Tag: Dallas Cowboys vs Los Angeles Rams

Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week

From @ToddBrock24f7: Aubrey is the first Cowboy to win the weekly award since Brett Maher, the man he replaced. Maher won it in 2019 and twice in 2018.

It’s been quite the turnaround at the kicker position for the Dallas Cowboys.

After veteran Brett Maher shanked a league-record four PATs in one game- a playoff appearance, no less- in January, it was apparent the team would move on. And while most fans spent the offseason eyeballing seasoned free agents like Mason Crosby, Robbie Gould, and Ryan Succop, the Cowboys settled on NFL newcomer Brandon Aubrey.

It turned out to be a stroke of genius; Aubrey was just named the NFC’s Special Teams Player of the Week for Sunday’s performance versus the Rams.

Aubrey went 5-for-5 on extra points and hit both of his field goal tries, including a booming 58-yarder during Dallas’s 43-20 home trouncing of Los Angeles. It was the rookie’s longest field goal of the season. His 18 consecutive three-pointers to start an NFL career ties a league record.

The onetime Notre Dame soccer star looked to be on his way to an MLS career after being a first-round draft pick for Toronto FC in 2017. But his soccer dreams had been completely derailed by 2018, and Aubrey became a software engineer.

It was only in 2019, when his wife encouraged him to try kicking an oblong ball instead, that Aubrey turned his attention from futbol to football. He went on to win back-to-back championships with the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions and was invited to camp with the Cowboys in July, where he beat out Tristan Vizcaino for the starting job.

Aubrey missed his very first NFL kick, an extra point attempt versus the Giants on opening night, but he’s been perfect since then, with the Cowboys coaching staff raving about his cannon of a leg, his effortless stroke, and his quiet confidence.

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Quarterback Dak Prescott even revealed that he’s nicknamed Aubrey “Butter” because he is so smooth.

And with this award, as special teams coordinator John Fassel joked upon first hearing the nickname, yes, Aubrey definitely appears to be on a roll.

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Major takeaways after the Cowboys blowout the Rams coming out of the bye week

With a matchup looming in Philadelphia, here are 3 major takeaways from blowout of the Rams and the first seven games in general. | from @cdpiglet.

The Dallas Cowboys took down the Los Angeles Rams by a final score of 43-20. That’s known as a scoragami, a unique final score that had never been achieved across the entire history of the NFL. The Cowboys hadn’t achieved this complete of a  team performance this season, either. Dallas had won in blowouts, but not with the offense pulling as much weight as they did against the Rams.

For the first time in 2023, the offense was at the very least an equal partner in victory. The special teams unit stood out, and the defense was far from poor, but this was a game that saw the Dallas offense set the tone early and put it away officially with their first drive of the second half that went 17 plays and took up nearly 10 minutes.

The Cowboys are playing their best football a week ahead of their biggest game of the season in Philadelphia. This is the next big test in the NFC, the first since the San Francisco 49ers game. What major takeaways do the Cowboys need to dive into this week to continue to play at such a high level?

 

By The Numbers: Cowboys-Rams was a whole lot of fun, analytically speaking

In the Cowboys Week 8 win, they showed things are evolving, they’re great at home, coverage and pass protection are better than advertised. | From @ReidDHanson

With the Cowboys 43-20 win over the Rams, they move to 5-2 and claim the second-best record in the NFC. Their decisive victory over the playoff hopeful Rams acted as a statement coming out of the bye week. It showed they could be dominant in all three phases, and it showed their offense was still evolving.

The Jeckel and Hyde start to the season had them in the hunt all season but did little to quiet skeptics. Both critics and supporters are sure to be scouring through the numbers of this Week 8 showdown to support their respective arguments.

And the numbers were telling. From running game success rate, to play-calling, to snaps, coverage and pass protection, the numbers showed inquiring minds much this week.

What might the numbers show exactly from Cowboys vs Rams?

