Rams 20-43 Cowboys, summary: score, stats, highlights | NFL Week 8
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GAME SUMMARY: Cowboys defeat Rams to improve to 5-2
Coming off of their bye week, the Cowboys notched another victory over the Rams on Sunday, beating them 43-20 in a game that saw them dominate on offense, defense, and special teams. This win made their 11th consecutive win at home.
Lamb sets career high
Of the Cowboys' four offensive touchdowns, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb caught two. Not only that, but he contributed a career high of 12 receptions and 158 yards.
Prescott with four passing TDs
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott started off the game with a sack on the very first play of the game and was sacked another time shortly after that, but it was called back on a penalty. Then, he was sacked again immediately after. It wasn't exactly the start the Cowboys had in mind. But, they made up for it and then some. A few long gains by Lamb and fellow WR Michael Gallup helped set up an 18-yard touchdown pass from Prescott to Jake Ferguson.
That was Precott's first of four, passing to Lamb twice and once to Cooks. He finished the game 25-of-31 for 304 yards, the four touchdowns, and one interception. It was his first 300-yard game of the season.
Dallas defense dominates
The Dallas defense was as dominant as the offense with one touchdown from Daron Bland (his third - NFL leader in this stat), who intercepted Matt Stafford's pass and ran the ball 36 yards into the end zone. In addition to that, MicahParsons had one sack, two tackles for a loss, and three quarterback hits. DoranceArmstrong had one sack, one tackle for a loss, and one quarterback hit.
Cowboys Special Teams
The Cowboys even showed out on special teams. SamWilliams blocked a punt to get a safety for Dallas. Then, KavontaeTurpin returned the ball 63 yards to set up Lamb's first TD.
Stafford injury adds to insult
The Rams offense was unable to stop the Dallas defense and the Rams defense couldn't stop the Dallas passing game. On top of that, Stafford left the game in the third quarter after hurting his thumb on a failed 2-point conversion and later suffering a bloody elbow when he caught a 2-point conversion pass from Tutu Atwell. Before that, he led the Rams to two scoring drives to cut Dallas' lead to 30-16. But then he threw the interception to Bland which resulted in the touchdown for the Cowboys.
Nacua sets a record
Despite the Rams loss, receiver Puka Nacua set an NFL record for most catches by a rookie through the first 8 weeks of the season with 61 career catches.
What's next?
The Cowboys will play NFC East rivals the PhiladelphiaEagles next Sunday in a game that will really let people know if Dallas are contenders.
The Rams will face the GreenBayPackers next Sunday as they look to swing back from today's loss.
Cowboys beat Rams 43-20
And the Cowboys take the knee to run out the clock and they improve to 5-2 with win over Rams.
Rypien SACKED by Armstrong on 3rd down for a loss of 7 and they'll punt it back again
Anger punts it back 52 yards, fair catch by Trammell
Rush pass underthrown to Turpin and the Cowboys are at 4th and 3
Dowdle again for a gain if 5 - 3rd and 3
Dallas takes 2nd timeout
Dowdle with a gain of 3
Havrisik's 47-yard field goal is good to put the Rams at 20 points with just 5 and a half minutes left to paly
RAMS FIELD GOAL!
Freeman tried to take it down field but Fowler took him down for a loss of 2 and the Rams will try for a field goal at 4th and 12
Delay of Game on Rams - 3rd and 10
Kupp gets another 5 and Gallimore bats away Rypien's nexct pass to put Rams at 3rd and 5
Rypien to Higbee for a pickup of 13 and a 1st down at the Cowboys 27
What could've been an 88-yard touchdown return by Turpin instead was a three-and-out by Dallas. At 4th and 9, they punt it back to the Rams. Trammell is taken down and back 5 yards by Williams and Wright.
With the score as it is, the Cowboys have taken Prescott out and put Rush in
Turpin returned the ball all the way to the endzone 88 yards but the touchdown was nullified by a Holding call on Cowboys' Wright
Rypien pass incomplete to Kupp and Rams are at 4th and 6
Henderson picks up 3, then 1 and gets up slowly after a big hit from Lawrence
Prescott launched a perfect pass 25 yards to Cooks in the end zone for Prescott's 4th touchdown of the game. Aubrey's PAT is good and the Cowboys take a HUGE lead with 12:19 to go in the final quarter.
