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Cowboys vs. Rams preview: Divisional Round brings Ezekiel Elliott vs. Todd Gurley

By Stephen Forsha

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 05: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys fights off Shaquill Griffin #26 of the Seattle Seahawks on a run in the fourth quarter during the Wild Card Round at AT&T Stadium on January 05, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 05: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys fights off Shaquill Griffin #26 of the Seattle Seahawks on a run in the fourth quarter during the Wild Card Round at AT&T Stadium on January 05, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 16: Running back Todd Gurley #30 of the Los Angeles Rams scores a touchdown in front of cornerback Cre’von LeBlanc #34 of the Philadelphia Eagles to take a 7-3 lead in the first quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 16: Running back Todd Gurley #30 of the Los Angeles Rams scores a touchdown in front of cornerback Cre’von LeBlanc #34 of the Philadelphia Eagles to take a 7-3 lead in the first quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Rams Keys To Victory

The Los Angeles Rams have one of the the best teams in all of the NFL, shown by their ability to have a first-round bye in the playoffs and have a regular season where they finished 13-3 overall to win the NFC West title. The Rams ended the regular season with a 48-32 win over the San Francisco 49ers and in their final five games went 3-2 after having a very strong start to the NFL season.

Their three losses came against the New Orleans Saints (45-35), the Chicago Bears (15-6) and the Philadelphia Eagles (30-23). Granted, all three of those teams are playoff teams for the 2018 season, but those games showed the Rams aren’t perfect as once believed.

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Now for Saturday against the Cowboys, if the Rams can put pressure on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and force him into mistakes, the Rams will be moving on to the NFC Championship game. Here are three keys to victory for the Rams in the Divisional Round.

1. Pressure Prescott — The Rams have a strong defensive line anchored by Aaron Donald and his 20.5 sacks this season. If Donald is able to break past the Cowboys offensive line, which has had its issues this season — then he’ll be able to disrupt the flow of the Cowboys offense and force the Cowboys out of their potential game plan.

2. Stop the Cowboys Rushing Game — This is maybe more important than pressuring Prescott, and that is don’t let Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys offensive line control the line of scrimmage. We all know the Cowboys will have rushing plays designed to slow down the Rams’ strong defensive line and linebackers, but the Rams have to be better than what the Cowboys offer. Los Angeles is very talented on their d-line and linebackers, but they are going to have to show they are the stronger unit if they want to advance.

3. Take Advantage Of Cowboys Secondary — Dallas might have a good overall defense, but the Rams have the abilities to take advantage of a sometimes suspect secondary of the Cowboys, as Los Angeles is more than capable of gaining the big-yardage plays through the air in this game.

The Cowboys need to not only game plan for Todd Gurley, but they can’t forget about the likes of Robert Woods (86 receptions, 1,219 yards, six touchdowns) or Brandin Cooks (80 receptions, 1,204 yards, five touchdowns), either. The Rams have the weapons, but they have to be able to take advantage of situations that will most likely occur on Saturday.

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