Tag: 2022 Week 5

LOOK: Cowboys’ Dorance Armstrong strips Stafford, Lawrence scoops, scores

On the first drive in Los Angeles, Dorance Armstrong and Demarcus Lawrence combined for a scoop-six to take an early lead over the Rams. | From @CDBurnett7

For the first time in the season, the Cowboys won the coin toss and were able to let their defense be up first. On the first two plays from scrimmage, Matt Stafford went to Cooper Kupp for a total of nine yards but Dan Quinn’s unit kept him from breaking loose.

On third down, Los Angeles’ offensive line couldn’t stop defensive end Dorance Armstrong, who broke through and forced a fumble of Stafford. Demarcus Lawrence barreled through two Rams and scooped up the loose ball and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown for an instant lead.

Armstrong and Lawrence have been dominant to start 2022 and now they’re terrorizing the defending Super Bowl champs. Following the score, there was miscommunication on the snap so Dallas failed on the extra point attempt. Nonetheless, the Cowboys have a 6-0 lead to start the game.

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Week 5 Inactives: Kearse makes return, Cowboys without Peters, Bohanna vs Rams

The Cowboys welcome back Jayron Kearse while they’ll be without a big piece in the trenches on both sides of the ball. | From @CDBurnett7

After safety Jayron Kearse suffered an injury in Week 1, the Dallas Cowboys have relied on Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker to step up. Those two have done that and then some, and now the cavalry has arrived with Kearse active for Week 5. The Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams have announced their inactives for the day, and as expected the new star is returning to the lineup.

Kearse was an under-the-radar 2021 free agent signing and earned a big payday in Dallas after a strong first season with the club. Earlier in the week,  a tweet referring to the “three-headed monster” at safety signified his return. Dallas made QB Dak Prescott, OL Jason Peters, DT Quinton Bohanna, WR Jalen Tolbert, LB Devin Harper, CB Nahshon Wright and safety Markquese Bell inactive.

Bohanna suffered a shoulder injury against Washington and is inactive after a strong start in 2022. Carlos Watkins will make his season debut in the place of Bohanna after being waived during the offseason by the Cowboys and signed onto the practice squad.

On the offensive side, Peters is inactive with a chest injury. Dallas has used the 40-year-old well in their scheme but without him, Connor McGovern is tasked with blocking Aaron Donald all day. Running back Tony Pollard and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb were late additions to the injury report but both are active for the Week 5 matchup.

Quarterback Dak Prescott is inactive for a fourth-straight game as he inches closer to a return from a thumb fracture. Rookie wide receiver Jalen Tolbert is also inactive for a second straight game after making his NFL debut in Week 3. Linebacker Devin Harper, cornerback Nahshon Wright and safety Markquese Bell round out the Cowboys’ seven inactives.

The Rams will be without key pieces in their secondary against Dallas. Starting cornerback David Long Jr. and starting safety Taylor App are inactive while backup strong safety Jordan Fuller is on IR. Rookie cornerback Cobie Durant is also out for Los Angeles.

On offense, starting center Brian Allen is out for the Rams. Jeremiah Kolone will make his first career start in place of Allen. Quarterback Bryce Perkins and wide receiver Lance McCutcheon are the last of six Los Angeles inactives.

 

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How to watch, wager, live stream, listen to Cowboys-Rams in Week 5

Here’s how to tune in, or stream on internet or radio, along with game and wagering information on Cowboys-Rams Week 5 battle. | From @KDDrummondNFL

It feels like a lot has changed for the Cowboys since the last time they took on the Rams. Mike McCarthy and Dallas opened his tenure and their 2020 season on the road in Los Angeles, opening of SoFi Stadium with the first regular season game. Quarterback Dak Prescott is not on his third injury since and won’t be suiting up in this contest, replaced by Cooper Rush who looks for his fifth-straight win to start his career. On the opposite side, Jared Goff is gone, replaced by veteran Matt Stafford who went to and won a Super Bowl in his first year working with Sean McVay.

Two Lombardi-hoisting coaches are meeting again, still working to establish their team’s 2022 identities. The Week 5 contest will anchor the Sunday afternoon lineup and has a ton of storylines, including arguably the game’s top two defenders in DT Aaron Donald and LB Micah Parsons. It’s a matchup many want to get their eyes on and here’s all the details on how they can enjoy every aspect of it.

