The Los Angeles Rams will travel to Arlington, Texas, to take on the Dallas Cowboys in a game with big-time playoff implications. The Rams are currently in third place in the toughest division in the NFC, while the Cowboys are in first place in the weakest division.
The Rams are looking to sneak into a Wild Card spot while the Cowboys are trying to secure the NFC East and their place in the playoffs. Los Angeles is 8-5, while Dallas enters this week with a 6-7 record.
Starting To Click
Aside from a loss to the Ravens, the Rams’ defense has seemed to catch its stride lately. Since their trade for star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, the Rams have been leading the league in multiple defensive categories. The Dallas offense has been going in the opposite direction, and this will not be an easy game to get it turned around.
Leading the Rams on offense is quarterback Jared Goff. After making it to the Super Bowl last year, Goff seems to be having a bit of a Super Bowl hangover. He is still putting up a lot of yards, and the Rams offense has got back on track lately, but in November, Goff threw five interceptions and zero touchdowns.
Goff has thrown for 3,712 yards this season, putting him fourth in the NFL. He also has 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. In their last two wins, he has seemed to be back on the rise with 717 total yards and four touchdowns, beating the Seahawks and the Cardinals.
While Cooper Kupp is leading the team at wide receiver with 77 catches for 990 yards and seven touchdowns, the Rams have a three-headed monster at wide receiver with Kupp, Robert Woods, and Brandin Cooks. The Cowboys will have to do what they can to get to Goff and avoid the Rams from spreading the ball around as they do so well.
Super Slump
The Cowboys are sitting at 6-7 this season despite having one of the better rosters in the NFL. To say their season has been up and down would be a massive understatement. They started off winning their first three games of the season but have only won three more since then.
While the Rams have been trending upward over their past two games, Dallas has lost its last three. In their defense, the Cowboys had to play three of the toughest defenses in the league in the previous three weeks in the Bears, Patriots, and Bills.
Leading the Cowboys on offense this season has been quarterback Dak Prescott. With 4,122 yards, Prescott leads the league; he has also thrown for 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The Cowboys would love to get back on track against the Rams, but they will have to get the job done against guys like Aaron Donald and Ramsey.
Two guys that have been held in check recently for the Cowboys are Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper. Elliott has not produced a 100-yard game in their last five weeks, while Cooper was completely shut down against the Patriots and will be lining up with Ramsey this week.
The key to this game will be for the Cowboys to find a way to get their stars on offense back to producing. The Rams have given up a lot on defense overall this season, but recently have been playing much better, so this should be an interesting matchup to watch.
What To Expect
I do think the Cowboys will settle in at home and get their offense back on track. With that being said, I don’t know that they will be able to score consistently, and with Leighton Vander Esch still missing in the middle of the Dallas defense, I believe the Rams pull away from the Cowboys and get the win this week.
