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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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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – JANUARY 05: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys runs the ball against the Seattle Seahawks 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: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys runs the ball against the Seattle Seahawks 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) /

Cowboys Keys To Victory

All season long, we’ve heard about the “Hot Boyz” and how much potential the defense of the Dallas Cowboys has in this game. This is the big stage now, and it is time for the defense of the Cowboys to shine brighter than their star logo ever has, as they will be very much needed against the offense of the Rams.

The defense is more than capable of stopping the offense of the Rams, and with Rams running back Todd Gurley coming off an injury, with this being his first game back, the Cowboys must use their momentum against Gurley and not let him be the one that beats them this weekend. Here are three keys to victory for the Cowboys in the Divisional Round.

1. Scheme Against Aaron Donald — The Rams have the NFL sacks leader Aaron Donald to put pressure on Dak Prescott and the rest of the offense of the Cowboys. The smart and logical thing for Jason Garrett, Scott Linehan and the rest of the offensive coaches to do is to find a way to keep away from Donald. The Rams’ pass rusher is a game changer for sure, and the Cowboys can’t afford to let Donald get on a roll and change the pace and style of offense they want to run.

2. Get Targets To Amari Cooper — When the Cowboys are able to open up their passing game, good things happen. When the Cowboys get big-yardage games and big plays from Amari Cooper, they win those games. While with the Oakland Raiders in the season opener, Cooper was targeted just three times by his former team against the Rams, a game where he totaled one reception for nine yards.

Since joining the Cowboys, the three times where Cooper has caught for over 100 yards in a game, the Cowboys have won. Cooper had 180 yards on eight receptions against the Redskins, 217 yards on 10 receptions against the Eagles and 106 yards in the Wild Card game against the Seahawks. It is simple – make plays to get Cooper involved, and he can handle his own against any defensive back in the league.

3. Cowboys Secondary Needs To Be Great — It is simple for the Cowboys on Saturday: don’t let the Rams gain big-yardage, game-changing plays due to the secondary getting caught in a bad scheme or out of their coverage area. The secondary can’t get beat by the Rams offense on Saturday.

If they do, it will make for the Cowboys defense being on the field too long, and when that happens, the game usually goes in favor of the offense. The Rams have some strong players at wide receiver, and the Cowboys better be on notice and not take them lightly or the Cowboys will miss the NFC Championship Game for at least another season.

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