LOS
ANGELES — Aiming to clinch their first berth in the NFC Championship in
23 seasons, the Cowboys instead became victims of identity fraud.
Rather
than seeing Ezekiel Elliott running free in the Rams secondary, it was
Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson that tore apart Dallas’ defense to the
tune of 238 rushing yards. Behind its ground attack, Los Angeles kept
possession for the majority of the game and recorded a 30-22 win
Saturday night at LA Memorial Coliseum.
The
Cowboys’ defense, which established itself as one of the NFL’s best all
season, was unable to keep the Rams from putting together long,
time-consuming drives.
Despite
the struggles, Dallas had a shot to tie the game with a touchdown and a
2-point conversion early in the fourth quarter during a promising march
into enemy territory. However, Elliott was stuffed on an unimaginative
run play up the middle on fourth-and-1.
Los
Angeles got its own fourth-down chance on the ensuing possession and
cashed in on a 1-yard plunge across the goal line by Anderson. The score
left the Cowboys in desperation mode, as they faced a 30-15 deficit
with 7:16 left to play.
Dak
Prescott scored on a short run with 2:11 to go to help make it a
once-score contest at 30-22, but Garrett chose to kick it deep rather
than go with the onside. The outcome was extremely predictable, as the
Rams picked up a pair of first downs via the run to ice the victory.
It
was a frustrating end to a stellar season for the ‘Boys, but one thing
is certain — Dak doubters had little to grumble about during the latter
portion of the season. Even in defeat, Prescott outplayed Jared Goff by
completing 20 of his 32 throws for 266 yards.
Surprisingly, it was the Cowboys’ defense that turned out to be the weak link when it mattered most.
Dallas
relied on a bend-but-don’t-break approach defensively on the first two
Los Angeles possessions, which resulted in a pair of Greg Zeurlein field
goals. At that point, the Cowboys held a 7-6 lead thanks to an
impressive opening drive led by Prescott that was capped by his 29-yard
touchdown strike to Amari Cooper.
Each
of the Rams’ next two possessions reached the end zone, mostly thanks
to a patient running game that began to gash Dallas right up the gut.
Anderson ended a nine-play march with a 1-yard plunge, and Gurley, who
made his return to the lineup from a knee injury, later broke loose for a
35-yard TD run.
The
Cowboys’ last chance to draw closer before halftime was stopped by a
phantom sack on Prescott in which the referees ruled him “in the grasp”
despite clear evidence to the contrary.
Dallas
trailed 20-7 at intermission but managed to make it a 23-15 game in the
third quarter after Elliott muscled his way into the end zone from a
yard out and Prescott hit Cooper for the 2-point try.
The
Cowboys then got a rare defensive stop thanks to a pair of errant
passes from Goff, but Los Angeles’ defensive front answered by meeting
Elliott in the backfield on his fourth-down run from the Rams’ 35.
Elliott finished the game with just 47 yards on 20 carries.