COWBOYS TOUCHDOWN!
Cowboys left tackle Edoga was injured on the play
Prescott bullet pass deep to Lamb caught in the air for 24 yards
The Rams went for it again but this time it didn't work out. Rypien's pass to Kupp was incomplete and the Cowboys will get the ball back on downs at their own 46.
The Rams are brought to 4th and 2 yet again at the Dallas 46
Rypien pass complete to Nacua for 13 yards and they convert on 4th down
END THIRD QUARTER
And that will take us to the end of the 3rd quarter.
The Cowboys are leading 36-17 and the Rams are playing with backup QB Brett Rypien with Stafford out after a thumb injury. When we start the fourth quarter, the Rams will go for it on 4th and 2.
Rypien with plenty of time lofts it to Higbee, but he doesn't get the catch. Rams are at 4th and 2.
Freeman gets another yard - 3rd down and 2 Rams
Stafford out with thumb injury
Stafford is out for the Rams now and BrettRypienis in. On the first drive, Freeman takes it up 7 yards.
The Cowboys finally make it down the field in just under 10 minutes only to get stopped at 4th down at the Rams 9. They go for a field goal instead and Aubrey's 27-yard attempt is good. The Cowboys maintain the lead with 1:32 to go in the 3rd quarter.
COWBOYS FIELD GOAL!
Prescott pass bobbled in the air by Pollard, but he gets it back. He gets just 2 yards to put Cowboys at 4th down and they won't go for it again.
Pollard gets no gain, then 4 to put Cowboys at 3rd and 6 at the Rams 11
Prescott pass incomplete to Dowdle, but Rams' Kendrick gets called for PassInterference to give Dallas the automatic first down
Prescott pass was initially caught by Lamb but knocked out on the ground by Lake - 2nd and 10 at the Rams 19
Pollard finds the holes and pushes through for 13 yards and another 1st down
Prescott pass COMPLETE to Cooks for 5 yards to get the Cowboys the 1st down
Cowboys take first timeout
Prescott pass to Lamb for 8 yards, just short of the 1st down. It looks like the Cowboys will go for it on 4th and 1
Prescott faked it to Pollard, passed to Cooks, broken up by Kendrick, 3rd and 9
Prescott scrambles away again but slides to get just a yard this time - 2nd and 9
Prescott under heavy pressure and he scrambles away to get the 1st down
False Start on Cowboys' Turpin - now it's a 3rd and 8
A few yards by Lamb and Pollard bring Cowboys to 3rd and 3
Dowdle pushes through for a gain of 5 for the 1st down
Prescott to Gallup for a pickup of 6, 2nd and 4
Pollard gets 9, then 7 for the 1st down at the Cowboys 32
Turpin was trying to get away on the return but he was stopped by Skowronek and Reeder for a gain of 25 yards
Ruling on the field stands and it's a two-possession game
We may be amending this score in a moment, but let's see...
Rams got down the field quick with the help of a 32-yard run by Henderson and it's a Stafford pass to Skowronek 20 yards into the end zone that gets them the touchdown. Then on the 2-point conversion attempt, Stafford ran it into the end zone himself, but the officials are reviewing the play to see if he was down before crossing the line. If it stands, the Rams will be just 16 points behind with 11:29 to go in the third quarter.
RAMS 2-POINT CONVERSION SUCCEEDS!
RAMS TOUCHDOWN!
Henderson tackled immediately by Bell for 1 yard - 3rd and 6
Stafford fakes the handoff, gets it away to Higbee for a gain of 3
Freeman gets a gain of 10for another 1st down to the Cowboys 24
Henderson gets a huge 32-yard gain to get to the Cowboys 36
And we're back!
The Rams are starting us off on offense here in the second half and Stafford is still out on the field despite hurting his thumb just before the half.
