NEW YORK -- Jerry Rice thinks the world has a view of the San Francisco 49ers that is slightly askew.


"Everybody looks at us like we're the Pope or something like that," Rice said Thursday as the 49ers prepared for their showdown with the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, the feature matchup of this National Football League season. "They think of us as a finesse team. But if you treat us like that, we're going to fight back. It's time for the opponent to know that now."


Dallas is 8-1, the best record in the league, and has beaten the 49ers in the last two NFC championship games en route to winning the Super Bowl. San Francisco (7-2) has won the last four regular-season meetings at Candlestick Park.


Rice and Dallas cornerback Kevin Smith got into a scrape during pre-game warmups at the 1993 title game, and the heckling and shoving continued into the first quarter until Rice was flagged for a personal foul.


"You really don't let a team disrespect you," Rice said. "So you've got to go out and stand your ground. If you go out and if a team is trying to challenge you and you back down, hey, you've lost the battle already."


The winner of this battle has the inside track to the NFC title. However, two other strong contenders -- Minnesota and Philadelphia -- also have 7-2 records.


The Vikings are at New England this Sunday, while Philadelphia is at home against another 7-2 team, the Cleveland Browns.


Also, it's San Diego at Kansas City in an AFC West showdown; the Los Angeles Raiders play their local rivals, the Rams; the New York Jets are at Green Bay; Atlanta visits New Orleans; Arizona is at the New York Giants; Chicago goes to Miami; Houston is at Cincinnati; Seattle travels to Denver; and Tampa Bay visits Detroit.


Monday night, Buffalo is at Pittsburgh. Idle this weekend are Indianapolis and Washington.


But the big game, of course, is at San Francisco, where the footing could get slippery. Nearly eight centimeters of rain fell over the past week. There's a chance of scattered showers Friday and Saturday, giving way to fair weather by game time.


San Francisco coach George Seifert said a wet turf could benefit both offenses. "They have a big strong running game, big offensive linemen. They can kind of shove you around in a bad-footing game," Seifert said. "At the same time, it could slow down the pass rush. Our receivers know where they're going and you can have a heck of a throwing game."


The Vikings are riding high on offense and defense as they head to Foxboro Stadium. The Patriots have lost four straight. "This team looks like to me, right at this stage ... the best team we have played so far this year," New England coach Bill Parcells said.


The Vikings have the NFL's stingiest run defense and one of the most fearsome pass rushes. They're tied for third in the league in sacks and interceptions.