COWBOYS AND NINERS STAGE BIG SHOWDOWN TODAY AT CANDLESTICK

   The teams widely regarded as the best in football stage a showdown
   today when the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys
   meet the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park.
   
   The Cowboys have beaten San Francisco in each of the last two NFC
   Championship games en route to Super Bowl victories over Buffalo. The
   Cowboys also defeated the 49ers in a regular season game last year at
   Dallas.
   
   The 49ers have allowed a total of 94 points in their last three games
   against Dallas. San Francisco head coach George Seifert, painfully
   aware of his team's inability to stop the Cowboys' high-powered
   offense, added former Dallas linebacker Ken Norton, All-Pro cornerback
   Deion Sanders, veteran defensive end Richard Dent and numerous other
   defensive players in an effort to stop the Cowboys.
   
   Sanders will likely be used to cover Dallas star receiver Michael
   Irvin. Norton will be counted on to help contain Cowboys' star running
   back Emmitt Smith, who is gunning for his fourth straight NFL rushing
   title.
   
   The game also matches San Francisco's league-leading offense against
   Dallas' number one-rated defense. The 49ers have scored an NFL-best
   274 points while the Cowboys have allowed a league-low 254.1 yards per
   game and 120 points, the league's second-lowest total. San Francisco's
   average of 30.4 points per game puts it on pace to score 487 points
   for the season.
   
   San Francisco's Steve Young is the top-rated quarterback in the NFL
   with a 101.8 rating followed by Dallas' Troy Aikman with a 97.8
   rating.
   
   San Francisco's Jerry Rice, the NFL's all-time leader in touchdowns,
   has 52 receptions for 771 yards and eight touchdowns this season.
   
   Dallas enters today's game with a six-game winning streak and the best
   record in the NFL at 8-1. The 49ers have won four straight and lead
   the NFC West with a 7-2 record.
   
   The winner will emerge with the advantage for the home field
   throughout the NFC playoffs. The teams have made 11 trips to the Super
   Bowl between them and each has won the game four times. So this year
   both are going for an unprecedented fifth Super Bowl title, and the
   Cowboys for an unmatched third consecutive Super Bowl win.
   
   "The world will be watching this game," said 49ers guard Jesse Sapolu.
   "I don't know if there will be a bigger one all season long."
   
   Since 1979, the Cowboys and Niners have made 13 NFC championship game
   appearances.