HALFTIME
The Cowboys have been on fire on all sides of the ball. After a rough start with Prescott getting sacked twice on the Cowboys opening drive, they came back with a vengeance with three offensive touchdowns to Lamb (2) and Ferguson (1) and one defensive touchdown by Bland, plus a safety by Williams on a blocked punt.
Just before halftime, Stafford walked off the field with a hurt thumb after hitting it on a Dallas defender's helmet on a failed 2-point conversion attempt.
The Rams were able to get in the endzone juuuust before halftime with Freeman running it into the endzone 1 yard and they decide to take the risk and go for 2 and it did not pay off at all. Stafford's pass was incomplete and he hurt his thumb on the play (which he'd already been nursing), hitting against the helmet of a Dallas defender. The Rams trail by 24 points heading into the second half.
RAMS TOUCHDOWN!
Rams take final timeout
Henderson takes it up 5 yards, short of the endzone, but getting the 1st down
Dallas takes second timeout
Stafford pass incomplete to Nacua, who caught it out of bounds - 3rd down Rams
Stafford pass to Nacua complete for a gain of 8
Rams take timeout
Freeman takes it up another 6 for the 1st down at the Dallas 14
Stafford hands off to Freeman and he picks up 5. 2nd and 5 at the Dallas 20
Holding on Cowboys' Bland, Rams 1st down
Stafford pass bullet to Atwell for a 20-yard gain inside the Cowboys 40
Stafford pass complete to Higbee for a gain of 12, 3rd and 8
Nacua was able to get the 1st down but Rams' Avila was called for Holding, taking it back to 2nd and 20
Stafford pass incomplete to Higbee, 2nd and 10
TWO-MINUTE WARNING
With 2 minutes left in the half, the Cowboys are up by 30 points. The Rams have the ball on a 1st down at their own 34.
Cowboys get called for Offsides on Williams and the Rams get the automatic 1st down
Stafford under pressure from Parsons but he gets the ball away to Higbee, who barely catches it but it's ruled incomplete and McVay does not challenge - 3rd and 1
Stafford pass complete to Kupp for a pickup of 9
Prescott and Lamb's connection is on fire today. Prescott got away on a 3rd down to then throw a 22-yard pass into the endzone to none other than CeeDeeLamb to give them an even greater lead with just 2 minutes 27 seconds left in the first half.
COWBOYS TOUCHDOWN!
Cowboys take first timeout
Dowdle picks up just 2 - 3rd and 8
On the next play, Lamb is taken down immediately by Lake for no gain - 2nd down
Prescott pass to Lamb is caught and he pushes past the Rams defense for a pickup of 26 yards
Prescott fakes the pass to Schoonmaker who picks up 13 yards
After the review, the officials REVERSED the call, but that leaves the Rams at 4th and 6 so they'll have to punt it back to Dallas anyway
Stafford SACKED by Parsons and the ball comes loose and is recovered by Dallas, but the officials are reviewing the call to see if Stafford's arm had forward motion or not...
Henderson picks up 4 - 3rd and 6
Stafford pass incomplete to Nacua who had several defenders all over him
Prescott pass intended for McKeon was INTERCEPTED by Fuller who ran it back 18 yards
Big pickups by Turpin, Dowdle, and Ferguson put the Cowboys at 1st and goal at the Rams 10
Pollard gets a gain of 4, and then an incomplete pass by Prescott - Cowboys at 3rd down and 6 at the Rams 41
Prescott pass to Lamb for a huge gain of 21 yards
Pollard goes 1 yard backwards, 3 yards forwardrs to bring Dallas to 3rd and 8
Ferguson gets a pickup of 12 and a 1st down to start off the Cowboys drive.
And the Rams go 3 and out on their next drive. They'll punt it back to the Cowboys on 4th down.
The Cowboys are on a streak on all sides right now. After getting a defensive touchdown, then a safety, Dallas' special teams ace Kavontae Turpin ran the return down 63 yards to set up the score. It was a 10-yard pass to Lamb to get the touchdown and Aubrey's PAT was good to put the Cowboys up by 23 points with 12:45 still to go in the half.
