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8-straight road playoff game losses for the Cowboys and another heartbreaking ending to make it26 years without an NFC title appearance. The best defense the Cowboys had in years fell apart in the biggest game of the year. Fourth QuarterThe Cowboys defense is able to get a few stops and force a 3rd and 7 but what poetry as Jared Goff runs right by Sean Lee to convert another rushing first down. The Cowboys call all of their timeouts to live on a shred of hope but CJ Anderson picks up enough to end their season. On 1st and goal Youth Chidobe Awuzie Jersey , Elliott cannot get in but Dak keeps it himself for the touchdown on the next play. It’s an 8-point lead for LA 30-22 and the clock is ticking...On the ensuing drive, the Cowboys get a boost with a 24-yard pass by Prescott to Gallup. A few plays later, Dak scrambles to convert another 4th and 1. After another incomplete pass on 3rd and 3, Dak looks for Cooper in the end zone and picks up a PI on Rams CB Aqib Talib. The Rams carry the Cowboys defense with them all the way to the one. On 3rd and goal, Goff is planted short of the goal. Facing a 4th and goal, the Rams decide to go for it. After unsuccessfully trying to draw the Cowboys offsides, McVay says go for it anyway. It’s a handoff to CJ Anderson and he’s in for his second score, a 15-point lead for the Rams with 7:16 to play. Cowboys elect to go for it on 4th and 1 but Zeke gets stuffed short and it’s turnover on downs. Rams start at their own 30, they get away with a false start on first down and LA is driving. The Rams are picking up chunk yardage in bunches with a chance to put this on ice with a red zone opportunity coming up. Third QuarterZeke pushes the ball forward for three on first down and Dak finds Gallup again for 15-yards on 2nd and 7 for the fresh downs. After Rico Gathers drops the 1st down pass, Dak goes to Beasley for another conversion. Zeke loses four on first down followed by two no gain plays. On 3rd and 14, Dak hits Noah Brown for 13, Dallas has 4th down decision to make as we go to the final quarter.On the next Rams drive, facing a 3rd and 2, two flags are down...both on the Rams! Cowboys decline and Rams try but fail to draw Dallas offsides on 4th down as the penalty for delay of game is accepted. The punt is short, Dallas will start at their own 23-yard line.Feed the man, Zeke puts it in two-plays later for the COWBOYS TOUCHDOWN! Cowboys go for two and it’s GOOD. Rams lead 23-15, it’s an 8-point lead.On 1st and 20, Dak Prescott finds a break in the coverage but more importantly, Dak finds Gallup again DEEP and he’s down at the Rams-2. What a big-time play by the rookie receiver!Cowboys offense in desperation mode needing a miracle, a prayer, or maybe a tequila shot. On 3rd and 11, Dak Prescott finds Michael Gallup for 10 but it’s one-yard short of the conversion. On 4th down, as the Rams blow up the left side, Zeke converts running right. Connor Williams makes an appearance for all the wrong reason as he is called for holding.Cowboys start with the ball on offense needing to show signs of life. Instead, it’s a three-and-out. The Rams offense start at their own 27but are in Cowboys territory within a few plays after Goff finds Cook sitting in coverage for an easy conversion. Todd Gurley rambles through for 18-yards with LA looking for 200 on the ground. On 3rd and short, Goff fumbles but recovers it, Greg Zuerlein nails the kick, Rams up 23-7.HALFTIMESecond QuarterThe Rams try a little shiftiness before the half but the score stays right where it is. Rams lead by 13 and are close to running Cowboys out of the building. Dallas will possess the ball to start the third quarter.On the Cowboys next drive, Zeke is moving the ball well and finally getting this offense on the move. On the strangest call ever, Dak is scrambling inside the pocket as La’el Collins fights off the pressure by the Rams, the official blows the play dead. What is “dead in the grasp”? I see a quarterback who wasn’t down but it’s called a sack for loss of seven. Who’s getting the credit for that sack? La’el Collins?!!!Kris Richard is giving his linebackers a lashing after their putrid first-half performance:It costs the Cowboys seven more points as Todd Gurley breaks free for an easy touchdown. That’s 162 rushing yards in the first-half on the Cowboys defense. Rams lead 20-7 and they are dominating the Cowboys. LA is just going to run this down the Cowboys throat as CJ Anderson is putting Dallas on roller skates on back-to-back plays. Just as the Cowboys force a 3rd and 14 that goes nowhere, Byron Jones gifts the Rams offense more downs with a hands to the face.Cowboys start on offense as Zeke picks up five on first down. Dak looks for Amari but the Rams LB Ekuban