Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Rams: Previewing LA's offense
At long last, the Dallas Cowboys are set to kick off the 2020 NFL season on the road against the Los Angeles Rams. The anticipation for football season is always high, but the combination of sports leagues being put on halt during the early stages of the coronavirus and no preseason games makes it that […]
At long last, the Dallas Cowboys are set to kick off the 2020 NFL season on the road against the Los Angeles Rams.
The anticipation for football season is always high, but the combination of sports leagues being put on halt during the early stages of the coronavirus and no preseason games makes it that much greater this time around.
It is only fitting that the Cowboys open the season in primetime on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. The matchup against the Rams will give us our first real look at head coach Mike McCarthy, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, and the new regime. There are high expectations for what this group will be able to accomplish in year one.
The last time that these two teams squared up, Dallas came out on top in dominant fashion: a 44-21 victory inside AT&T stadium in which both Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground and Dak Prescott tossed a pair of touchdown passes. Before that, the Rams knocked the Cowboys out of the postseason in the Divisional Round of the 2018 playoffs.
Sean McVay is regarded as one of the brightest offensive minds across the entire league, despite the Los Angeles Rams’ mediocre season in 2019. It will be interesting to see what he comes up with to attack the Dallas defense after an odd offseason.
Quarterback
Jared Goff has had his fair share of highs – including leading Los Angeles to Super Bowl LIII – and many lows throughout his career. Still, Goff is a quality starting quarterback in the league, and the California product threw for the third most passing yards – 4,638 yards on 62.9%. The Rams need their franchise signal-caller to cut down on turnovers and mistakes in order to compete in a challenging NFC West.
Goff is under a lot more scrutiny entering the 2020 season after a disappoinintg 2019 campaign. Many skeptics believe Goff's success has been more about McVay's brilliance than the quarterback's own ability. Sunday night's performance will go a long way in either backing that opinion up or in Goff changing that narrative.
Running Back
The running back position will look different for the Rams in 2020. Gone is Todd Gurley after a productive career with the franchise that drafted him in the top-10 back in the 2015 draft. The team now looks towards Cam Akers – the 52nd overall selection in April’s draft – and speedster Darrell Henderson to carry the load. It is no secret that McVay wants to get the ground game going in 2020, as The Athletic’s Sheli Kapadia pointed out:
One of Sean McVay’s primary goals this season has to be improving the run game. Los Angeles ranked 20th in efficiency last season and parted ways with Todd Gurley. The team drafted Cam Akers in the second round, and he could be in store for a big role right away, especially considering that Darrell Henderson has been slowed by a hamstring issue.
The Cowboys struggled to stop the run last season, but the hope is that a new defensive staff, the addition to the defensive line, and a healthy Leighton Vander Each go a long way in improving that. Week one should be a good test in that theory.
Wide Receiver
At wide receiver, the Rams have a very solid pair in Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, among the best duos in the league at the position.
Kupp has been a major target for Goff throughout his career when healthy, while Woods came on strong last season and should have an even larger role this season with Brandin Cooks off to Houston.
Rookie Van Jefferson out of Florida has reportedly been turning some heads and impressing during training camp as well, giving Los Angeles yet another potential weapon that the Cowboys defense will have to account for on Sunday.
With the questions in the secondary for the Cowboys, this is certainly an area of concern. Will Goff have his way in getting the ball to his weapons, or will the Cowboys step up to the challenge?
Tight End
Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett lead the charge at tight end for the Rams.
The former hauled in 69 catches for 734 yards and three scores in 2019 while the latter added 37-408-2. Higbee solidified himself as the starter last season and will be a big part of McVay's offense in 2020, but Everett still offers potential to be an impact player as a receiver.
Do not be surprised if McVay and Goff go after and attack the Dallas Cowboys safeties early and often on Sunday evening.
Offensive Line
Offensive line play is so crucial. With McVay being open about wanting the run game to improve, combined with Goff needing to take a step forward this season, Los Angeles desperately needs strong play in the trenches.
The veteran Andrew Whitworth will hold things down on the left side of the line for the Rams while protecting Goff's blind side. Elsewhere, though, there are some question marks for the Los Angeles.
RamsWire's Cameron DaSilva wrote last week on the fact that the Rams have yet to determine who will be the five starters along the offensive line come week one.
Surprisingly, the offensive line is one of those groups that hasn’t had its starters fully determined yet. Sean McVay shared that somewhat unexpected bit of information during his media session on Tuesday, saying the Rams are still determining which five players will be the starters in Week 1.
“Yeah, it’s an ongoing evaluation. I think it’s getting a feel,” he said. “I mean, you get a lot of work in, even before you can truly start the practices. But, like we have talked about in the last couple of years, we’re moving guys around. We want to be able to establish that depth, make sure guys are comfortable playing in multiple spots and on multiple sides of the line. So, I wouldn’t say anything is fully decided. That’s just part of our evaluation process.”
The official depth chart that was released by the team earlier in the week has Joe Noteboom, Austin Blythe, Austin Corbett, and Rob Havenstein joining Whitworth as starters for the Rams offensive line on Sunday night. Still, McVay clearly wanted to see more before he named the starters as recent as last week.
This will be an opportunity for the group of DeMarcus Lawrence, Everson Griffen, Dontari Poe, and company to take advantage and make their presence felt in a big way for the Cowboys. A strong pass rush could derail a lot of what the Rams are planning for and make Goff's night very long on Sunday.
Featured image via Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
