INGLEWOOD, Calif. — – On the Rams the 3rd offensive line, Dallas’ Dorance Armstrong hit their offensive line and struck Matthew Stafford. DeMarcus Lawrence scooped up the quarterback’s fumble , and then slid to the goal line.
“It was a surreal moment,” Lawrence described about only his ninth touchdown of his nine NFL seasons. “When the ball came out and it hit my feet, I was like, ‘This can’t be true.’ When I turned around and I didn’t feel nobody around me, I was like, ‘This is real!'”
The Cowboys have had a great beginning to the season with out Dak Prescott’s presence is real and even the currently defending Super Bowl champions could slow their progress.
Lawrence recovered a fumble 19 yards to score a touchdown on the Rams first drive of the game and Cooper Rush remained unbeaten as the Cowboys as a fill-in starter even though he only passed for the 102-yard mark in a 22-10 win against Los Angeles on Sunday.
Tony Pollard made an outstanding 57-yard touchdown run for the Cowboys The Cowboys are off to a 4-1-0 start for the second time in a row. season, after scoring four straight wins with no Prescott who appears close to returning from a thumb surgery.
Armstrong made a play for the fumble which was returned by Lawrence and then blocked a punt during the beginning of the first half for Dallas that scored the ball for 86 yards from Pollard and another 78 yards by Ezekiel Elliott. With Rush being 10 for 16 in the running game, as well as the Cowboys defense were in the lead.
“Oh, it shifted the whole momentum,” linebacker Micah Parsons said of the huge play made of Armstrong Lawrence and Lawrence. “You start where you end. We began with a bang and ended with an explosion.”
In fact, Parsons’ strip-sack of Stafford during the Rams last play was the highlight of an uneasy game for LA.
Cooper Kupp had a 75-yard touchdown catch to lead the Rams (2-3) which dropped below .500 for the first time in Sean McVay’s first six seasons before losing in the second quarter.
“This is some adversity that we’re facing right now,” McVay stated. “You learn many things concerning people when you experience those. It’s not enough for me right now. I’ll never claim that it’s not.”
With three starters out The Rams offensive line was unable to offer any help to an inert run game or for Stafford who threw for 308 yards, and was repeatedly sacked. Kupp’s catch-and-run was the only touchdown for the Rams during their nine-quarters of game which included back-to-back losses against San Francisco and Dallas.
“I think we played two really good fronts the last two weeks, and they presented some unique challenges,” Stafford stated. “I believed we had a good game plan before each. It’s about doing it at an upper stage.”
Malik Hooker made a clinching interception with just 3:29 left in an rematch of the very first regular-season match in the history of SoFi Stadium, the multibillion-dollar football stadium constructed in the late 1980s by Rams owners Stan Kroenke and championed by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Los Angeles beat Dallas 20-17 in the fan-free game in the opening game of the 2020 season.
Los Angeles Second drive was ended by Armstrong moving unhindered across the middle, and also blocking Riley Dixon’s punt. Dallas only made a field goal.
The Rams were able to settle down after the first flurry of chaos, and led in the second quarter , when Kupp took a pass with one hand and ran the last 71 yards in the longest play of the impressive career of the NFL O.P.Y.
However, Pollard scored to put the Cowboys back in the lead just 92 seconds later after breaking several tackles in the second-longest race ever in his playing career.
Dallas defense did the rest by allowing 87 yards to Los Angeles in the second half.
“It’s incredible to watch,” Rush stated about Dallas defense. “They’re adept at doing much because of how they communicate, how intelligent they are on in all three levels. We see this daily in the practice room and to observe that in game day and the challenges we face is very enjoyable.”
JALEN’S FIRST
Jalen Ramsey scored his first sack in the seven years of his NFL career during the third quarter, when the Cowboys let him go unblocking on the attack. The Rams All-Pro defensive back did not get a sack during the first 95 games of his regular season and nine playoff games.
MISCOMMUNICATION
The Cowboys didn’t score an extra point in Lawrence’s touchdown due to the new Long snapper Matt Overton hit holder Bryan Anger on his head by kicking the ball, while Anger was looking somewhere else. Overton has been on the Rams team’s practice squad earlier this month, has been replaced by Jake McQuaide, who’s out due to a tear in the triceps muscle.
INJURIES
Cowboys: Prescott said he can grasp a ball with his thumb that was surgically repaired, however, he did not say “day to day.” He was elated by the win: “A game like this, it wasn’t the prettiest, but the defense and the special teams did what they had to do to win.” … Parsons was limited in the second quarter by the groin injury, however Parsons plans to play next week.
Rams: LG David Edwards quit the game during the fourth quarter to undergo an examination for concussions after collision with Lawrence. Edwards was absent from last week’s game as part of the protocol for concussion. … S Taylor Rapp was ruled out because of injured ribs.
UP NEXT
Cowboys at Philadelphia on Sunday night.
Rams will play host to Carolina the following Sunday.
