The Los Angeles Rams and the Dallas Cowboys will face off on Saturday night with a spot in the NFC Championship game at stake. The Rams are the second seed in the NFC and are seven-point favorites over the Cowboys and there are a lot of reasons for them to believe they should still be alive in the playoffs when the clock hits zero. Let’s breakdown the top three reasons why the Rams will beat the Cowboys.
Their defense can slow down the Cowboys, who are on the road
The Rams defense had high expectations coming into this season for what they would be able to accomplish but so far they haven’t lived up them. Coming into this game they are giving up 24 points per game but they are facing a Cowboys offense that has struggled on the road.
They are averaging only 17.4 points per game on the road and a big reason for that is the struggles of Dak Prescott. At home, Prescott has thrown for 14 touchdowns and three interceptions compared to the 8 touchdowns and five interceptions he has thrown on the road.
The Rams have a big strong defensive line that should be able to put some pressure on Prescott which means Prescott will probably fumble a time or two.
Sean McVay>Jason Garrett
Don’t let whatever comes out of Jerry Jones mouth fool you, the Rams have a big advantage at head coach. For some reason Jones loves Garrett and that has kept him around as a head coach way too long. McVay is only in his second year as coach but he has done something that Jeff Fisher couldn’t do, win with Jared Goff.
McVay is an offensive genius and it has shown with his play calling. The Rams are averaging almost 33 points per game and over 420 yards and at home, that number increases to 37.1 points and 452 yards per game.
While McVay is an innovative head coach it seems Garrett is afraid to take chances and when he does decide to take them, it is usually at the wrong time.
Garrett seems to make a lot of questionable decisions and that could come back and haunt him in this game. If it’s late in the game the coach you want on your bench is Sean McVay, unless you are really into repetitive clapping, then maybe Garrett is your guy. There is a good chance a Garrett decision could cost the Cowboys a chance at a victory.
Experience
Even though the Rams lost last year in the playoffs that loss gave them something that the Cowboys don’t have, experience. This will be a lot of the Cowboys first playoff game on the road and even though they played and won last weekend in Arlington, this is a whole different beast.
Goff knows what it’s like and Prescott has struggled on the road and this isn’t going to be any easier. I would expect Goff and Gurley to come out this game cool and collected and do what they have done al year, drive up and down the field and wear out the scoreboard.
