Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Rams: 5 X-factors for Divisional Round
5. The kicking game: Zuerlein vs. Maher
The way this game could be played at a close pace and score all game long, the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Rams could be looking at a potential scenario where their respective kicker could be the one deciding the game.
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The Cowboys bring Brett Maher to the fold, and in his first season with the Cowboys he’s done very well at times, and then there is the fact he’s missed seven field goals this season, including one last Saturday in the 24-22 win over the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card game. In what is his rookie season, Maher is 29-of-36 in field goal chances (80.6 percent) with a career-long of 62 yards in Week 14 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Maher is 32-of-33 in extra point attempts this season, so for all but one time — also in Week 14 — he’s connected for the PAT. Maher is an X-Factor for the reason that this is probably the biggest game of his career, and last weekend in the playoffs he did miss a field goal, so he’s going to have to work to be close to perfect as he can be against the Rams, while doing so when competing at the highest level of his profession.
The same can be said for Zuerlein, who missed Weeks 2-6 with an injury. For the season, he’s 35-of-36 in PATs and 27-of-31 with field goals, last missing a field goal in Week 16. Zuerlein’s longest field goal of the season is 56 yards in Week 9 at the New Orleans Saints. In Week 17, Zuerlein kicked a 51-yard field goal at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The kicking game will for sure be front and center for this game, making it a huge X-Factor on Saturday night.