Inglewood, California.- DeMarcus Lawrence returned a fumble 19 yards for a touchdown on the Rams’ opening drive, and Cooper Rush went undefeated as the Dallas Cowboys’ backup starter despite throwing for just 102 yards in a 22-10 win over Los Angeles today. .
Tony Pollard had an outstanding 57-yard touchdown run for the Cowboys, who are off to a 4-1 start for the second straight season after posting four straight wins without injured quarterback Dak Prescott.
Dorance Armstrong forced the fumble returned by Lawrence and then blocked a punt during a huge first quarter for Dallas, which got 86 rushing yards from Pollard and 78 more from Ezekiel Elliott. With Rush going 10-for-16, the Caqueros’ running game and impressive defense took over in another strong game.
Cooper Kupp had a 75-yard touchdown reception for the Rams (2-3), who fell below .500 for the second time in coach Sean McVay’s six seasons while being shut out in the second half.
With three starters missing, the defending Super Bowl champions’ offensive line struggled to support the Rams’ sluggish running game to Matthew Stafford, who passed for 308 yards and was sacked five times.
Kupp’s brilliant catch-and-run is the only touchdown scored by the Rams in their last nine quarters of play, including back-to-back losses to San Francisco and Dallas.
Malik Hooker made a decisive interception with 3:29 left in a rematch of the first regular-season game in the history of SoFi Stadium, the multimillion-dollar soccer palace built by Rams owner Stan Kroenke and defended by Rams owner Stan Kroenke. the Cowboys, Jerry Jones. Los Angeles beat Dallas 20-17 in that game without fans to open the 2020 season.
Dallas got off to an auspicious start on the third play from scrimmage when Stafford fumbled as Armstrong brought him down under enormous pressure. Lawrence picked it up and scored the second touchdown of his nine-year career.
Los Angeles’ second drive ended with Armstrong running unimpeded down the middle and blocking Riley Dixon’s punt, though Dallas managed only a subsequent field goal.
The Rams calmed down from the initial chaos and even took the lead in the second quarter when Kupp caught a short pass with one hand and rushed the final 71 yards on the longest play in NFL Offensive Player of the Year’s remarkable career. last season.
But Pollard put the Cowboys back ahead 92 seconds later, breaking up a handful of tackles in the second-longest run of his career.
