LA steamrolls Dallas, reaches NFC title game
Gurley, Anderson help host Rams rush for 273 yards in victory
LOS ANGELES — No major mistakes on offense. Only a few lapses on defense. And none on special teams.
The Los Angeles Rams showed on Saturday night that they learned from their 2017 playoff flameout and moved to within one victory of playing in the Super Bowl.
C.J. Anderson and Todd Gurley combined to rush for 238 yards and three touchdowns, Greg Zuerlein kicked three field goals and the Rams controlled Ezekiel Elliott en route to a 30-22 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC divisional playoff game before an announced 77,187 at the Coliseum.
It marked the first playoff victory for Rams coach Sean McVay, quarterback Jared Goff, Gurley and others who were on the losing end of last season’s wild-card defeat by the Atlanta Falcons. “A step in the right direction,” McVay said. The Rams advance to the NFC championship game to play the winner of today’s divisional-round game between the top-seeded New Orleans Saints and the Philadelphia Eagles.
If the Saints beat the Eagles, the game will be played in New Orleans’ Superdome. If the Eagles win, the game will be played at the Coliseum next Sunday.
The Rams lost to both during the regular season.
Riding an eight-game winning streak, the Rams went to New Orleans aiming to make a statement about NFC supremacy. But future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees picked them apart. The Rams, however, came back from a 21-point deficit before losing, 45-35, and they left New Orleans feeling confident they could beat the Saints in a rematch.
The Rams were coming off a road loss to the Chicago Bears when they faced the Eagles at the Coliseum on Dec. 16. Gurley played through a knee injury, but Goff remained in a slump and the Rams lost 30-23.
“We got to be able to figure this out,” McVay said after the defeat, “and figure it out fast.”
With Anderson filling in for Gurley, the Rams and Goff bounced back with consecutive victories over the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers, earning a bye through the wildcard round of the playoffs and setting the stage for Saturday’s game.
The Cowboys boasted the NFL’s fifth-best rushing defense during the season, and limited the Seattle Seahawks, the league’s top rushing team, to only 73 yards in a wild-card victory last week.
That did not stop the Rams from running through the front seven.
Anderson rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns in 23 carries while Gurley ran for 115 yards and a touchdown in 16 carries. The Rams outgained the Cowboys in total yards, 459-308.
Goff completed 15 of 28 passes for 186 yards, and scrambled for a late first down that helped secure the victory.
Elliott, the NFL’s leading rusher, was limited to 47 yards and a touchdown in 21 carries.
Quarterback Dak Prescott completed 20 of 32 passes for 266 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a touchdown.
The Rams built a 20-7 halftime lead on two Zuerlein field goals and touchdown runs by Anderson and Gurley.
They extended the lead with another field goal before Prescott connected with receiver Michael Gallup on a long pass play that set up Elliott’s short touchdown run. Prescott’s pass to Cooper for a two-point conversion pulled the Cowboys to within, 23-15.
The Cowboys threatened again, but on the first play of the fourth quarter, the Rams stopped Elliott on a fourthand-one play. The Rams took over and used more than seven minutes on a scoring drive that Anderson finished with his second touchdown.