The Dallas Cowboys one and only chance to beat L.A.

Facing a team going in the complete opposite direction of themselves, here is the Dallas Cowboys’ only chance to be victorious over the Rams today.

The Dallas Cowboys host the Los Angeles Rams Sunday afternoon with both teams going in completely different directions. The Rams, winners of two straight games, three of their last four and five of their last seven are catching fire at the right time. Sitting at 8-5, the still have a flicker of hope of crashing the playoff party by earning a Wild Card berth.

Dallas, on the other hand, seems hell-bent on giving away their only shot at the playoffs. Losers of three straight games and four of their last five, the Dallas Cowboys no longer own the NFC East lead all to themselves.

Needless to say, this is a game that both teams need desperately to win, albeit for far different reasons. Sadly, the Dallas Cowboys can lose this game and still win their division with victories over Philadelphia and Washington to close the season. The Rams, with almost no shot at winning their division, need to keep stacking wins and get some help into the playoffs.

For this reason, I expect to see Los Angeles come out wanting a win more than Dallas. There is also the sideline matchup between coaches which scares me greatly.

Simply put, Sean McVay is what Jerry Jones thought Jason Garrett would be when he paved the way for his hiring over a decade ago. Not even done with his third year at the helm in Los Angeles, McVay has 32 wins, masterminded an offense that has been in the top ten all three years under his watch and already made it to a Super Bowl.

By contrast, it took Garrett almost four full years to win 32 games while obviously never being remotely close to a Super Bowl. The twists and turns of the coaching matchup do not end there, however.

Whenever McVay has been on the opposite sideline of Garrett, he has come away victorious. the results have been brutal as well. The first time, an early October afternoon in 2017, saw the Rams put up nearly 170 yards on the ground, over 400 in total on the way to a 35-31 victory in Dallas.

Round two occurred last season in Los Angeles, ironically enough during round two of the NFC Playoffs. If you thought 170 yards rushing was bad, the Rams easily eclipsed that, going for 273 en route to a 30-22 victory.

The running backs don’t really matter for the Rams. Both Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson went over 100 yards in that 2018 contest with Gurley doing it in 2017 as well. No, the real key is McVay’s scheme against what Dallas does defensively.

Using a barrage of traps and counters, the Rams routinely get their offensive linemen to the next level against the Cowboys linebackers Sean Lee, Leighton Vander Esch, and Jaylon Smith. Obviously, this tactic has worked like a charm. Today, it could get even worse as both Lee and Vander Esch are likely going to miss the game due to injury.

With the Dallas Cowboys facing an overwhelming disadvantage, against this high-powered Rams team, there is really just one way for them to come out with a win. Dallas must be able to give Los Angeles a dose of their own medicine.

The Dallas Cowboys need to get back to what they are known for and run the ball effectively an often this afternoon. Today will need to be a day where both Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard have outstanding efforts. The big-ticket offensive line must dominate a very good Rams defensive line.

Dallas will need to win the time of possession battle by a decent amount. Doing so will keep the Rams offense on the sideline and force them to play perfectly when they do have the ball.

If the Dallas Cowboys can do this, there is a shot they can upset a hot Los Angeles Rams team. Any other method of attack will end in yet another loss. Will Garrett be wise enough to realize this is both his best and only option?

Prediction: Los Angeles 41, Dallas 27