The Dallas Cowboys had their backs up against the wall on Sunday as they squared off against the Los Angeles Rams.
Coming into the game at 6-7 and losers of three straight, with the Philadelphia Eagles already locking up a win in Washington earlier in the day to pull a half-game ahead of Dallas in the NFC East, the Cowboys were in dire straits looking to prove that their season wasn’t circling the drain.
Revenge against a Rams team that had ended their 2018 run in the divisional playoffs was surely in the back of their minds prior to their huge showdown next week in Philadelphia with the division on the line.
The Cowboys could afford to lose and still make the playoffs but the cost of another loss would have been great with hope still remaining for their season.
The contest didn’t start on a bright note with the “coin toss defergate” controversy threatening to make a mess of things. The bungling of the kickoff call put a heavy cloud over the early proceedings and felt like a bad omen to start.
Nevertheless, the Cowboys defense forced a slow start out of the red-hot Rams offense before Dallas would score on their second drive to set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
The Cowboys were able to take that lead 7-0 late in the first quarter when Jason Witten hauled in his 72nd career touchdown via a scintillating one-handed snare to bring him within one TD catch of Dez Bryant’s all-time Cowboys record.
The Rams evened the score at 7-7 apiece when Todd Gurley found the end zone early in the second quarter but, from that point on, it was all Cowboys.
Dallas added another passing touchdown to go up 14-7 when Dak Prescott spun out of a sack to find Tavon Austin standing all alone for a 59-yard catch and run score. Austin was so open that nary a Ram was visible on the replay as he jogged the final 30 yards to the end zone.
With a fresh lead, it was off to the races where it became the Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard show.
Even though this one will ultimately be remembered fondly for how the Dallas running backs fared, there’s not enough that can be said about how well the offensive line held up against the vaunted front seven of the Rams.
Two-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald was essentially neutralized as he made almost no impact on what the Cowboys wanted to do offensively. Prescott wasn’t sacked once in the game and the offense was able to dictate the action for most of the day.
However, for as well as the offensive line played, and for how efficient Prescott was at sustaining drives, it was the two-headed monster at running back that stole the show for the offense.
Ezekiel Elliott recorded his sixth 100-yard game of the season which became his 25th since he entered the league, which is the best mark in the NFL since 2016.
Elliott added another 43 yards through the air to accumulate 160 yards from scrimmage.
In a game where Dallas was looking to assert their will on the Rams after allowing 273 yards on the ground to just 50 on offense back in January, it was Elliott punishing the defense early on for hard yards to extend drives.
While the offensive line was able to open the holes, it was Elliott’s ability to fight through contact and display patience to find the right angle of attack that ultimately proved to be the difference-maker on Sunday.
As good as Elliott looked on Sunday afternoon as the driving force, it was Pollard who provided the explosive runs.
The Cowboys wore down the Rams defense to the point that they were up 37-7 with just 6:40 left in the game. When Dallas tried to run out the clock, Pollard did his best Barry Sanders impersonation by dancing in the backfield to avoid tackles before tight roping the sideline for a 44-yard backbreaking touchdown.
Overall, Sunday’s game was a complete reversal of January’s loss in L.A. where the Rams dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
On Sunday, it was Dallas shoving their weight around and having their way with the Rams in a game Los Angeles needed more than Dallas.
With that said, it was still a game that the Cowboys desperately wanted to show that there’s still reason to believe that they can beat Philadelphia, win the East, and make some noise in the playoffs. After a 44-21 breakthrough, the Cowboys proved that running backs still matter in Dallas.
Do you think Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard can carry the Cowboys to the NFC East title and a playoff run? Share your thoughts with Patrick Conn on Twitter @DraftCowboys.