3 things learned from the Cowboys 43-20 victory over the Rams

The Cowboys beat the playoff hopeful Rams by a convincing margin in Week 8, here are three valuable items learned from the win. | From @ReidDHanson

Every week offers learning opportunities for both the Cowboys and the fans who support the Cowboys. Some lessons learned are nice, while others are downright painful.

Dallas experienced both ends of the spectrum in their most recent trip west, losing convincingly to the 49ers and winning dramatically to the Chargers.

One of the key items learned in previous weeks was the offense appeared to be a work in progress. The post-Kellen Moore era has been sorting itself out throughout the season’s first half, with noticeable changes popping up nearly every game.

In Week 8’s showdown against the Rams on Sunday, Dallas learned a number of lessons enroute to their 40-23 victory.

Despite snowballing into a halftime blowout, many important things were made clear. They can help shape the Cowboys’ identity, shift strategy and highlight areas of concern going forward.

Cowboys update Tyron Smith’s Week 9 prognosis after late scratch vs Rams

From @ToddBrock24f7: Dallas was down to a 3rd-string LT in Week 8 after Tyron Smith was held out and Chuma Edoga got hurt. But the team is optimistic for Sunday.

It’s been said that, apart from quarterback, left tackle is the most important position on a football team. You can scheme your way around almost any other deficiency in the lineup, but if you want to have success, you’d better have an answer at left tackle.

Coming off a dominating 43-20 win and looking ahead at a massive divisional showdown, though, the Cowboys have far more questions than answers at Tyron Smith’s usual spot.

The eight-time Pro Bowler was in street clothes for Sunday’s game versus the Rams after suffering a neck stinger earlier in the week. Despite trending toward making the start, Smith found himself a very late scratch for the second time this season.

“Actually, we all thought Tyron was going to go, until the last second. Probably the better part of valor was to not play him today,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the media at AT&T Stadium following the team’s 43-20 win.

Just as in the Week 3 switcheroo that saw Smith even named a team captain before being declared out during pregame warmups, the 32-year-old seemed ready to take the field right up until the last moment.

“Tyron was suited up- I mean, he was one of the first guys here today,” Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters in his postgame press conference “So he was ready to go. But going through the examination, the medical staff decided that he was not ready.”

Backup Chuma Edoga got the start instead and got off to a very rocky start, letting L.A. defensive end Michael Hoecht blow past him to sack Dak Prescott on the first play from scrimmage.

But Edoga himself was injured late in the game and had to be carted off the field. Early indications are that he has a low ankle sprain; he may not miss much time- if any at all- though the results of further testing will likely lend clarity.

That left fifth-round rookie Asim Richards to come on in relief in the fourth quarter, and it leaves the Cowboys with a good bit of uncertainty as they prepare to face Philadelphia’s ferocious defense.

Still, Jones says he is not inclined to rush to work a deal for a left tackle before Tuesday’s trade deadline.

“Thank goodness we’ve got some good depth. We’ve been developing depth,” Jones said. “I feel good about our offensive line. Everybody in the league is looking for starting offensive linemen. Everybody.”

“If you really look at our team right now, the biggest need is depth on the offensive line. Really. More so than anyplace else,” Jones continued before getting more specific.

“Starting kind of depth.”

So for Dallas, the real answer may simply be to trust that Smith will have himself ready to play- for real- in Week 9.

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones echoed that on 105.3 The Fan Monday: “[H]opefully he’ll be ready to go against the Eagles.”

But the inconvenient truth is this: at this point in the oft-injured lineman’s career, Smith has come to be viewed as practically a gametime decision every single week.

“You have to,” McCarthy admitted. “We’re fortunate to have veterans that are long in the tooth that have played a lot of football for us at a high level. You do have to recognize that, especially when you when get to this point in the season.”

Smith will have several more days to recuperate, with Mondays used for film study instead of practice, Tuesdays off, and Wednesdays set aside for a handful of Cowboys veterans as a rest day.