almost has a pick-six but drops the ball. On 3rd and 5, the Cowboys have to take a timeout to avoid the delay of game. Dak has the open field but decides to throw it, the ball sails on him and the Rams force the punt.Andersons gashes the Cowboys again all the way to the Dallas-1 and caps it off with a touchdown to take the lead 13-7. Anderson has 10 carried for 65-yards and the Dallas defense is stunned.Rams hand the ball to Todd Gurley but Sean Lee is there to make the stop after a minimal gain. DeMarcus Lawrence just comes up short on sacking Goff and it’s a 20-yard completion. Goff fires another strike to Woods and the Rams are inside Dallas territory. LA is picking the Cowboys defense apart as Higbee gets LAfresh set of downs. Gurley and Anderson team up for another 10-yards as the Cowboys run defense is being dominated. First and 10 for the Cowboys and Dak fires it to Dalton Schultz on play-action for 20-yards. Zeke adds another three on the next carry but Tavon Austin loses two-yards on the quick screen, it’s 3rd and 9. Prescott is pressured by Ndamukong Suh on 3rd down, he avoids the sack but can’t connect with Michael Gallup. Cowboys punt.Anderson batters his way through the Cowboys defensive line for the first down. On the 1st and goal, Goff flushed out to his right finds Cooks in the end zone for the touchdown but the catch was never completed as the ball rolls and it’s incomplete. Anderson only gets fouron 2nd and goal and Goff’s pass in incomplete on third down. Cowboys red zone defense forces the field goal as Rams reduce the Cowboys lead to one point. 7-6 Cowboys, so far the Rams have run 27 plays and have possessed the ball for almost 13 minutes but have just two field goals.First QuarterRobert Woods gets nine on first down to set up 2nd and short but Anderson is blown up behind the line by Antwaun Woods, facing a 3rd and 2 as the first quarter ends.Rams are back out on offense but after they come up short on 3rd down, Sean McVay does his best Jason Garrett-impersonation anddecides to go for. Jared Goff sneaks it for the conversion at midfield, there will be no punting allowed it seems. CJ Anderson gashes the defense and the Rams are on the move at the Dallas-29.On 1st and 10, Dak finds Amari Cooper on the crossing pattern as he blows by the Rams for 29-yards and a COWBOYS TOUCHDOWN!!! Cowboys take a 7-3 lead!4th and 1, why not? Jason Garrett goes for it and Zeke busts a five-yard run to keep the chains moving. Even better, LA’s CB Marcus Peters gets called for unnecessary roughness on Cooper and Dallas is knocking on the door of the red zone.Cowboys start with the ball, that Rams defense plays Ezekiel Elliott tough on the run, knowing who they need to worry about. On 2nd down, Dak Prescott finds Blake Jarwin for a nice 13-yard catch and run. Elliott can only pick up three yards in the next two plays setting up the Cowboys with 3rd and a long 7. Dak delivers the ball to Amari Cooper for six but the Rams get him down short of the sticks at midfield.After a short run to set-up 3rd and 2, Leighton Vander Esch pressures Goff on 3rd and 2, forcing an incomplete pass. Rams boot the field goal to take a three-point lead and the defense was able to keep LA out of the end zone.The Rams and quarterback Jared Goff begin at their own 25. Todd Gurley gets the first carry for three and Goff finds Tyler Higbee for 19 on a play-action bite by the Dallas defense. Gurley gets a few and then Dallas spots LA five more on an offsides for Antwaun Woods. Rams convert another first down with a jumpy DeMarcus Lawrence. Just like that, the LA Rams are in the red zone on the opening drive. Cowboys win the toss and DEFER! The defense will start first against the high-powered Rams offense.Pregame InactivesThough both Cole Beasley and Blake Jarwin came into this game with ankle sprains and were listed as questionable. They both tested those heavily-taped ankles during warmups and will give it a ‘go’ but we’ll monitor their effectiveness.Cowboys: QB Mike White, LB Chris Covington, DL David Irving, S Darian Thompson, DL Dorance Armstrong, RB Darius Jackson, and DL Daniel RossRams: DB Darious Williams, RB Justin Davis, OLB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, OLB Trevon Young, OL Jamil Demby, DL Sebastian Joseph-Day, and DL Tanzel SmartThe wait is almost over. On Saturday night, the Dallas Cowboys will attempt to reach the NFC Championship game for the first time in decades when they take on the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams are the favored team having secured a first-round bye and home field for the Divisional Round playoff game, but the Cowboy are the hotter team. The Rams are rested, but the Cowboys are riding momentum and confidence. The game will showcase two of the best running