Cowboys at Rams: 3 bold predictions for Sunday’s matchup

Week 5 is here. After a victory over the Washington Commanders last week, the Dallas Cowboys travel to Los Angeles to take on the defending champion Rams this Sunday.

Before the Cowboys and Rams square off in the big game, here are three bold predictions for Sunday’s matchup.

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1) Cowboys sack Matthew Stafford five times and force a crucial fumble

In the 2021 regular season, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked 37 times. This season, just four games in, Stafford has already been sacked 16 times, tied for the second-most in football entering Week 5.

Last week against San Francisco, the Rams’ offensive line was absolutely dominated. The 49ers ended up sacking Stafford seven times and forcing him into two turnovers. San Francisco’s constant pressure didn’t allow the Rams to get into any offensive rhythm and ended up being the big difference in the game.

Hearing about the Rams’ inability to protect Stafford should be music to the Cowboys defense’s ears. While the Cowboys did only record two sacks last Sunday against Washington, their defensive line had Carson Wentz running for his life nearly all game long.

The Cowboys come out on Sunday and put Stafford under the same constant duress they put Wentz under just a week ago, sacking him five times and forcing a critical fumble.

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2) Michael Gallup surpasses 110 receiving yards in a game for the sixth time in his career

With CeeDee Lamb battling a groin injury, and All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey lurking on the other side of the ball, the Cowboys are going to need to fully unleash Michael Gallup this week.

Gallup had a nice day in his return to action against Washington on Sunday, catching two passes for 24 yards, one of which went for a touchdown.

While it was good to see Gallup get out there and end the game healthy, Dallas is going to need to target him a lot more than three times in this week’s matchup.

With the possibility of Ramsey manning up on Lamb for most of the game, it will be up to Gallup and the Dallas offense to find ways to beat the Rams’ lesser cornerbacks.

This week, the Cowboys give Gallup double-digit targets for the ninth time in his career, and it pays off in a big way. Gallup goes for over 110 receiving yards including one 50+ yard reception.

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3) Brett Maher drills a go-ahead late-game field goal

Four games into the season, Brett Maher has been automatic. The 32-year-old kicker has made 10 of his 11 (90.9%) field goal attempts, with his only miss coming from 50+ against the Giants. Maher is tied for the third-most field goals made in football and is one of two kickers in the league with 10+ attempts and one or fewer misses on the season.

Maher has also been solid on extra-point attempts, something we saw Dallas’ kickers struggle with last season. The 32-year-old has missed just one extra point which was blocked, converting five of six opportunities.

This Sunday Maher makes the biggest field goal of his season to date, converting a try late in the fourth quarter to give Dallas a lead.