By Mark Halpern
The Dallas Cowboys will host the Los Angeles Rams this Sunday at AT&T stadium early Sunday afternoon. This will be the first matchup of actual top receivers in Nacua and Kupp (Sorry, 49er fans) this season.
The first thing Cowboys fans have to cheer for is the current ten-at-home win streak that the Cowboys have. The Defense, if they want to turn any nay-sayers (SMITH CALLING YOU OUT) analysts out there, this is the game to do it. The Defense for the Cowboys is outstanding and needs to be respected as such. Time of possession is everything in football, and with the trickle of the offense we have seen, the Defense needs to shut down 2 of the finest #1 and #2 WRs on a team for now and in the future. Kupp, returning from the knee injury, has only played in two games, and he has made his present felt quickly by grabbing 17 receptions for 295 yards and 1 TD. Kupp is the NFC version of Tyrek Hill in that he is everywhere and anywhere he is needed and can burn you underneath or over the top; if Kupp wasn’t enough, how about the explosive start to the season for the young rookie with hauling in 58 (yes 58) receptions for a ridiculous 752 yards but unbelievably only 2 TD’s. I expect Matt Stafford to test second-year Corner Back Deron Bland early, too, to see if the second-year sophomore can play man-to-man with either one of these accomplished players. Stephon Gilmore will be shadowing Kupp early and will have some nickel or safety help and try to slow down the great route running they have. I have said from the last few games that the trench fights between the Offensive line of the Rams and the fast and quick movements of this Dallas defense, and if Stafford is under pressure early and the Defense can force a turnover and get points from it to give the offense a cushion.
Now on the other side of the ball, we have been waiting for the emergence of Brandin Cooks, and I know all Dallas fans have been thinking the same thing that this is the perfect week for it, and it is. The Ram’s defense, minus a few players, is far from what it once was as an actual shutdown defense. Teams have exploited the weakness in the secondary week after week, and it shows as the Rams have been dismantled by some of the top offenses in the league and the Colts, which says a lot about this club. This is a prime game for Dak Prescott to shove down all the critic’s throats with an impressive day, and for the first time this season, I am going to say, “Pass the damn ball all day long.” Of course, you have to run the ball, and Pollard and company have a huge problem to deal with, and that is the one beast, Aaron Donald. The guy is just outstanding, but better than 70% of NFL players would agree and are considered it by one critic or another. This is another game that could see Cee Dee Lamb have a big day as well. Lamb leads the Cowboys with 34 receptions for 475 yards and only two touchdowns. This is so un-Cee Dee, but the way the offense has been sputtering, it is not hard to read between the lines and see what has been transpiring in Dallas. This team had but still has the potential to go down as one of the best Cowboy squads over the past 20 years and should be 5-1 (ARZ just wowing us all week after week), but the loss to the 49ers was more gut-wrenching as it was a primetime showdown which still can be met again for the third time in three years in the playoffs.
The Cowboys organization is not going to have Jerry around forever, and Jerry knows this as well and would like one or five more trophies before he is done and being the highest-valued franchise in the entire NFL and pretty much all of the significant sports at an impressive 8 Billion dollars. Jerry is okay with spending money or trading players or picks if it makes sense. We will never see another Herschel Walker trade situation again, and Jerry and Jimmy orchestrated that together (JERRY PUT HIM IN THE RING OF FAME), and trades like that aren’t seen much anymore. Players have become expendable lately when franchises try and rebuild like the Rams are trying to do and are slowly succeeding, but Stafford’s time is almost up, and you can see it honestly. I expect nothing more than a Dallas blowout, and yeah, I’m going there 38-10 Cowboys with 100-yard games from Cooks and Lamb. Please sit back, get your Popcorn ready, throw a steak on the grill, and let’s watch the true one and only Americas team there is.
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