Troy Aikman played 12 seasons for the Dallas Cowboys and won three Super Bowls with the team. The franchise has not been the same since his retirement, as they have not made the NFC Championship Game since the 1995 season.
In a recent appearance on “Pardon the Interruption,” Aikman was asked about which current NFL team he would have liked to play for. Surprisingly, he did not pick the Cowboys.
Troy Aikman Is an Admirer of Cowboys’ Rivals
Aikman picked the San Francisco 49ers as the current team he would have liked to play for. He praised head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense and talked about how their physical style makes them unique.
“The team that I’ve been a real admirer of here over the last several years is the San Francisco 49ers,” said Aikman. “I mentioned Kyle Shanahan’s offense; I love what he’s been doing in the league as an offensive coordinator; I love the way his teams play, I watched that game Sunday night against the Cowboys, and they just play a physical style of ball that you really don’t see it that much in today’s game.”
“It reminds me a lot of the teams that I was a part of in Dallas. I like their offense, the play-action game, the way they set up the run, and the pass. So I would probably go with the 49ers.”
The 49ers defeated the Cowboys 30-24 in Week 8. This was San Francisco’s fourth straight win over Dallas, as the NFC East franchise continues to struggle against their biggest rivals.
Shanahan has done a great job with the team, but the 49ers haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1995. They came close to winning it multiple times but ultimately fell short on the final hurdle. Despite that, the 49ers are in a much better situation than the Cowboys, and as long as Shanahan is their head coach, they’ll be a contending team in the NFC.
As for the Cowboys, they are likely to bring in a new head coach after this season, and nobody knows what impact that will have. Fans have continued to put pressure on owner/general manager Jerry Jones for the team’s constant failures, and it will be intriguing to see whether he will step down from the GM role.
49ers Need To Build on the Win Against the Cowboys
With the win against the Cowboys, the 49ers are now 4-4 on the season and have the joint-best record in the NFC West. They did have a slow start, largely due to the injuries to key players, but things are now aligning for the 49ers to go on a run.
San Francisco has a bye in Week 9 and could potentially get back Christian McCaffrey for their next game. The 49ers’ next five games are against:
- Week 10: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Week 11: vs. Seattle Seahawks
- Week 12: @ Green Bay Packers
- Week 13: @ Buffalo Bills
- Week 14: vs. Chicago Bears
Their fixtures are not easy, but based on what we’ve seen with them in the last few seasons, if healthy, the 49ers could roll through all these teams.
Rookie wideout Ricky Pearsall has looked good, and he will fill the void left by Brandon Aiyuk, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury. Having McCaffrey back will be the key, as Brock Purdy significantly plays better when he has the star running back alongside him.
The San Francisco QB is 19-5 in his career with McCaffrey on the team. In those 24 games, Purdy has thrown for 5,654 yards, 44 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions with a passer rating of 111.4.
San Francisco’s offense is currently averaging 26.3 points and 421.6 yards of total offense per game. These numbers will improve once McCaffrey returns, and the 49ers are still a force to be reckoned with.
