Cowboys Rout Rams

In the end, it didn’t much matter whether the Cowboys elected to kick or defer.

Beyond coin-toss drama that proved much ado about nothing, the Cowboys left few aspects of the game up for the debate in a 44-21 win over the Rams.

The win marked Dallas’ first victory all season over an opponent with a winning record. It was also their first win in a month.

Credit offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s play calling finding more success than Sean McVay’s, a healthier Cowboys defense playing the best it had in weeks, a new kicker making all his kicks and the Cowboys run game exploding in a manner similar to the way the Rams’ runners did when Dallas lost to Los Angeles in the divisional round of the playoffs in January.

The Cowboys returned to .500 and sit atop the NFC East with the Eagles, who also are now 7-7. The teams face off next week.

The Cowboys were able to accomplish something on Sunday that they haven’t been able to accomplish all season. They finally beat a team with a record above .500.

Although the Los Angeles Rams have struggled a bit themselves this season, they have played really well across their last two games. The Rams won both contests while also looking like the far superior team against a really good Seattle Seahawks in Week 14.

Either way, you couldn’t tell on Sunday as the Cowboys defense refused to let them get anything going on offense, while never letting off the gas themselves on offense.

In a previous post, I mentioned three things at the forefront of thought heading into this game. These three things were quarterback Dak Prescott‘s finger, whispers of balance surrounding the offensive approach, and the team playing like they wanted it. All three were addressed in Sunday’s win.

Prescott was his usual self, and it didn’t seem as though the finger was a huge issue. The offensive approach was as good as it’s been this season, mixing in good amounts of passes, runs, and gadget plays.

The entire team played like they wanted it, but the defense did especially. They were swarming, attacking the ball, and they even had the audacity to force a turnover on Sunday. Linebacker Sean Lee played especially well, coming up with a huge pick near the end of the first half that led to a Cowboys’ score.

This win against the Rams takes them both to records of 7-7 though, where the winner of next week’s game should win the NFC East Division. The Cowboys would win due to owning the head to head tiebreaker, but if they split the head to head matchups, the Eagles own the next tiebreaker. With all that in mind, if this version of America’s Team shows up next Sunday against the Eagles, they can beat anybody.