Rams Step On, Over and Around the Cowboys : Divisional Title Almost Assured by 29-10 Victory

The Rams didn’t get the help they needed earlier in the day, so Sunday night’s 29-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys was not cause to celebrate the clinching of the NFC Western Division tile.

But that now seems a formality. The Rams, once a curious team only if you could stand the tedium, these days are bullying past the legends of the NFL, perhaps on their way to that big bowl that Coach John Robinson still considers unmentionable.

“Our long range goal is to only beat Miami,” Robinson said, referring to the Rams’ next opponent. “That’s all we’re interested in.”

Sunday night, in front of an Anaheim Stadium crowd of 64,949, the Rams stepped on, over and around the Cowboys on their way to who knows what.

They took the Cowboys apart in sections, passing and running and playing defense with equal efficiency.

The Rams could have clinched the division had the New York Jets defeated the San Francisco 49ers hours before, but that didn’t happen.

Still, a 1 1/2-game lead with two games to play is something you can live with, especially when you’re home next week against the struggling Dolphins.

The victory, marred by a series of threats that briefly forced Dallas Coach Tom Landry off the field under heavy security late in the third quarter, was filled with plenty of Ram accomplishments. There was:

--Jim Everett, who became the first Ram quarterback this season to throw for more than 200 yards in a game. Everett, who had two first-quarter interceptions in each of his last two starts, played a near-perfect half against the Cowboys, completing 10 of 18 passes for 182 yards. In all, he completed 14 of 25 passes for 212 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown pass to Henry Ellard in the second quarter that proved to be the game winner.

--Eric Dickerson, who turned in his 10th 100-yard game of the season. He took the Cowboys for 106 yards in 28 carries, chewing up small chunks of yardage (his longest run was 12 yards) but big chunks of time.

--Wide receiver Ron Brown, who emerged from a season-long slumber by catching 3 passes for 100 yards in the first half before leaving with a separated shoulder that will sideline him for two weeks.

--Of course, defense, with cornerback LeRoy Irvin getting the whole thing started in the first quarter when he intercepted a Steve Pelluer pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown to help the Rams to an early, 7-0 need.

--Defensive end Gary Jeter, who sacked Pelluer for a safety with 8:58 left in the third quarter, putting the Rams ahead, 22-10. And the whole defense holding dueling Cowboys, Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker, to a combined 69 yards in 18 carries.

--The Ram offensive line, which has protected Everett so well that he has been sacked only once in 81 his last pass attempts.

“If I can buy myself some time in the pocket, I’ve got a chance to make a play,” Everett said. “The time in the pocket is such a big thing. It puts more pressure on the defensive backs.”

And when Everett gets time to throw, he is something to watch. Ask Dickerson.

“I really love seeing him throw,” Dickerson said. “They tried to rush him and pressure him but he’s so confident.”

Of course, having a seven-point cushion to begin with will make a lot of quarterbacks confident.

So, again, we introduce LeRoy Irvin, every quarterback’s helper.

On third and four at the Dallas 45 in a scoreless game, Pelluer threw in the left flat toward receiver Tony Hill.

But Hill never had a chance. Irvin, reading the play as if he had called it himself, stepped in front of Hill and went 50 yards untouched into the end zone.

“It seems like every week the other team wants to pick on me early,” said Irvin, who has six interceptions this season. “I watched a lot of their game films and I thought I knew what they were going to do on that play. So I layed off the receiver to make him feel he had a cushion and I guessed right and came up on him.”

Landry said Irvin’s play might have been the difference.

“His interception right off the top was the killer,” Landry said. “That is what really hung over us.”

The Cowboys tied the game with 2:04 left in the quarter on a five-yard run by Timmy Newsome, but for Dallas it was a night of trying to play catch-up.

Ram kicker Mike Lansford put the Rams ahead, 10-7, early in the second quarter with a 37-yard field goal.

Dallas kicker Rafael Septien tied the game at 10-10 with a 48-yard field goal with 9:24 left in the half, but Everett and Co. untied it in a hurry.

On the ensuing drive, Everett drove his team 73 yards in 9 plays, with the Rams scoring on a 22-yard pass from Everett to Ellard, who slipped behind Ron Fellows and did a backward toe-dance to stay in bounds in the left corner of the end zone.

Everett had two big passes on the drive. On third and eight at the Ram 43, he threw 11 yards to tight end Darren Long for a first down at the Dallas 46.

Then, on third and six at the 42, Everett scrambled right out of the pocket and dumped a pass to Barry Redden, who took it 20 yards to the 22, setting up the touchdown pass to Ellard.

A 17-10 halftime lead would have been plenty for Ram teams of the past, but the new Rams think two or three minutes is plenty of time to score again.

The Rams got the ball back with 2:13 left in the half and drove 82 yards to the Dallas 10, Lansford giving the Rams a 20-10 halftime lead with a 27-yard field goal with eight seconds left.

Brown had 2 catches for 59 yards during the drive. The second catch, a 39-yarder that gave the Rams a first down at the Cowboy 10, was costly, though.

Brown separated his left shoulder after being knocked out of bounds and out of the game by safety Bill Bates, who was covering.

Brown was having the half of his life, with his three catches for 100 yards. He had averaged just 23 receiving yards in 13 previous games.