Cowboys vs Rams: A More Even Matchup Than You Think
On Saturday night at 8 pm, Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys will travel to LA and look to dethrone the offensive juggernaut of the Los Angeles Rams. Even though the Rams are a 7-point favorite, the Rams are not as heavily favored as advertised. If anything, Dallas has just as good of a chance to win this game as the Rams do. Let’s look deeper into why I believe this.
Bye Week Problems
On a Monday night against the Chiefs, the Rams exploded offensively with a 54-51 win heading into the bye week. Since that game, the Cowboys are arguably playing better football than the Rams. Since the bye week, the Rams are 3-2, but all 3 wins are against teams under .500 and their two losses were against teams that made the playoffs (Bears, Eagles). Against these teams, they have averaged 14.5 points per game. Maybe good defenses can expose this offense, and Dallas has a top 5 defense in the NFL. For Dallas since Week 12, They are 4-1, but the wins are a lot more convincing such as the Saints at home and on the road against the Eagles. The only hiccup was a 23-0 loss to the Colts. In this stretch, Dallas also made a statement with a 24-22 win over Seattle, holding the top rushing offense in the NFL to under 100 yards to carry momentum into Saturday night.
Weakness vs. Weakness
What everyone is talking about is if Jared Goff and crew can put up points on a defense that is playing at its highest level and is hungry to dominate for the second straight week. What I think will make the difference in this game is whether the Rams can stop a resurgent Cowboy offense. For a team who has the league leader in sacks (Aaron Donald), the Rams defense has underachieved heavily this year. With high expectations because of the acquisitions of Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib, and Ndamukong Suh, this defense has not lived up to this. They are 24th in scoring, and probably the most important thing is they are 23rd in rush defense. This is not a good recipe when you have the name of Ezekiel Elliott running towards you. If Prescott keeps playing well and keeps coming up clutch, it could be a long day for this Rams defense and Dallas can run you to death and control the clock. On the other hand, Prescott is the second most sacked QB in the NFL (Deshaun Watson), and Aaron Donald leads the league with 20.5 sacks. Donald can create pressure on Dak and disrupt the running game and completely shut down the Cowboy offense by himself. I believe these “weaknesses” will be the deciding factor on Saturday night for who moves on to the NFC Championship.
Comparison
Cowboys (22nd) Points Rams (2nd)
Cowboys (23nd) Pass Yds Rams (5th)
Cowboys (10th) Rush Yds Rams (3rd)
Cowboys (6th) Points (Def) Rams (20th)
Cowboys (5th) Rush Yds Allowed Rams (23rd)
Cowboys (13th) Pass Yds Allowed Rams (14th)
Prediction
Cowboys 31
Rams 30
Jared Goff gets picked off by Jaylon Smith on an attempt to win the game and the Cowboys seal it.
By Richie Dordas