backs in the league in Ezekiel Elliott and Todd Gurley, It also features two of the young guns in the NFL, Dak Prescott and Jared Goff. The Cowboys defense is the better unit statistically than the Rams defense, but the L.A. offense holds the advantage over the Cowboys. It’s win or go home on Saturday night, and right now no one wants to go home. What You Need To KnowImportant links: Cowboys depth chart | RosterDate: Saturday, January 12, 2019Game time: 8:15 PM ESTLocation: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CATV channel: FOX Coverage Map: 506 SportsAnnouncers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, Chris MyersRadio: 105.3 The Fan | Full listings | Westwood One | SIRIUS: 81 (NYG), 83 (Dal) | XM: 226 (NYG), 225 (Dal) | TuneInStreaming: Fubo | NFL.com GamePass (audio only during game) | FoxSportsGoCowboys record: (11-6)Rams record: (13-3)Odds: Dallas+7Prediction: Dallas 28 - Los Angeles 25Enemy blog: Turf Show TimesTwitter: @BloggingTheBoysFacebook: Please Like us! Another away game, another frustrating loss for the Dallas Cowboys. And has usually been the case, this is squarely on the offense (albeit with a big assist from the special teams). The defense only allowed 13 points Chidobe Awuzie Jersey Stitched , and outside of the first drive of the game for Washington, they largely shut things down, especially in the red zone. No, this was one caused by another collection of huge mistakes and miscues on the offense. And that was the whole offense, coaches and players alike.One theme that has run through this season, and this particular weekly look at what we learn from each game, is that the offensive woes of the Cowboys are due not to any discrete issues, but spring from how different problems compound each other. So let’s break those problems out to see how they affected this game.Some things might change with the addition of Amari Cooper, but for now we’ll just look at what we saw in Washington and how those issues are still valid.The offensive line was, once again, inadequate and outplayed.The Cowboys have invested a huge chunk of their salary cap in building a stellar offensive line. In 2016, we saw that working at just about peak efficiency. But now, this looks like a shell of that dominant unit.The loss of Travis Frederick due to Guillain-Barre Syndrome has had a major impact, and the poor job of adjusting the blocking against the defense on Sunday is likely a direct cause. Joe Looney has not been bad filling in, but is not the same level of player both physically and mentally. But he is just the start of the issues. Only Zack Martin has continued to play at a high level, while Connor Williams is undergoing not unexpected growing pains as a rookie and La’el Collins has not been consistent. But the real problem is the play of Tryon Smith. He has been frequently beaten, and almost every game there seems to be a big play called back because of a penalty on him. In the latest loss, that is exactly what happened on the first drive of the game. After Dallas received the opening kickoff, Dak Prescott used his legs on third and six to gain 22 yards and set the team up at the Washington 49 - only to have it called back on a Smith holding penalty. The next pass would go incomplete, the Cowboys would punt (one of several bad efforts by Chris Jones, netting only 33 yards) and Washington would capitalize on the excellent field position to get their lone offensive touchdown of the game.That was the real start of things going severely downhill. Had the run by Prescott stood, the Cowboys may have maintained the offensive efficiency from the win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the entire course of the game might have been different. At the least, there would have been much less of a chance of Washington scoring a touchdown on their first possession with the way the defense played for most of the game. It is sad to contemplate, but the question has to be asked: Is Tyron Smith now washed? He just does not look right out there, and the holding calls are mostly because he is getting beaten by speed on the edge. The Cowboys may have a huge decision to make about his future if he does not recover at least some of his old form.Prescott continues to raise questions about his ability to be the quarterback this team needs.Social media is full of looks at how Dak is holding the ball too long and not seeing open receivers. While some, such as Bryan Broaddus, have disputed whether Prescott actually looked at Gallup in that first play above, the issue of his lack of ability to see the field and missing open receivers is still valid.He also missed some throws as well, notably one to Ezekiel Elliott (although that would likely have been stopped for little or no gain as defenders were