“Even if he wasn’t injured,” McCarthy explained, “he wouldn’t be practicing on Wednesday again.”

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It was a knee injury suffered in practice that held Smith out of Weeks 3 and 4. Now his latest neck stinger- also sustained in practice- has cost him another game, even if it was out of an abundance of caution.

“[If it had been the] Super Bowl, might have been a different story,” Jones suggested. “We didn’t want him to get another stinger out there on top of what he’s had. He’ll work through this as he always has.”

And the Cowboys will explore contingency plans at left tackle, just as they always have.

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‘Give them a reason to focus on me’: Lamb’s hot start, career day lifts entire Cowboys passing game

From @ToddBrock24f7: Lamb knows opposing defenses are focused on him, so he wants to give them a reason to be. That, he says, allows everyone else to explode.

CeeDee Lamb had a career day on Sunday. Fitting, the Cowboys wide receiver says, since he’s been building his relationship with quarterback Dak Prescott from the very first day he became a pro.

“Year Four together,” Lamb reflected after the team’s 43-20 win over the Rams. “A lot of banked reps.”

The 24-year-old came away from the Week 8 victory with personal bests in receptions (12) and receiving yards (158), and he caught two touchdowns for the sixth time as a Cowboy.

The scary part? Most of those stats were compiled in just the first half; Lamb believes his own hot start helped the entire Dallas offense find its rhythm in the blowout win.

“Absolutely. I got started early, and it kind of opened up the offense for us,” he explained, “just giving us the ability to call any play with no restrictions. I feel like that’s when we’re at our best, playing fast and making plays.”

Lamb and Prescott have clearly been at their best of late. The first-round draft pick out of Oklahoma currently has a catch percentage of 82.1% on the season, the highest of any wide receiver in the league with over 30 targets.

While it’s been fun to watch, there’s no mystery about where it’s come from.

“You can clearly see the connection, and that obviously started last year,” head coach Mike McCarthy said following the win. “Just in the offseason, these guys have spent a tremendous amount of time together. The one touchdown throw was a new wrinkle, and you just don’t have that kind of patience as a quarterback unless you truly trust the receiver at the top of the stem there.”

“Work,” Prescott agreed in his postgame press conference. “A lot of work. A lot of time put into it, talking about depositing the work and then being able to withdraw it when you need to. You can go back into the offseason, from the time we started way back in April, maybe even before then in my backyard, to the time we spent in minicamp and OTAs to trips out to Atlanta, a lot of time invested. A lot of trust in that guy.”

That trust was tested after the team’s disappointing loss to San Francisco in Week 5, when Lamb was visibly upset about his apparent lack of use in the Dallas offense.

Prescott and others offered pep talks in the week of practice that followed. But Lamb has also seen more throws come his way- especially early in games- since. In Week 6 against the Chargers, he saw five targets in the first half alone, the same number he’d gotten across his entire 49ers outing.

This past Sunday, that number doubled to 10 targets before intermission.

“Just get in the game early,” Lamb explained. “Want to get the defense on their heels. Obviously, they’re going to be focusing on me, so give them a reason to focus on me. And then I want all my guys to explode.”

It worked versus the Rams, with 11 Cowboys pass-catchers getting targeted in the contest and Prescott topping 300 passing yards for the first time this season.

But Lamb was undoubtedly Prescott’s primary option; he received 14 targets on the day, Brandin Cooks and Jake Ferguson were tied well behind him for second, with four.

“He runs, he knows what I’m thinking, we’re always communicating,” Prescott said of Lamb. “And I think that’s why when it’s not going our way, it’s frustrating, because we put so much into it. But right now, we’re reaping the rewards of everything that we’ve put into this, and it’s only going to continue to grow.”

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The Cowboys’ fourth win by 20 or more points has raised eyebrows across the league about the potent Dallas offense, but Lamb took a matter-of-fact view when asked about it.

