Cowboys Run Away From Rams 34-7

The St. Louis Rams were run over 34-7 by the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon. With Felix Jones out of the Cowboys lineup DeMarco Murray a teammate of Sam Bradford was inserted as their starting running back. All Murray did was set a franchise-record with 253 yards rushing including a 91 yard touchdown run on his first carry of the game giving Dallas an early 7-0 lead. Once again the St. Louis Rams never played with the lead and trailed by double digits for well over half of the game.

Once Cadilac Williams fumbled late in the first quarter and the Cowboys converted that turnover into a Jason Witten TD the game was basically over. The Rams who came in the game last in scoring and 23rd in total yards were only able to score seven points and gain 265 total yards as they were shutdown by the Cowboys defense. The Rams pulled within 14-7 when Steven Jackson was able to rip off 46 yards on back to back carries including a 40 yarder. For the game Jackson had 70 yards on 18 carries, however for the most part he was locked down. If you take away the 40 yard run Jackson gained 30 yards on 17 carries, as the Cowboys showed why they have the #1 ranked rushing defense in the NFL.

A.J. Feeley who was playing for the injured Sam Bradford completed 20 of 33 passes for 196 yards on mostly dump off passes. Feeley was intercepted once on what appeared to be a miscommunication with new wide receiver Brandon Lloyd who stopped on a route over the middle and Mike Jenkins was able to easily make the play. On the bright side Brandon Lloyd who joined the Rams six days ago was able to lead the team with six catches for 74 yards. The Rams are still unable to move the ball quickly or explosively. Other than a late game 34 yard catch and run from Lloyd the Rams were not able to do much threw the air. The Rams only had four other receptions made by wide receivers.

The Rams who were already last against the run were shredded for 294 yards on 34 carries. To make matters worse the Cowboys were without their starting running back Felix Jones. Besides DeMarco Murray running all over the field someone named Phillip Tanner out of Middle Tennessee State was able to gain 34 yards on six carries and score a TD. The interior of the Rams defensive line as well as their linebackers are often well out of position to make plays.

The Rams were able to contain Tony Romo who seemed a little lost throughout the game often letting the play clock get down to one second while motioning players all over the field. Even though Romo was not a huge factor he did have a 107 QB rating on a efficient 14 of 24 for 166 yards and two touchdown passes. Justin King and Al Harris did a great job on Miles Austin holding him 16 yards on 2 receptions.

The Rams will need to hope that they can get Sam Bradford, Brandon Lloyd and Mark Clayton all out on the field next week against the New Orleans Saints to have a chance. Its the NFL so everyone has a chance but I know the Rams are not going to beat the Saints by scoring only 7-10 points. The Saints are averaging 30 points and 450+ yards per game, not a good matchup for the Rams.

By Stlvinnie - http://www.stlouisramfan.com