The Dallas Cowboys simply had no answer for the Los Angeles Rams' rushing attack in the NFC Divisional Round. It appears even New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton was impressed with what he saw last Saturday.
The Cowboys could not find a way to contain the Rams' backfield duo of Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson. According to Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic, Payton was admittedly surprised by how well they ran the ball against Dallas:
“What they did against a really good run front was unbelievable.”
There is certainly plenty of truth to Payton's comments. The Cowboys had arguably the best rush defense in the league and had only given up three 100-yard performances in the 2018 NFL season. Even Payton was incapable of devising a rushing attack against the Cowboys back in late November despite having a talented backfield duo of his own in Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram.
Meanwhile, Both Gurley and Anderson combined for 238 yards and three touchdowns on a whopping 5.7 yards per carry. Their success can largely be attributed to the fact that the offensive line flat-out dominated what was supposed to be the most formidable front-seven in the NFL. Perhaps even more impressive was how well Los Angeles contained Ezekiel Elliott. The defense managed to flip the script by limiting him to just 50 yards on a mere 2.3 yards per carry. Their dominance on the ground goes to show how much things can change in the postseason.
It is clear that Payton will be doing whatever he can to avoid the Cowboys' mistakes. If they allow the Rams to dominate the line of scrimmage, they could risk losing valuable opportunities to score with their high-powered offense.
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