Cowboys vs. Rams: The good, the bad, and the ugly from Week 8

The 43-20 final score makes it clear that this game was a very one-sided affair in the favor of the Dallas Cowboys. This was yet another dominant victory for Dallas, one in which the Los Angeles Rams never looked as if they stood a chance. This is the kind of play we hope to see more of from here on out.

With the bye week and the victory over the Rams now behind us, the Cowboys will set their sights on their NFC East division rival, the Philadelphia Eagles. Dallas will hit the road next week to take on a very talented Eagles team, but before we shift our focus to that matchup, let's review the one with a Rams to identify the good, the bad, and the ugly from Week 8.

THE GOOD - Hitting the trifecta

The Dallas Cowboys didn't score touchdowns in all three phases of the game, but they were close. The Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb connection was on fire resulting in two TDs, DaRon Bland had a pick six on defense, and KaVontae Turpin had a big day in the return game and even returned one to the house that was eventually nullified due to a penalty. This is the kind of complete-game dominance we all love to see from the Cowboys and its hopefully something they can replicate on a consistent basis from here on out. If they can, there could be no stopping them.

THE BAD - The Rams defense against Mike McCarthy’s play-calling

Mike McCarthy has been criticized at length for his somewhat vanilla play-calling before this Week 8 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams, but it looks as if the bye week adjustments/tweaks he made paid off. While the running game is still very much a work in process, Dak Prescott and Company were on fire in the passing game. The Cowboys were more willing to work the middle of the field and they involved their tight ends, specifically Jake Ferguson. They also fed the ball to CeeDee Lamb. Because of that, No. 4 (304 passing yards, 4 TDs) and No. 88 (158 yards, 2 TDs) had huge games that helped Dallas secure the “W”.

THE UGLY - Cowboys injury problems at left tackle

The Cowboys came into the game short-handed. Tyron Smith fell prey to the Dallas practice injury curse and was unable to go after suffering a neck injury on Thursday. It is the second time this year the Cowboys had to make the decision to deactivate Smith because of injury after being optimistic that he could play leading up to the game. Then his replacement, Chuma Edoga, injured his knee in the fourth quarter leading to Asim Richards playing some left tackle. Let’s hope this gets worked out before the Eagles game.