LA Rams Sunday Night Football Game Recap vs. the Dallas Cowboys

LA Rams Sunday Night Football Recap against the Dallas Cowboys

If you thought that the Dallas Cowboys were the better team before the Sunday Night Football kickoff, you were among most of the NFL fans polled before the game. For months leading up to tonight’s game, Rams fans had to endure the constant buzz surrounding the Cowboys coming off an 8-8 season.  With head coach Mike McCarthy taking over, the Cowboys were mentioned as Super Bowl contenders this year all the way until kickoff.

Of course, the two last teams to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl were the San Francisco 49ers in 2019, and the LA Rams in 2018. So what did the buzz about the NFL have to say about the LA Rams?  Well, to say that the consensus was neither kind nor optimistic would be lying.  Most projected the Rams to fall even further in 2020, ending up in the NFC West basement with no more than 6-8 wins.

SoFi Spectacle

The LA Rams needed to do three things in the season opener. The offensive line needed to prove that they were better than in 2019. The defense needed to find a way to harness Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott to under 100 yards. Finally, the Rams needed a way to improve the passing results in the red zone.

Well, two out of three ain’t bad.  The Rams offensive line did get some push for the running game. And the Cowboys were forced to use a series of blitzes to get pressure on Jared Goff. The defense was surprisingly stout in run defense. Seriously. Amazing. The Rams held Elliott to under 100 yards, and the entire Cowboys rushing offense to just 136 yards.  The only blemish to the Rams was their inability to score with their passing attack.  Goff moved the ball up and down the field but never threw a pass for a touchdown.

Final Score

The LA Rams won the game by just a three-point margin.  However, it was the Cowboys who were favored in the game by as much as three points. For the Cowboys, RB Ezekiel Elliott scored both touchdowns – one rushing and one passing. The Rams countered with two touchdowns by RB Malcolm Brown, both on the ground.  Believe it or not, the difference in this game was the leg of rookie kicker Sam Sloman, who kicked two of three field-goal attempts.   The visiting Cowboys kicker, former Rams Greg Zuerlein, was only good on one of his two attempts.

The stars of the game for the Cowboys offense had to be veteran running back Malcolm Brown, whose 79 yards and two touchdowns rushing combined for 31 yards receiving.  For the defense? A tremendous stop by rookie safety Jordan Fuller late in the game changed the momentum. The Rams were hanging on to a small lead and his stop helped the Rams get the ball back.

The 1-0 Rams now travel to the East Coast to take on the 0-1 Philadelphia Eagles, while the Dallas Cowboys play host to the 0-1 Atlanta Falcons.