COWBOYS TOUCHDOWN!
Turpin keeps the momentum going with a 63-YARD RETURN to the Rams 13!
The Dallas defense is on fire. After Parsons sacked Stafford, Williams blocked the Rams' punt to get a safety just at the start of the 2nd quarter.
Evans punt is BLOCKED by Dallas' Williams, SAFETY
Stafford SACKED by Parsons for a loss of 9 yards
Rams start 2nd quarter at 2nd and 14 and Freeman gets a gain of 9
END FIRST QUARTER
And that brings us to the end of the first quarter with the Cowboys leading 17-3 after getting a defensive touchdown by Daron Bland.
Stafford pass complete to Higbee but Kearse takes him back 3 yards...
The Cowboys defense came through, with Bland intercepting a Stafford pass and running it back 30 yards into the endzone to give the Cowboys another touchdown just before the end of the 1st quarter with 36 seconds left to play.
And ran it all the way back for a COWBOYS TOUCHDOWN!
Stafford tried to pass to Kupp but Bland was right there to INTERCEPT it...
The Cowboys got down into Rams territory, but not close enough to get a touchdown as Prescott was sacked for a third time on 3rd and short. Aubrey's 58-yard field goal attempt was good. The Cowboys lead with 43 seconds to go in the 1st quarter.
COWBOYS FIELD GOAL!
Prescott SACKED, again by Donald for a loss of 10 yards to put Cowboys at 4th down
Pollard takes it up 6 yards to the Rams 30, 3rd and 4
Prescott pass to Gallup broken up by Lake, 2nd and 10
Prescott pass complete to Lamb and he gets another 12 yards, hoping to keep up those 100-yard games.
Prescott scrambles again at 3rd and 2 and gets just enough for the 1st down
Prescott avoids a sack, scrambles up for a gain of 7
The Cowboys are back on offense and Prescott gets off to a much better start than the last drive, hitting Lamb who gets a gain of 17yards.
The Rams get downfield led by a 20-yard gain by Tyler Higbee, but at the 15, they're held to 4th down and instead, kicker Havrisik came out to make his debut with a 33-yard field goal. The Rams trail with 5:22 left in the 1st quarter.
RAMS FIELD GOAL!
This time, it's a clean tackle by Bland on Kupp after a 2-yard run and now the Rams will attempt a field goal.
Stafford pass incomplete to Kupp and Bland was all over him, but the refs don't throw the flag. Cowboys get away with murder there as the Rams are now at 3rd and 10.
Stafford flip-reverse passed to Atwell, and he dodged some defenders but ended up with no gain - 2nd down
Stafford dart pass to Nacua for 22yards and the 1st down
Stafford pass to Atwell incomplete, 3rd and 11
The Rams went hurry-up to make Dallas lose the challenge and ended up losing a yard, 2nd and 11
Stafford pass to Higbee complete for a gain of 20yards and Dallas wanted to challenge it but waited too long to throw the flag, but it was probably for the best because it definitely looked like a catch on the replay.
Henderson picks up 5 and then 12 to get the Rams a 1st down
After getting sacked 2 (nearly 3) times, Prescott got a few long passes away to Lamb and Gallup to get into Rams territory and finally it was an 18-yard pass to Ferguson in the end zone that gave them the touchdown on their first drive and an early lead over the Rams with 9:44 to go in the 1st quarter.
COWBOYS TOUCHDOWN!
On 3rd down and 6, Prescott gets away and gives the ball Cooks for a pickup of 19 yards and the 1st down at the Rams 18
Prescott bullet pass to Gallup for a pickup of 14 to the Rams 40, 1st down
CeeDee is here to try to save the 'Boys, he gets a pickup of 17 yards for the 1st down
Prescott is getting destroyed. This time it was Donald who gave Prescott the SACK for a loss of 7 yards.
Prescott was sacked again by Young, but it was taken back by an Illegal Contact penalty by Lake, giving them an automatic 1st down....and yet...
Off to a great start...Prescott is SACKED on the very first play of the game by Hoecht for a loss of 5 yards
Game time!