Predicting 7 Cowboys inactives for Week 5 vs Rams, who will McCarthy sit?

4 defenders and 3 offensive players seem like the most likely guys to be made inactive come Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have made their pre-game roster moves for the Week 5 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. Sitting at 3-1 and a game behind the only undefeated team in the league, the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas’ second road game of the season allows for no letup. They will take on the Super Bowl champion Rams in their own house, though the Cowboys will likely enjoy a bit of a home-field advantage in California.

But they will not be whole, as usual. This was an especially tough week for the Cowboys injury wise. Though they’ve been getting several players back over the last few weeks, others have come up with issues that will impact their availability. So despite elevating two players to reach the maximum 55 players on the roster, Dallas has some decisions to make about the 7 players who will be inactive on Sunday.

 

55-man Week 5 roster: Cowboys elevate DT instead of RB, WR or OL

Dallas had several options they had to consider in who they added to the roster for the Rams tilt. Here’s who they picked and what it means. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have set their roster of available players for their Week 5 contest against the Los Angeles Rams. With wheels up to the west coast, they have decided on two practice squad elevations after having to make several moves over the course of the week due to injuries.  The biggest news might be in who they didn’t elevate, rather than who was elevated.

Allow us to explain. Earlier in the week, the club moved long snapper Jake McQuaide to IR with a torn triceps, ending his season. The team was in a bind for backup quarterback, with them using the elevation tactic for the third time on Will Grier in Week 4. That was the limit, so he had to be added to the 53-man roster and took McQuaide’s spot. Dallas then signed two long snappers to the practice squad, knowing they’d be adding one to the roster. That left one elevation.

However injuries and illness from last week’s game and this week’s practice meant there is a chance at a loss of depth at running back (Tony Pollard), wide receiver (CeeDee Lamb), defensive tackle (Quinton Bohanna) and offensive line (Jason Peters). Dallas has chosen to elevate veteran DT Carlos Watkins which speaks to the depth at WR and OL being better, in their estimation. With the Cowboys employing both RBs Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott, they must feel like Pollard is good to go or they could have added a back to join Rico Dowdle as backup plans.

Here’s a look at the full 55-man roster they will have to work with to choose a game-day roster on Sunday.

Prescott ruled out, Peters doubtful, Pollard a question in Cowboys-Rams final injury report

The list of injured Cowboys continues to grow ahead of Sunday’s matchup with Sean McVay’s Rams. Here are the injury statuses for 14 players who had concerns this week. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The injury bug continues to jump up and bite the Cowboys in their rear. The question is whether or not the Rams will present too tough of a matchup for Dallas to overcome as they have the last three weeks. The injury report continues to shuffle names in and out, week by week, but Friday brought about two new names to a growing list for the Week 5 matchup in Los Angeles.

On Friday, practice reports turn to injury designations and chances to play are locked in. A doubtful designation means a player has just a 25% chance of suiting up. A questionable tag means there’s a 50/50 chance depending on how things look leading up to the inactive announcement. Out is out and no designation means if the player doesn’t go, it’s something other than the injury they’ve been dealing with. On this Friday, Dallas has listed eight different players with a designation, and positive news for the other six players they’ve been tracking throughout the week. Included are Dak Prescott, Jason Peters, CeeDee Lamb, Tony Pollard, Jourdan Lewis, Dalton Schultz, Jake Ferguson, Jayron Kearse, Donovan Wilson, Quinton Bohanna, Noah Brown, Malik Hooker and Connor McGovern. For the Rams, Taylor Rapp may have had a setback.

 

Keys to the City: Here’s how Cowboys win in home-away-from-home road game vs Rams

What are the keys to a Cowboys getting another victory over a Super Bowl team from last year, this time the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams? @cdpiglet looks at 3 keys to securing a win.

The Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Rams are not meeting expectations early on this season; however, they are doing so in opposite directions. One team is exceeding all the low expectations and the other has been shockingly bad coming off a Super Bowl victory.

