The Dallas Cowboys were in Los Angeles on Sunday to face the reigning Super Bowl champion Rams, but it was the former that put on an effort worthy of the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Dallas continues to stay undefeated with Cooper Rush at the controls of the offense in place of the injured Dak Prescott, edging out the Rams 22-10 for their fourth straight victory.
The win also gave the Cowboys the distinction of being the victor in matchups against the participants of last year’s big game since Dallas already defeated the runner-up Cincinnati Bengals nearly a month ago.
As has been the case since the second week of the current campaign, Dallas’s defense kept another opposing offense in check, the Rams’ being the latest.
A report on the Cowboys website said that the Cowboys entered the contest seeking to make quarterback Matthew Stafford’s life miserable.
Mission accomplished as the unit sacked Stafford five times and applied seemingly never-ending pressure on the former Dallas Highland Park star.
"That's what we hold our head on," fifth-year veteran pass rusher Dorance Armstrong said in the report. "That's our mindset every week. We want to be able to start fast and set the tempo."
According to an Associated Press (AP) report that was ran by Austin NBC affiliate KXAN, the defense mitigated the day Rush had.
The AP reported that the fill-in floor general threw for a paltry 102 yards with no touchdowns nor interceptions on 10-of-16 passing.
Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence’s fumble recovery into the end zone and running back Tony Pollard’s 57-yard scamper – all occurring in the first half – were the Cowboys’ lone touchdowns of the game.
Prescott told the AP he’s “day to day” when it came to the latest on his health.
Like his teammates, he relished another hard-fought victory.
“It wasn’t the prettiest, but the defense and the special teams did what they had to do to win,” Prescott said, the AP reported.
The Cowboys’ focus has turned toward division rival Philadelphia, the lone undefeated team in the National Football League (NFL) at 5-0.
A victory over the Eagles on the road would give Dallas a share of first place.