Los Angeles Rams At Dallas Cowboys: 5 Players Revisited

This Los Angeles Rams team is...fun. The Rams went into Dallas and came back to win 35-30 after being down 24-13 towards the end of the first half. This Rams team is...good. There were many great individual performances and one on one matchups against the Dallas Cowboys.

Lets revisit my five Rams to watch and five Cowboys to watch:

QB Jared Goff

Goff remains a steady presence at QB. He again played at a high level against Dallas even though the numbers weren't eye popping. Goff’s best throw of the day may have been the 53 yard TD pass to Todd Gurley on the same exact play design as the Kansas City Chiefs used against the New England Patriots in the season opener, hitting Gurley in perfect stride. Goff finished 21 of 36 with 255 yards, 2 TDs and no interceptions.

DE Demarcus Lawrence

Lawrence was the NFL sack leader heading into the game and the Rams weren’t able to stop him, although they limited his production primarily to just a handful of plays. It’s no coincidence the Rams were able to mount the comeback after they figured out how to keep Lawrence in check. Credit to Rob Havenstein and the Rams offensive coaches. In what could have been a worse day for Rams, Lawrence finished with 4 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFLs, and 2 more QB hits while adding a forced fumble.

CB Trumaine Johnson

It was a pretty typical day for Johnson matching up with a teams top WR, winning and losing his fair share of one on one matchups. Early on the Cowboys targeted Tru by throwing to Dez Bryant and Dallas was able to connect on some big pass plays. Bryant ultimately finished with 5 catches for 98 yards on 13 targets but wasn’t a big factor in the 2nd half. Johnson finished the day with 4 tackles and 1 pass defensed.

QB Dak Prescott

Prescott is a bad man. Dak showed off his arm, his legs, and his strength all throughout the day against the Rams and had to fight through his own receivers dropping passes as the game went on. Prescott was sacked twice but avoided a handful of others, one in particular where he threw off a big Aaron Donald hit, was a very rude display of grown man strength. Prescott couldn’t do quite enough to get the Cowboys a win but still finished 20 of 36 for 252 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT. He also added 25 yards rushing on 3 attempts.

DT Michael Brockers

Brockers came to play in Dallas. One of his most effective games to date, Brockers provided a little bit of everything against the Cowboys. Brockers got the Rams first sack early in the game to force a FG on a drive where the Cowboys marched right down the field. Later, Brockers forced the aforementioned Prescott INT when he hit the QB as the ball was being released, allowing Mark Barron to pick it off. Brockers final stat line was full with 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 2 batted balls, and 2 more QB hits.

TE Jason Witten

After starting the first two weeks off hot, Witten was a total non factor against the Rams. Witten wasn’t able to find open spaces in the Rams defense and as a result only saw two targets all game, catching 1 for 9 yards. His TE counterpart, James Hanna, got free on a busted coverage for a 28 yard touchdown catch but altogether the Cowboys TEs combined for just those 2 receptions.

WR Robert Woods

Woods had a quite day after a semi breakout against San Francisco last week. Woods looked to have finally gotten his first TD catch in the 2nd quarter but it was ruled incomplete after a booth review (he caught it). To start the 4th quarter, Woods and Goff connected for 19 yards on a 3rd and 11 and that’s all we really heard from Woods on the day, finishing with 2 catches for 17 yards on 6 targets.

LB Jaylon Smith

With LB Sean Lee ruled out for the game, Smith had to step up for the Cowboys defense. Smith had a busy day in the boxscore but still doesn’t look totally right after his previous knee injury. Todd Gurley was able to have a big day through the air and none of the Boys’ LBs really had an answer. Smith finished the day with 10 total tackles and added 1 QB hit.

DE Aaron Donald

Donald also had a nice game even if he wasn’t able to produce any sacks. He and Brockers led the Rams second half charge and were a big reason the defense was able to settle in after a shaky first half. Donald was able to force pressure on Dak Prescott and was robbed of a sack fumble when Dak displayed very rude super human strength. Donald finished the day with 2 tackles, 1 TFL and 2 QB hits as he continues to round back into superstar form.

RB Ezekiel Elliott

Elliott and Todd Gurley put on a show yesterday. Elliott didn’t quite have the stamina that Gurley showed in putting his team on his back but Elliott showed his 2016 ability once again. Zeke totaled 25 total touches for 139 yards from scrimmage and 2 TDs. It looked to be a long day for the Rams defense as Elliott had just under 100 yards from scrimmage in the first half. Thankfully the Rams defense was able to contain Elliott for the rest of the game.