According to the so called experts the Rams and the Cowboys were two teams heading in opposite directions. Dallas was a team on the rise with a juggernaut offense and a bone rattling defense. A Super Bowl appearance for the Cowboys was not out of the question.
The Rams on the other hand were supposed to be trending the other direction. Reaching eight wins was going to be tough. The playoffs almost out of the question.
According to the experts the Cowboys would roll over the Rams.
That's why we play the games.
The Rams needed a team effort to defeat the Cowboys on Sunday earning a victory in the first ever game played at SoFi Stadium. Though the final score was 20-17 it could have easily been 35-17.
On offense Jared Goff executed a well designed quick passing game that kept the Dallas defense chasing receivers all over the field. The running game, which in the absence of Todd Gurley, featured a three back attack with veteran Malcolm Brown breaking out for a career high 79 yards and two touchdowns.
The defense went through some growing pains and the lack of training camp time and no preseason games to learn new defensive coordinators Brandon Staley's system showed at times. That being said, the unit was able to get pressure on Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott (3 sacks) and shut down the touted Cowboys offense when it counted.
Rookie safety Jordan Fuller (Ohio State) lead the team with eight tackles and crucial stop of Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb on fourth down late in the game.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- The signage in the lower bowl was large and bold. It didn't blink or rotate like other messages on the digital boards or the massive video screen in the Rams' new $5 billion palatial home, hanging instead over a railing above the lower seats. Succinctly it said:
IT TAKES ALL OF US.
The message was a reference to social unrest in the streets and what it will take to make positive change. But perhaps fittingly it applied to the Rams' performance on the field, as well, as Los Angeles relied on young and old, holdovers and newcomers, stars and relative unknowns for a 20-17 defeat of the Dallas Cowboys in SoFi Stadium.
It likely will have to be this way if the Rams are to return to the postseason after missing out last season. Two years ago, they rode the legs of Todd Gurley, the arm of Jared Goff and the dominance of defensive tackle Aaron Donald to a Super Bowl appearance, but last night's opener looked dramatically different for different reasons.
Gurley is now gone, taking handoffs from Matt Ryan in Atlanta. And while Goff is still at the trigger, the approach he took in the passing game was safer and more conservative. The chunk plays for which they were known was absent, as Goff relied on a lot of misdirection, bootlegs and quick passes rather than looking downfield.
If nothing else, perhaps it was confirmation to them that success can be achieved in different ways. The Rams got significant contributions from the likes of Malcolm Brown, who ran 18 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns, including the first ever in SoFi Stadium; rookie safety Jordan Fuller, who led the team with eight tackles and had a fourth-down stop of wideout CeeDee Lamb early in the fourth quarter to prevent a go-ahead touchdown or a tying field goal; rookie kicker Samuel Sloman, who missed his first attempt but converted field goals from 35 and 31 yards; free-agent linebacker Leonard Floyd, who had a sack; and rookie receiver Van Jefferson, who had a 31-yard reception.
They were among the contributors that made for a memorable night for the Rams, who christened owner Stan Kroenke's Hollywood-worthy project before an absent audience due to COVID-19 restrictions. The atmosphere was so surreal that coach Sean McVay said the silence was one of the memories he would carry from the game. Donald said it felt like a Little League contest, but without his mom and dad screaming, "Aaron! Aaron!" from the stands. - Read More
Check Out:
Comments
Post a Comment