Game Preview: Dallas Cowboys vs St. Louis Rams
By Jeff Magnia
The Dallas Cowboys will try to bounce back after dropping a close game to the Kansas City Chiefs, 17-16. The Cowboys next put themselves to the test against the St. Louis Rams this coming Sunday at 12 PM CST as FOX will air the game between two teams that are eerily similar.
Sep 15, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) hands off to running back DeMarco Murray (29) during the first half of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
The Rams lost last weekend to the Atlanta Falcons, 31-24. The running game of the Rams didn’t get off of the ground as Daryl Richardson gained 35 yards. The Cowboys had similar problems as Demarco Murray gained a measly 25 yards. Richardson gained his yardage from 10 carries while Murray had 12 chances at carrying the ball.
The running game was pretty much abandoned towards the end of the game as both quarterbacks threw over 40 times. Dallas’ Tony Romo threw 30 completions from 42 attempts with 298 yards while Rams signal caller, Sam Bradford threw 32 completions from 55 attempts for 325 yards. WR Chris Givens of the Rams caught 5 passes to lead with 105 yards. Dez Bryant had a big day as he caught 9 receptions for 141 yards. Both offenses averaged about 30:00 with the ball and still came up short in both respective games. In both losses, the two teams couldn’t even combine for 100 yards rushing. The Rams and Cowboys are both struggling with their running games on the offensive side of the ball.
St. Louis had one turnover and that didn’t hurt them as much as the two the Cowboys committed as Lance Dunbar had a fumble in the third quarter that led to an early 4th quarter Ryan Succop field goal from the same drive. The other turnover was late in the game as Romo was back to pass and then was hit while trying to setup to pass. The ball fell to the ground as well did any chance of getting back into the game. The Chiefs may have had to punt a couple of times but the unsung hero of the game was their punter, Dustin Colquitt. Colquitt pinned the Cowboys offense twice late in the game to give them horrible field position. The last punt landed on the 2-yard line of Dallas and pretty much sealed the games fate. Romo backed up to pass and ended throwing a little dump off pass to Murray as the game came to a close.
Defensively, the Rams allowed 393 yards to the Falcons. Rams front seven did very well against the run as they allowed backup running backs Jacquizz Rodgers and Jason Snelling a combined 36 yards while starter Steven Jackson sat out before halftime with a thigh injury. Jackson didn’t even register a run in the game but still managed to catch a touchdown pass from 8 yards out. The Cowboys allowed 114 yards rushing as quarterback Alex Smith was the leading rusher while running the lead option offense. He gained 57 yards while featured back , Jamaal Charles logged in 55 yards.
The Rams rank better offensively in the passing department with over 600 yards passing and a placement of 4th among all NFL teams. Dallas doesn’t even crack the top 15 as they sit ranked 16th in the NFL with 525 yards passing. The Rams and Cowboys mirror each other in the running game as the Rams rank 25th while the ‘boys rank right behind them tied at 26th. Twelve yards separate these two miserable running teams. Defensively, Dallas ranked 30th despite having 6 turnovers a week ago. They improved to 25 with getting no turnovers. Despite that fact, Dallas still remains in the top 3 at number 2. The Rams defense isn’t much better as they are one step ahead at number 24 overall. Against the run, St. Louis is hard to run against as they rank 6th. Dallas is behind them 5 spots over at 11th. The Cowboys rank 24th in the pass defense department and the Rams are 27th. If Romo can remember to throw the ball to the team with the silver helmets, we shouldn’t have a bad day passing. On the other side of the coin, ditto for Bradford.
It looks like the Cowboy running game will have to wait another week as Demarco Murray would love to repeat his record breaking rushing yards from 2011 but sorry big guy, this isn’t 2011 and you are not a rookie anymore. Murray hasn’t had the production he is expected, in his defense he does have to get the ball more if he is expected to put up the numbers to balance out the passing attack. Bill Callahan needs to implore a philosophy of use the pass to set up the run. Defensively, we are giving up way too many passing yards. Bradford is going to have field day meanwhile the Ram rushing offense is going to be just like the Cowboys. It will have to wait another week for a breakout running performance. The Cowboys can win this game depending on which defense shows up as the offense has shown one consistency this season, it’s inconsistency. If we see the defense from week one that terrorized the New York Giants with 6 turnovers then we will see this game as a 13 point victory. Otherwise, we play another close game that will have the fans at the end of their seats and Dallas wins 17-14 with a Dan Bailey field goal with time expiring.