And we're off! The Rams won the toss and elected to defer so Dallas will start us off on offense. Let's go!
Fun fact:
The Cowboys are on a 10-game winning streak at home going into the game against the Rams today.
The Cowboys lead the series 19-18 and won their last matchup last season 22-10.
Cowboys-Rams game could have impact on NFC race
If the Rams are able to pull off a win against the Cowboys, they would improve to 4-4 and therefore give themselves an advantage in the NFC playoff picture down the line. As it stands now, the Cowboys are 4-2 and the Rams 3-4, so it's Dallas who's in control of the No. 6 seed in the post season at the moment.
Considering the Eagles are likely to maintain their spot atop the NFC and beat the Commanders this week, the Cowboys need another NFC win to keep in competition with their divisional rivals. We're already nearly halfway through the regular season, and the consequences of a win or loss at this stage can be truly significant.
Neck injury keeping Tyron Smith out vs Rams
The Cowboys and Rams have announced their inactives ahead of today's game. Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith headlines the list with a neck injury.
Dallas Cowboys Inactives
LT Tyron Smith
WR Jalen Brooks
RB Deuce Vaughn
CB Noah Igbinoghene
CB Eric Scott Jr.
DE Junior Fehoko
Emergency third QB Trey Lance
Los Angeles Rams Inactives
RB Zach Evans
OLB Nick Hampton
OL Zach Thomas
OL Rob Havenstein
DE Earnest Brown IV
Dallas Cowboys...meet Puka Nacua
The last time the Rams and Cowboys met, the Dallas defense completely obliterated Stafford and the rest of the Rams offense with a 22-10 victory at SoFi Stadium. Stafford was sacked twice by All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons, who had six QB pressures during the game as well.
Even so, WR Cooper Kupp was able to get 125 yard and a touchdown on seven receptions in that game. And now the Rams have a weapon they didn't have last season - rookie Puka Nacua. Nacua leads the league in catches with 58 through the first seven weeks and his 752 receiving yards are the third-most in the league behind Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill (902) and Eagles WR A.J. Brown (809). Together with Kupp, Nacua presents a double threat to the Cowboys defense.
"Give me the ball and see what happens!" -CeeDee's plea
Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was a key part of their win against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 6 with seven receptions and 117 yards, and he's pleading with the team to keep giving him the ball so he can keep delivering.
He has shown that he deserves to be the No. 1 receiver on the team. His 117-yard game against the Chargers was the 12th time he's gained over 100 yards in his career and the second time this season. He is 11th in the league in 100-yard gains since 2020.
"You get a lot of 16-yard gains, just continuing to move the chains, 100-yard games are coming," said Lamb. "For me, that’s definitely what I plan to do [in] this team and continue to do. So, planning on more 100-yard games."
Cowboys and Rams - where do they stand in Week 8?
Rams try to jump up to .500
The Rams fell to 3-4 after their loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week and will now try to jump back up to .500 with a win over the Cowboys. However, they might have to do so without running back Kyren Williams and offensive tackle Rob Havenstein, who have both been listed as questionable ahead of today's game against the Cowboys.
The Rams have been inconsistent this season, looking dominant in some games, and then blowing leads in others - four, to be exact - to lose the game. Their strength is in the passing game (6th in the league in passing yards per game) with quarterback MatthewStafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp leading the offense as well as breakout star, rookie PukaNacua.
Cowboys look to keep the momentum
The Cowboys are fresh off a bye week and are at 4-2 heading into Week 8 against the Rams. They are looking good as far as injuries go and their defense will put the Rams o-line to the test. They have scored an average of 35 points per game this season and have scored 30 or more in three of their four wins. If they keep getting long runs by WR CeeDeeLamb and RB TonyPollard, we could see another high-scoring game.
Despite the Cowboys' dominant victories, they have also shown weaknesses in their losses to the Cardinals and 49ers.
Hello everyone and welcome to our live text coverage of the Los Angeles Rams at Dallas Cowboys!
Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET from AT&T Stadium and we'll be here throughout the game to bring you the latest highlights, stats, scores, and commentary.