on him and rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall in the passing game.
They’ll face the Cowboys in Week 8. Dallas is two weeks removed from an abysmal showing on both sides of the ball against the Lions. Dallas hopes to be fresh coming out of a bye week and can flush the 47-9 loss to Detroit with a win in Santa Clara.
The Cowboys risk falling back under .500 for a second time after starting the year 1-2, thanks to losses to the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens.
Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is on pace for a fourth straight 1,000-yard season, and quarterback Dak Prescott is set to throw for the second-highest yards total in his career. However, Prescott is also on pace for a new career high in interceptions (17).
That has not helped take pressure off a Dallas defense near the bottom of the league in offensive yards allowed and the second-worst scoring defense in the NFL. Only the Carolina Panthers (34.7) have allowed more points per game than the Cowboys’ 28.0.
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“Sunday Night Football” will kick off at its standard start time, 8:20 p.m. ET, barring another weather delay.
Once again, Mike Tirico will handle play-by-play duties during the game, with Cris Collinsworth providing color commentary and Melissa Stark reporting from the sidelines during Cowboys vs. 49ers.
NBC’s weekly “Football Night in America” pregame show will begin at 7 p.m. ET and feature insight from a panel of analysts, including Maria Taylor, Jason Garrett, Chris Simms, Mike Florio, Devin McCourty, Tony Dungy, and more.
For the 2024 NFL season, NBC will broadcast “Sunday Night Football” weekly.
Fans who prefer to stream football games can watch “Sunday Night Football” with a Peacock subscription or with Fubo, which offers a seven-day free trial.
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