Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams

1/12/19 7:15 PM

Why LA Rams win: Los Angeles finished the 2018 regular season tied with New Orleans for the NFL’s best record (13-3) with their only losses coming against playoff teams (New Orleans, Philadelphia and Chicago). A lot of their success had to do with wonderboy Sean McVay, a coaching phenom whose offensive genius has since paved the way for guys like Kliff Kingsbury in Arizona and Zac Taylor in Cincinatti — lol I’m leaving that alone. Under the steady guide of McVay, Los Angeles finished the campaign ranked second in both yards per game (421.1) and points (32.9). Though the Cowboys own one of the NFL’s top defenses and proved to be worth all the Big Mama’s chicken —v. good thing — on the postseason stage in their 2018 Wildcard victory, when they suffocated Russell Wilson and held the Seahawks to 22 points, the Rams boast the most creative offense the Boys have faced this year and are led by a plethora of game-breakers -- Todd Gurley (top 2 running back) Robert Woods (one of the best complementary receivers and route-runners in football), Brandin Cooks (the first player in league history to put up 1,000 receiving yards in three straight seasons with three different teams) and Jared Goff ( fourth in the NFL in passing yards). Dallas might not be able to keep up if this becomes a track meet.

Defensively, the Rams haven’t been as impressive as their roster suggests. I mean, if you look on paper, Los Angeles might have the NFL’s most high-profile defense -- Ndamukong Suh, Aaron Donald (The Real MVP), ballhawks in the secondary in John Johnson, Marcus “North Oakland” Peters and Aqib Talib, a tonesetter/rangy safety in Lamarcus Joyner and a group of fast linebackers. With that being said, they played most of the season without Talib -- a North Dallas, America veteran -- and didn’t have a dominant edge rusher until acquiring Dante Fowler before the trade deadline. With a healthy back end, a stout interior defensive line and the brilliance of “Son of a Bum” Wade Phillips (defensive coordinator), Los Angeles has the perfect recipe to halt a Dallas offense that relies largely on the legs of Ezekiel Elliott, as they can load up the box, play man-to-man coverage and blitz Dakota Prescott at will.