A Rams win in Dallas could set the table for rest of 2017

When the Los Angeles Rams play the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Sean McVay will have an opportunity to solidify his team as a player not just in the NFC West, but the league as a whole.

Los Angeles Rams fans can lay claim to maybe having the best team in the NFC West today. A win on Sunday in Dallas means they have a team who may be a legitimate threat to make the playoffs, ending a long drought for the franchise.

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The Cowboys become a measuring stick of sort for the Rams. In three games, we’ve seen a team growing in confidence on offense, and looking lost and beat up on defense. Against San Francisco, the track meet ended with a win for LA, but exposed what looks to be a an issue when a D that can’t stop anyone.

You know quarterback Jared Goff would love to have his last play back from the Redskins game. Had he driven the Rams downfield for a tying score, and maybe even a win, he’d be looking down the barrel at going 2-0 against the NFC East.

1-1 wouldn’t be bad, either.

Since the schedule came out, Dallas looked to be a sure loss. But three games in, you like the Rams having a punchers chance. LA won’t get much love, if any, from an NFL media who typically fawn over Jerry and his boys, but if the game against the Niners is any indication, Goff and head coach Sean McVay can hang in so long as time is on the clock.

Make no mistake, as good as they Rams have been on offense, Wade Phillips needs to get it right on defense, beginning this week. The fortuitous stop by Aaron Donald aside against the Niners, they have been the weak link. For LA to have a shot on Sunday, McVay needs to not hope to score 41 and then hang on.

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That might work against a rebuilder in San Francisco.

But that don’t play in Dallas. If LA gets this right, count on it being a springboard to bigger and better as 2017 rolls on.