5 major takeaways from the Cowboys upset win over the Rams
Wow. The Dallas Cowboys are now 4-1 after a 22-10 upset victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The NFC East race has become very interesting, with the Philadelphia Eagles barely escaping with a win against the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Giants stealing a win over the Green Bay Packers in London.
The Cowboys, Eagles, and Giants now have a combined 13-2 record through five weeks, and next week is going to be a crucial one with the Eagles and Cowboys meeting for the first time this year in primetime.
For now, it’s time to look back at what happened on Sunday and what we learned from the win over L.A. With a mix of good and bad, here are five takeaways from Sunday’s victory.
5 major takeaways from the Cowboys’ victory over the Rams
1. Special teams had a bad day
One of the best units for the Cowboys so far this season has been the special teams group. Brett Maher has been a fantastic re-addition to the kicking team and was perfect in this game going 3-for-3 on field goals and 1-for-1 on extra points (kind of – because the botched one never got kicked).
However, that was some of the only good to take from this game for the special teams unit. After a botched snap on an extra point early in the game, punter Bryan Anger also had some unimpressive plays himself.
Two straight games with a poor Bryan Anger punt in second half that gave Cowboys defense a short field. Like the 22-yarder last Sunday, the 35-yarder today resulted in no points. Rams kicker Matt Gay wide right from 51.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) October 9, 2022
He did manage to land three kicks within the 20-yard line, but he did have a horrible punt while backed up near his own end zone. He also did have one punt that resulted in a touchback.
Arguably the worst of the special teams’ day was the converted fourth down by the Rams. They attempted a fake punt, which the punt return unit was completely unprepared for, which allowed a first down to extend the drive.