3 potential trap games on the Cowboys 2023 schedule

Rams at Cowboys, Week 8

Last year, the Los Angeles Rams were a shell of themselves. They went from the Super Bowl winners in 2021 to a 5-12 club in 2022. They had to shut Matthew Stafford down after nine games with a neck injury but even before then, he didn't look like himself.

Dallas knows this as they knocked them off 22-10 in Week 5 without Dak Prescott. Stafford finished with impressive numbers — 28-of-42 for 308 yards with a touchdown and a pick — but came up short whenever it was a clutch play. Cooper Rush, who was just 10-of-16 for 102 yards, simply played game manager in the easy win.

Now with a full offseason to heal up, Stafford could look more like the player we saw in 2021 when he led L.A. to a title. Having said that, there are those who still want to write the Rams off. They'll definitely look different after giving up on Allen Robinson and trading away Jalen Ramsey.

But it would be a mistake to ever enter a game with a veteran such as Stafford and a play-caller like Sean McVay and expect it to be easy. Mike McCarthy and the Dallas coaching staff will especially have to guard against this since this one comes just before their first meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles, who won the NFC East a year ago.