The Cowboys got off to a hot start against the Rams with defense and special teams. Though the club has cooled off a little bit, Dallas still leads 16-10 at halftime.
Dallas’ defense got the team on the board first with a scoop-and-score touchdown on a strip-sack of quarterback Matthew Stafford. Defensive end Dorance Armstrong jarred the ball loose and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence picked it up for a 19-yard touchdown.
Then Dallas blocked a punt on Los Angeles’ ensuing drive, but the team could only turn that into a field goal. With a botched snap on the extra point of the opening score, the Cowboys held a 9-0 lead.
The Rams held a brief advantage by scoring 10 straight points — a 29-yard field goal by Matt Gay and a 75-yard, catch-and-run touchdown by receiver Cooper Kupp.
But about 90 seconds of game time later, Dallas was back ahead. Running back Tony Pollard got the ball to the paint with a 57-yard touchdown run.
Pollard has 59 yards on two carries, with Ezekiel Elliott taking nine carries for 47 yards. Quarterback Cooper Rush hasn’t done much, completing 5-of-8 passes for 49 yards.
On the other side, Stafford is 13-of-24 passing for 199 yards with a touchdown. The Rams also converted a fake punt deep in their own territory in the second quarter with a 12-yard pass by Riley Dixon. But L.A. could not turn the opportunity into points and ended up punting later on the possession.
Dallas is 1-of-5 on third down. Los Angeles is 4-of-11.
The Cowboys will have the ball first to start the second half.
