The 2020 NFL season has not gone either the Dallas Cowboys or San Francisco 49ers way, thanks in large part to a number of injuries to key players on each roster.

Dak Prescott and Jimmy Garoppolo have both missed the majority of the season. Star 49ers pass rusher Nick Bosa was sidelined for the rest of the year early on in the season, while the Cowboys have had to adjust without starting offensive tackles Tyron Smith and La'el Collins.

As a result, two teams that many expected to be playoff — if not Super Bowl — contenders this season, have struggled mightily. Heading into the week 15 matchup, the Cowboys sit at 4-9 and the 49ers hold a 5-8 record.

Both are all but out of the playoff picture and are looking forward to what the 2021 season brings — when their leader behind center is back in the fold. Andy Dalton and Nick Mullens have had their moments while replacing Prescott and Garoppolo, but both have also shown why they are backup quarterbacks.

The Cowboys are playing for a top draft pick.

If you are on Team Tank, your eyes will be glued to the television screen for this matchup. Although the Cowboys still do have an outside shot of winning the NFC East, the odds of that happening do not look very favorable at this point.

What the Cowboys do have the opportunity to do, though, is secure a top-5 draft selection over the last three weeks of the NFL season.

A top draft pick would allow the team to do one of two things: draft the best player on their board to bolster their talent level, or trade the pick to a quarterback-needy team for a haul of draft selections in return. In order for that to happen, Dallas must finish with a good enough for pick for teams to feel like they are in range to get one of the draft's top signal-callers.

A loss today, thanks to to the Los Angeles Chargers beating the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football, would go a long way in Dallas finishing in the top-5 of the 2021 NFL Draft order.

How to watch the game versus 49ers

TV: CBS

Announcers: : Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, Melanie Collins

Radio: 105.3 The Fan

Featured image via Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports