Five Dallas Cowboys to watch against the Rams
By Tim Kohut
The 2-1 Dallas Cowboys will face an intriguing test this Sunday against the 2-1 Los Angeles Rams at AT&T Stadium in Week Four.
The Dallas Cowboys are riding high after a dominating second-half performance against the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night football. With another NFC West opponent coming to town in the L.A. Rams, several Cowboys players will need to step up against the young, physical football team.
Here are five players to watch during their Sunday afternoon matchup.
Maliek Collins
Maliek Collins isn’t putting up as gaudy numbers as fellow pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence, but the second year defensive tackle is still proving why he’s one of the best young players at his position. Lawrence himself has credited Collins’ inside pressure as a big reason why he’s gotten off to a scorching start, and his dominant interior play will be evident once again against the Rams.
Jourdan Lewis
Jourdan Lewis has been far from perfect thus far, but he’s beginning to emerge as one of, if not the best player from the Cowboys’ 2017 draft class. With an interception against Denver, and several nice plays in the open field against Arizona, Lewis is starting to get his legs underneath him after missing most of training camp. Look for the rookie to have his most complete game of the season this Sunday against the Rams.
Brice Butler
Brice Butler proved he could be a legitimate deep threat for the Cowboys last year, and proved to his coaches he deserves more snaps within the offense. With a good rapport with Dak Prescott, as well as the physical tools to stretch the field, Butler should provide the Cowboys with another solid outing versus L.A.
DeMarcus Lawrence
It’s pretty tough to exclude a guy who’s been historically dominant throughout the first three games of the season. Andrew Whitworth continues to prove he’s one of the best left tackles in the league for the Rams, but Lawrence should be primarily matched up against a below-average right tackle in Rob Havenstein. He’ll continue his streak of dominance against Havenstein, or whoever the Rams might throw at the pass rushing phenom.
Next: Wade Phillips on Dak Prescott: I don’t see any flaws
Ezekiel Elliott
Ezekiel Elliott bounced back against the Cardinals after a dreadful Week 2 performance against the Broncos. While his 80 rushing yards still remained the third-lowest total of his career, he still managed to churn out yards when it really mattered in the second half. Credit offensive coordinator Scott Linehan for sticking with the run despite some early struggles in the game. Now that Elliott is back in a rhythm, he should improve upon his numbers from last week.