5 winners, 4 losers in Rams victory over Cowboys in preseason opener

(4) - Winner: TE Miller Forristall

He only hauled in three of three passes thrown his way for 20 yards, but with time running out and the team trailing by six points, backup tight end Miller Forristall proved up to the task. While his opportunities in this one were limited, no player made more of a few targets and offensive snaps as the deeply buried Forristall. And his performance was such that he could be moving up on the depth chart, if only slightly.

He did not appear in the game until the fourth quarter. And he was only thrown to three times. But despite late and few chances, Miller Forristall made the best of his opportunities. Like WR Xavier Smith, he caught every pass thrown his way, and advanced the football 20 yards. But when time was running out, and the game was on the line, he got separation and gave his struggling quarterback a huge open target in the back of the end zone for the game's only touchdown.

He was clutch for an offense that had plenty of young players step up.

(3) - Loser: IOL Mike McAlister

If it was a case of the jitters, crowd noise, or simply mental mistakes, the performance of Mike McAlister after taking over for injured center Beaux Limmer can be coached out of him. But he was flagged twice in the game after the offense made significant positive yards on plays. And thos penalties were silly mental errors.

It may be that McAlister was not scheduled to appear on the offensive line. After all, Beaux Limmer was doing a fantastic job at the center position. Not only were there solid running lanes opening up, but the pass blocking created almost too good of a pocket, as Bennett always seemed to make his best throws when on the run and forced to move the pocket.

But McAlister was penalty-prone in this one. He was a center who was flagged for a false start, something that the guy hiking the football should never do. And he was flagged for offensive holding. When you hear an offensive lineman's name in a game, it's usually not a good thing. We heard Mike McAlister's name twice.