The Cowboys have been underdogs in three of their four games so far, nevertheless, they have a 3-1 record even while missing Dak Prescott, Tyron Smith, Conner McGovern, Michael Gallup, Dalton Schultz, and Jayron Kearse. They are currently on a three-game winning streak with unheralded Cooper Rush under center. The defense is a top five unit and leading the team to wins just two years removed from being historically bad. This is a credit to Dan Quinn, but his toughest test thus far will be against the Rams on Sunday.

Los Angeles will have to wake up from their Super Bowl hangover though because they aren’t playing anywhere close to that level from just eight months ago. In four games the Rams have scored over 20 points just once and put up ten points or less twice. Compared that to last season where the Rams scored ten or less once all year and scored more than 30 seven times.

This Sunday, these two teams will be a part of one of the bigger non division matchups of the year. This game is extremely important to both teams and the keys to the game are going to be taken to another level. Here are what the Cowboys and Rams need to do to get a conference victory Sunday.

Cowboys vs Rams: 6 things to know about Week 5 opponent

From having elite defenders and one of the game’s top wide receivers, here’s what to know about the Week 5 opponent for the Dallas Cowboys. | From @BenGrimaldi

We’ve arrived at Week 5 for the Dallas Cowboys, 3-1 and looking forward getting their starting quarterback back from injury. That isn’t going to be this week, so Cooper Rush remains under center for the upcoming road contest against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Cowboys have won three in a row but heading out to play the Super Bowl champion Rams is going to be a different test. Rush has proven to be a more capable backup than many expected and has already beaten one of last year’s championship teams. This matchup, however, is on the road and the Rams present challenges.

If Dallas wants to show they’re for real, beating a title contender on the road would be the way to do it. The signs are there that the Cowboys might be better than people expected and buying QB Dak Prescott another week to recover with a win would be ideal.

Here are six things to know about the Week 5 opponent for the Cowboys.

WR CeeDee Lamb a surprise add to Cowboys injury report Thursday

The WR promises he’s fine despite sitting out with a “groin issue.” Lamb says his Wednesday GPS numbers were too high, prompting a break. A look at the full injury report. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Only two Cowboys missed Thursday’s practice, according to the official injury report. One of those players was expected to be there. One was not, but all parties involved are adamant that there’s nothing to worry about.

Of the nine other names on the list, all carried either the same status or an upgrade over Wednesday’ report.

Quarterback Dak Prescott was working off to the side again with Britt Brown, the team’s director of rehabilitation. Head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters prior to the session that he was still working on his hand strength as it pertains to gripping a football. He was seen holding a ball while going through a series of movements with Brown.

“He’s getting better,” McCarthy confirmed.

Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, however, was a surprise add to the DNP column. Lamb did not participate Thursday due to what technically classified as “a groin injury.” The third-year wideout promised that he is fine, though, telling media members that his GPS numbers were too high Wednesday, resulting in a Thursday of stretching and resistance-cord work.

“We’re good,” Lamb said. “I don’t want to scare nobody.”

See below for updates on cornerback Jourdan Lewis, tight end Jake Ferguson, DT Quinton Bohanna, safety Donovan Wilson and others. With the Rams being on the west coast, their injury report has not yet been updated.

Cowboys-Rams initial injury report has whopping 17 names ahead of Week 5 tilt

With Dallas saying goodbye to one player and welcoming another to NFL action, there’s a litany of guys with actual injury designations. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams began their preparation for their Week 5 matchup on Wednesday. For the Cowboys, it was a full practice after their Sunday afternoon win over Washington. However the Rams just did a walkthrough as they are coming off of a Monday night game. Dallas HC Mike McCarthy spoke about the different nature of a week of practice in that scenario, as the Cowboys were coming off a MNF appearance the week prior. It really throws off the rhythm of how a team prepares.

When it comes to the practice report, there was a slew of activity. In fact, the activity isn’t all captured in the report as Dallas placed long snapper Jake McQuaide on IR as his season is over due to a triceps injury suffered near the end of the game. On the opposite end of the spectrum, linebacker Damone Clark had his 21-day practice window activated. On the Non-football Injury list (NFI), Clark had offseason spinal fusion surgery coming out of LSU and his returning to practice this early is flat-out amazing. Meanwhile when it comes to prospects for playing this week, Dallas and the Rams have a combined 17 names on the list, with seven players being completely held out including QB Dak Prescott.