Rams-Cowboys final score: Turnovers, offensive line issues plague LA in another loss

Coming off of an embarrassing loss on Monday Night Football against the 49ers, the Los Angeles Rams looked to bounce back with a big-time showdown against the Dallas Cowboys. The story of the week was how the offensive line would hold up following giving up 7 sacks last time out. Would the Rams get back on track with a win, or fall short for the second consecutive week?

Final score: Cowboys 22, Rams 10

They got off to quite possibly the worst start imaginable, giving up a sack on the third play of the game that resulted in a scoop and score for the Dallas defense. Following a botched extra point attempt, the Cowboys got out to an early 6-0 lead.

On the ensuing drive, the Rams offense would stall out around midfield, which then led to a blocked punt in which Dallas returned inside the red zone. The Los Angeles defense, however, would hold up, forcing the Cowboys to settle for three to make the score 9-0 in the 1st quarter.

Then, L.A. would finally have their first explosive play in a long, as Stafford connected with Tutu Atwell for a 58-yard gain. The drive would stall, forcing a Matt Gay field goal attempt to make the score 9-3 in the opening frame.

The Rams defense would then make a big play, as Aaron Donald got to Cooper Rush to force the first punt of the game for the Cowboys.

After a few punts by each team, the Rams would have yet another extremely explosive play, as Stafford hooked up with the best wide receiver in the league Cooper Kupp for a 75-yard touchdown to give the Rams their first lead off the ball game at 10-9 in the 2nd quarter.

On the ensuing Cowboys possession, the Cowboys would get a massive play of their own with a 57-yard touchdown by Tony Pollard to give Dallas the lead once again at 16-10 with 7:59 left in the first half.

After both offenses hit a lull, the Rams made a bold move by converting a 4th down after a fake punt inside their own territory, channeling their inner Coach Fassel who is the former special teams coach (now with the Cowboys).

However, the fake punt would result in nothing for the Rams, as they would end up stalling out and punting back to Dallas with :23 seconds left in the half. Dallas would run the clock out, and take a 16-10 lead heading into halftime.

Dallas came out and put together a nice drive to open the 3rd quarter, sparked by a huge 3rd down conversion where it looked like McVay could have challenged a questionable completed catch by Gallup where he may not have controlled the ball through contact with the ground. Even though Dallas moved the ball, the Rams D stepped up and forced a field goal, making the Cowboys lead 19-10 early on in the 3rd quarter.

There was no scoring from either side for the rest of the quarter, as the Cowboys took their 19-10 lead into the final frame of the contest. Following favorable field position the Rams would attempt a 51 yard field goal, which would result in the first miss of the season for Matt Gay, keeping the score 19-10.

The defense would give the offense yet another opportunity, but they failed to get a first down as they would be forced to punt once again. The Cowboys then took the air out of the, milking the clock with a series of run plays midway through the 4th quarter.

With a little less than six minutes left, the Cowboys would extend their lead to 22-10 with yet another Maher field goal, as the odds of winning for L.A. got as slim as ever.

Then, as the Rams tried to make a last ditch effort towards a win, Stafford would just throw up a heave that ended up getting picked off inside the red zone. Stafford took an absolute beating throughout the game, as he tried to make plays behind what has been the worst offensive line in the NFL thus far.

Following forcing a punt, the offensive would give up their 5th sack of the game, resulting in a fumble and sealing a Cowboys victory.

The San Francisco 49ers beat the Carolina Panthers, putting the Rams at 2-3 with the rest of the NFC West, behind the 3-2 49ers.