“We’re explosive and physical. And I say that with full ability and capability. I know what we can do week in and week out. We can definitely take the top off defenses,” he told reporters.

“That’s what we’re looking for week in and week out. That’s how we should play. And that’s just more of a stepping stone to what’s to come.”

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Studs and duds in Cowboys’ 43-20 rout of Rams

The stars shined for the Dallas Cowboys in their 43-20 blowout win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8, but what were the negatives? | From @BenGrimaldi

The Dallas Cowboys came off their bye week in style with a dominating 43-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8. It didn’t take the Cowboys long to set the tone by scoring on their first three offensive possessions, while getting scores from the defense and their special teams to kickstart the blowout. The impressive all-around performance helped give the team their fifth win on the year.

In routing the Rams, the Cowboys secured their second city sweep of the season, beating both teams from Los Angeles in back-to-back games. Dallas accomplished the feat in the first two weeks of the season, beating both New York teams. Here are the studs and duds from second 40-burger for the Cowboys in the Week 8 win.

Good, Bad, Ugly: Cowboys’ OL overcomes shaky start, playmakers shine in 23-point win

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys’ 43-20 win had plenty to celebrate, but there are concerns on the offensive line and the margin could have actually been bigger.

After the first few snaps for the Cowboys’ offense, it looked like the team had come out of the bye week more rusted than rested. But after a third down Rams penalty gave Dak Prescott and company a new set of downs, and new life, he and the team made the most of it. Four of the first five Cowboys drives ended in points (and the one that didn’t was a tip-ball interception that turned the ball over to L.A. on the doorstep of the end zone).

Add in a pick-six from DaRon Bland and a blocked-punt safety, and it was a dominating 33-3 lead before the two-minute warning of the first half. It wasn’t all perfect, as Dallas let the Rams narrow the gap after the break before finally slamming the door. The 43-20 win could have actually been bigger; the Cowboys incredibly missed on multiple scoring opportunities.

The complaints are nitpicky after a 23-point win, though, and there’s plenty to celebrate before turning attention to Philadelphia. Here’s a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of Week 8’s big win.

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4 Downs: Little moments trigger big plays as Cowboys steamroll Rams

From @ToddBrock24f7: Despite an afternoon of splashy highlights, it was a 1st-quarter penalty and a two-point conversion and that helped define the Cowboys’ day.

It’s better to be lucky than good, the old saying goes. But being both is best of all, and that’s what the Cowboys were on Sunday. Their 23-point win over the Rams provided plenty of splashy big-play highlights— on offense, defense, and special teams — with the team’s top playmakers delivering the kinds of performances that fans have been waiting for. With Philadelphia on deck in Week 9, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

But the Cowboys’ 11th-straight home win was also defined largely by a few seemingly small moments. It was an easily-overlooked penalty flag that gave Dak Prescott a second chance at his first drive of the day, and it was an arguably meaningless two-point play that snuffed out any hope of the visitors climbing back into things in the second half.

A mix of both the big and the small, here are the four plays that told the tale in Dallas’s 43-20 victory to complete the L.A. sweep.

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LOOK: 75 of the best pics from Cowboys dehorning the Rams

The Dallas Cowboys returned to the field and remained on the winning side of the ledger on Sunday. Sandwiched around a Week 7 bye, the club has swept their second foe-city back-to-back of the season. In Weeks 1 and 2 they took out the Gotham Knights. Now in Weeks 6 and 8 they took to the Battle to L.A.

Dallas emerged victorious, 43-20, to improve to 5-2 on the young season and put themselves in position to take control of the NFC East next week when they travel to Philadelphia. In Sunday’s win, all three phases excelled at the highest of levels. The offense was precise, passing for over 300 yards as Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks tormented the Rams’ secondary. The defense harassed Matt Stafford into an early exit and the special teams scored as well.

All in all, a tremendous day for Dallas. Get those right-click-save-as fingers ready, and relive the victory through the wonderful photogs from USA Today Sports and Getty Images.