The Los Angeles Rams fell vastly short in their attempts to get a winning streak going on the road against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15, falling 44-21 in what was a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Both teams made it a point early on that they were not going to allow the other to get the run game going behind their All-Pro running backs. The Cowboys managed to strike first thanks to a couple of questionable calls that even overturned an interception by cornerback Darious Williams.
They managed to capitalize by capping off a 15-play, 90-yard drive that ended with a spectacular one-handed touchdown grab by tight end Jason Witten to give Dallas a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Rams wasted no time by responding with a well-executed drive of their own to tie the game up to start the second quarter. While they still struggled to get running back Todd Gurley going on the ground, quarterback Jared Goff found a way to utilize him in the passing game and found him in the end zone for a two-yard reception.
Los Angeles was dealt a healthy dose of nostalgia after a broken play by the defense allowed quarterback Dak Prescott to find a wide receiver Tavon Austin for a 59-yard touchdown, his first of the 2019 NFL season. Unfortunately, it was not long before things took a turn for the worst after rattling off 14 more unanswered points after they managed to sandwich an interception by Goff with a pair of touchdown runs from running back Ezekiel Elliott to secure a dominant 28-7 lead at halftime.
Although the Rams were initially supposed to receive the ball to start the second half due to a botched call by Prescott during the coin toss, however, the officials opted to overturn the call by giving the Cowboys the ball and they were able to extend their lead with a 50-yard field goal from Kai Forbath to take a 31-7 lead.
Los Angeles was seemingly on the verge of yet another stalled drive until punter Johnny Hekker flexed his quarterback chops with a successful fourth-down conversion to wide receiver Michael Thomas. Unfortunately, the offense failed to capitalize and only prolonged the inevitable with a turnover on downs.
Elliott and backup running back Tony Pollard each added late touchdowns, as did Gurley and Goff, bringing the final score to 44-21 as the Rams dropped to 8-6 on the season.
