For much of the first half, it appeared the Dallas Cowboys were going to rout the young Rams on Sunday.
Ezekiel Elliott looked like his 2016-self, giving great effort and coming away with two important touchdowns. Dak Prescott was being Dak Prescott, and the defense was holding up better than most had anticipated.
And, then, with a muffed punt the complexion of the entire game changed.
Ryan Switzer made a few key special teams mistakes today, but none were greater than that second quarter fumble which resulted in seven points for the Rams. But, it isn’t fair to put the entirety of the blame on Switzer.
Defensively, the Cowboys were flat-out bullied. Rams running back Todd Gurley couldn’t be stopped, going for over 200 yards from scrimmage during the 35-30 win. Jared Goff shredded the back-seven of the Cowboys, mostly because of poor play at linebacker for Dallas.
When the Cowboys needed to make plays, they simply couldn’t. When they had to come through on a two point conversion, they instead came away with a holding penalty and a dropped pass in the end zone.
When they needed a stop, or to create a turnover, they gave up 35 points in their own building. And, when given a chance to drive the field and save the day, the Cowboys offense simply failed.
Yes, this loss stings hard, but the worst part isn’t that they lost. It’s that they had the game under total control and let the Rams back in it.
With the loss the Cowboys fall to 2-2. They will host Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers next Sunday afternoon.
