The Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers continues a rich playoff tradition.

SANTA CLARA, CA (CBSDFW.COM) — Things don’t get much better at the divisional playoff weekend; The two most traditional NFL franchises have converged for a record ninth time in the playoffs.

These two teams are the highest scoring teams in the league in the last 11 weeks and two of the top five scoring defenses in the league this year. The Cowboys have averaged 33 points per game since Duck Prescott returned from injury, while the 49ers have averaged 31 points per game since the mid-season trade for Christian McCaffrey.

But what makes this game the most intriguing is the playoff rivalry that spans over half a century and coincides with the greatest eras of each of these franchises. The Cowboys beat the 49ers in the playoffs three consecutive years in the 70s, leading to their first two Super Bowl appearances in 1970 and 71. the last two minutes to a 30-28 victory in San Francisco in 1972.

Dwight Clark swam over Everson’s walls to play “The Catch”, one of the iconic games in league history, as San Francisco came from behind to beat Dallas in the 1981 NFC championship game, leading to San Francisco’s first of four Super Bowl victories . in the 80s.

And then Jimmie Johnson coached the Cowboys to two consecutive conference victories over San Francisco in the 90s. With these victories, Jimmy popularized the phrase “What about those cowboys.” Before the 1993 title match, he called Randy Galloway’s radio show on WBAP radio and loudly declared, “We’re going to win the ball game! You can put it in three inch headlines! We’ll win the game!”

In the first year that Barry Switzer replaced Jimmy, the Cowboys lost to the 49ers in the ’94 Championship Game after flipping the ball three times and trailing 21-0 in the first five minutes of a 38-28 loss.

And now, nearly 30 years later, the Cowboys and Niners meet for the second straight year in the postseason after Deebo Samuel and San Francisco showed off at AT&T Stadium and beat Dallas 23-17 last January.