Week 6 Recap – St. Louis Rams @ Dallas Cowboys
ST. LOUIS – On October 23, the Cowboys and Rams had their sixth regular season game of the year because each team had a bye already. The Rams are coming off a blowout loss away one week ago against the Green Bay Packers and the Cowboys blew their late lead against the New England Patriots last week at home.
Pre-game notes: The Cowboys’ and Rams’ head coaches used to be NFC East rivals as offensive coordinators. The Rams traded with the Denver Broncos days before the trade deadline by getting WR Brandon Lloyd for a sixth-round 2012 draft pick. WR Mike Sims-Walker was cut due to that trade. The Rams cut WR Nick Miller and elevated QB Tom Brandstater from the practice squad because of QB Sam Bradford’s ankle injury. Former Ram WR Laurent Robinson will face off against his old team today. After the game, another St. Louis-Texas matchup will be played less than a mile away; the Cardinals and Rangers will play Game 4 of the World Series.
The Cowboys’ starting RB Felix Jones is inactive due to his ankle injury and will be replaced by DeMarco Murray and Tashard Choice. Cowboys G Montrae Holland was just signed to start today. Bradford will not play today and will be replaced by A.J. Feeley at quarterback. Rams WR Brandon Gibson is inactive today due to the addition of Lloyd and his poor play. The Rams worst rushing defense will face the Cowboys best rushing defense; neither team has more than one rushing touchdown so far, though.
1st quarter:
On 4th-and-10 at the STL 39, Rams P Donnie Jones punted the ball 59 yards and it was downed at the DAL 2.
On 1st-and-19 at the DAL 9, Murray rushed the ball up the middle, which resulted in a touchdown and extra point by K Dan Bailey. Rams 0 Cowboys 7
On 4th-and-9 at the DAL 48, Jones punted the ball 48 yards into the end zone for a touchback.
On 4th-and-2 at the DAL 28, Cowboys P Mat McBriar punted the ball 36 yards out of bounds at the STL 36.
On 1st-and-10 at the 50, Rams backup RB Cadillac Williams caught the ball then fumbled, which was recovered by Abram Elam who returned it to the DAL 38.
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2nd quarter:
On 3rd-and-goal at the STL 1, Tony Romo, QB for the Cowboys, threw a short left pass to TE Jason Witten, which resulted in a touchdown and extra point by Bailey. Rams 0 Cowboys 14
On 1st-and-goal at the DAL 6, Rams RB Steven Jackson rushed the ball to the right, which resulted in a touchdown and extra point by K Josh Brown. Rams 7 Cowboys 14
On 4th-and-5 at the DAL 36, McBriar punted the ball 60 yards and it was returned to the STL 13.
On 3rd-and-8 at the STL 15, Feeley threw a deep middle pass intended for Lloyd and the ball was intercepted by CB Michael Jenkins who returned it to the STL 30.
On 4th-and-goal at the STL 12, Bailey successfully kicked a 30-yard field goal. Rams 7 Cowboys 17
3rd quarter:
On 1st-and-10 at the DAL 45, Choice rushed the ball then fumbled, which was recovered by CB Al Harris who returned it to the DAL 44.
On 4th-and-10 at the DAL 44, Jones punted the ball 32 yards and it was fair caught at the DAL 12.
On 4th-and-10 at the STL 33, Bailey successfully kicked a 51-yard field goal. Rams 7 Cowboys 20
On 4th-and-9 at the STL 41, Jones punted the ball 45 yards and it was fair caught at the DAL 14.
On 4th-and-6 at the DAL 48, McBriar punted the ball 49 yards and it was downed at the STL 3.
4th quarter:
On 4th-and-10 at the STL 32, Jones punted the ball 53 yards and it was returned to the DAL 22.
On 1st-and-6 at the STL 6, Cowboys backup RB Phillip Tanner rushed the ball to the right, which resulted in a touchdown and extra point by Bailey. Rams 7 Cowboys 27
On 4th-and-4 at the STL 40, Feeley was sacked then fumbled, which was recovered by C Jason Brown who returned it for no gain.
On 3rd-and-10 at the STL 20, Romo threw a deep right pass to WR Dez Bryant, which resulted in a touchdown and extra point by Bailey. Rams 7 Cowboys 34
On 4th-and-goal at the DAL 1, Jackson rushed the ball to the right and was tackled for a loss.
On 1st-and-10 at the DAL 19, Cowboys backup QB Jon Kitna knelt to the DAL 18. End game
Post-game notes: The Rams lost RT Jason Smith and DT Darell Scott throughout the game due to head injuries that caused the game to be stopped for minutes and both were taken off the field on the cart (both players will fly home with the team). Rams LB Brady Poppinga also left the game due to a left calf strain and CB Justin King missed part of the game because of a right groin injury. Choice was injured on the fumble play and did not return. Even the field judge caused play to stop because he was hit on a play. World Series players Josh Hamilton of Texas and Lance Berkman of St. Louis were captains of the coin toss before the game.
Murray set a franchise rushing record with 253 yards, as well as the second-longest rushing touchdown that went for 91 yards. His rushing total is also more than any individual player so far this season and is second to Adrian Peterson all-time for rookies. Dan Bailey also had a record day with a long field goal of 51 yards. The Cowboys have finally played a game this season that didn’t come down to the final two minutes. Bryant had a good game, including a great second half, which is a first this year. Feeley hadn’t started a game since ’07 and was just okay. Lloyd had an impressive debut for a Rams wide receiver.
In a loss that was deserved, the Rams got destroyed by the Dallas “America’s Team” Cowboys 34-7. The Rams are still winless and the Cowboys are now even. Dallas still has not allowed a touchdown in the first quarter. The Cowboys practically doubled the Rams in first downs. They also had almost 200 more net yards. The biggest stat was rushing yards with the Cowboys easily beating the Rams in that category 294 to 70. The Rams returned the kickoff five times for 114 yards, though the Cowboys never did at all. Penalties and turnovers were similar, so they were a nonfactor. Dallas controlled the ball for eight more minutes.
The big stats of the game were touchdowns and efficiency. The Rams only gained four yards in the third quarter. The Cowboys ended up with four TDs and the Rams ended up with one. The Rams were okay in the red zone going one for two. However, the Cowboys were three for four in the red zone. The Rams were also okay on goal to go converting one of two and the Cowboys were decent converting two for three. The Rams attempted no field goals, while the Cowboys were successful on both attempts. The Rams were zero for two on fourth down and the Cowboys did not attempt a fourth-down conversion.
The season is looking even worse for the Rams, now that they are 0-6 in the regular season; they are five games behind the San Francisco 49ers. I am officially declaring that the season is over for the Rams and they will not win this year’s division for the first time since 2003 or make the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
By Trevor Roe
ProFootball-fans.com St. Louis Rams Correspondent