INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The Cowboys are now 4-1 thanks to a huge win over the defending Super Bowl champs.
This game had a defensive score, a blocked punt, a fake punt and a long touchdown run and pass.
But games like this always have plays that can go unnoticed, but still play a huge factor in the outcome.
Here are five plays to remember:
Smith cleans up his own mess – Giving up a sack is one thing. Getting called for holding is another, although it was declined. But allowing your quarterback to get hit and fumble is another. In the first quarter, rookie Tyler Smith allowed a sack on Cooper Rush, who fumbled the ball away. But Smith was able to recover, keeping the Rams from having the ball at the Cowboys 39. Instead, they punted away and kept the Rams pinned back.
CeeDee catch sets up a score – After leading 9-0, the Cowboys saw their lead vanish with 10 straight points by the Rams, including a long TD by Cooper Kupp. On the next drive, the Cowboys' offense finally got some life on a 16-yard pass from Cooper Rush to CeeDee Lamb. That seemed to get the Rams off balanced just enough because on the next play, Tony Pollard broke off a 57-yard touchdown. But the pass to Lamb seemed to ignite the offense just enough.
Rams miss a deep shot before halftime – The Rams avoided disaster by converting a fourth down on a fake punt deep in their own territory. But they weren't able to get points out of it. On third and four from the Cowboys 44, Stafford had his running back Henderson on Leighton Vander Esch but the deep ball was incomplete. Had the Rams just picked up the first down, they could've settled for a field goal attempt from Matt Gay. Instead, the Cowboys took a 16-10 lead into halftime.
Near interception after Gallup's catch. - On the first drive of the third quarter, the Cowboys had a third-and-16 from their own 31 and the Rams fans were trying to will their team back in the game. But Cooper Rush hit Michael Gallup on the sideline for an amazing catch. Gallup's two feet stayed inbounds and the Cowboys were in field goal range. But on third down, Rush nearly threw an interception to Bobby Wagner, who dropped the ball, allowing the Cowboys to kick a 40-yard field goal to push the lead to 19-10.
Skowranek penalty on D. Wilson – At the end of the third quarter, the Rams trailed 19-10 but were driving inside the Cowboys 30. But on second-and-4, a holding call on tight end Matt Skowronek wiped out a first-down run. As the drive moved to the fourth quarter, the Rams had to settle for a 51-yard field goal by Gay, who pushed it to the right no good.