closing in, so it may not have mattered much). But on the touchdown drive that pulled the Cowboys to within three points late in the game, he missed too many plays and burned too much time off the clock that the team could have used on the failed final possession. It is hard to argue that Prescott doesn’t hold the ball too long, especially with pass protection that seems to break down all too often. To win more games, especially on the road where the team is playing significantly worse than at home, he needs to be more decisive and get the ball out. He just may not be capable of that. The now infamous “hot hand” decision of 2016 may have thrust the Cowboys into the dreaded “quarterback purgatory”, where they can’t break through, but win just enough games to make it very difficult and expensive to get a more legitimate franchise QB in the draft. If the O line was the wall of protection that it was just a couple of seasons ago, he might still be able to thrive. But under constant duress, partly because he does hang on to the ball so long, he is going to struggle unless he makes a sudden, and very unlikely, leap forward in his vision and accuracy.However, there is still a chance the team can find a way to make it work. He did have his best output passing of the season, completing 22 of 35 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown, and did lead the team on two drives at the end of the game. Still, his own mistakes fumbling the ball cost the game, and his four sacks were also at least partly on him because of the holding the ball problem already mentioned. Whether the team can figure things out is dependent on another thing, which we’ll get to shortly.Zeke is not able to carry this team.At least with a true lack of running lanes, as was the case in this game. His longest run on the day was only for six yards. And he also dropped a touchdown pass that would have saved some precious time at the end of the game. He is still very talented, but is being met far too often behind the line in the losses. As dependent as Dallas is on running the ball, this is a prescription for failure.The wide receivers took a step forward, but it wasn’t enough.It was something of a breakout game for rookie Michael Gallup, who had three receptions on five targets for 81 yards, including the big 49-yard touchdown to knot the score with a minute to play in the first half. And Allen Hurns, although he had one significant drop, had his best game of the season with five catches for 74 yards. Cole Beasley was also reliable, although somewhat contained by the defense, pulling in seven catches on eight targets for 56 yards.And now the Cowboys have sent a first round pick to the Oakland Raiders for Amari Cooper. If it works out, it could certainly change things for Prescott and the passing game.Meanwhile, the coaching is still a big problem.A lot of focus has been on the final drive, when the decision was made by Jason Garrett to play for the field goal to tie and go to overtime rather than hurry up and take more shots at the end zone. That may have been influenced by the repeated drive-killing penalties and turnovers, but it still rankles, especially after a similarly conservative decision cost them a chance to win the game at the Houston Texans. That is hardly the only thing to criticize about the coaching. After Gallup had an outstanding first half, he seemed to disappear from the offensive plan. And it has to be asked whether the plays where Prescott held the ball too long were due to what was being sent in by Scott Linehan. That is a bit of an unknown, since we don’t know what was intended on each play. Did something break down, was the coverage too tight, or did Prescott just miss a read? Nonetheless, the players need more help from the staff. At the same time, Linehan needs better execution as well. He had nothing to do with Dak’s fumble on fourth and one, for instance, and hardly can be held accountable for those play-killing penalties by Smith, Williams, and Collins. That does not exonerate Linehan, or Garrett for that matter. They still need to put this team in a better place to succeed.So we are stuck in the whole chicken or egg situation, where the blame for the offensive struggles on the road have to be shared. The most frustrating part of all this is that the Cowboys have had a real chance at wins in three of their four losses, all one score games - one an overtime loss, plus this latest flop. But outside the scoring explosion against the Jaguars, the wins have also been close affairs. That is a path to mediocrity over a season. At the moment, that looks exactly the way this year’s team is headed. Unless Amari Cooper’s presence can shake things up and put the offense on a path forward instead of being stuck in neutral.