It’s thumbs down for Rams, Matthew Stafford after blowout loss to Cowboys
ARLINGTON, Texas — Broken.
That could be the state of Rams’ quarterback Matthew Stafford’s right thumb.
Fractured.
That’s what the Rams offense, defense and special teams did during a Dallas Cowboys onslaught on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
Beyond repair.
That will be the status of the Rams’ rapidly dwindling playoff hopes if Stafford is sidelined for any length of time.
Matthew Stafford injured and Dak Prescott shines in Rams’ blowout loss to Cowboys
🏈 Cowboys 43, Rams 20 — FINAL
A disastrous first half and a Matthew Stafford thumb injury added up to a Rams blowout loss to the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.
After the Cowboys jumped out to a quick lead, DaRon Bland’s pick-six late in the first quarter coupled by a safety on a blocked Rams punt quickly led to two CeeDee Lamb touchdown catches that put the game out of reach for the Rams.
Stafford completed 13 of 22 passes for 162 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was the star of the game, completing 25 of 31 passes for 304 yards, with four touchdowns and an interception.
Lamb caught 12 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
Lucas Havrisik kicks his second field goal for Rams
🏈 Cowboys 43, Rams 20 — 5:31 left in the fourth quarter
Lucas Havrisik kicked a 47-yard field goal — his second field goal of the game — after a seven-play, 25-yard drive led by Brett Rypien.
Brandin Cooks touchdown adds to the Cowboys rout
🏈 Cowboys 43, Rams 17 — 12:19 left in the fourth quarter
Cowboys wide receiver Brandin Cooks caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott to cap a quick, three-play, 54-yard drive and continue the Cowboys’ domination of the Rams.
Prescott has completed 25 of 31 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns, with one interception. CeeDee Lamb leads Cowboys receivers with 12 receptions for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who left the game in the third quarter with a thumb injury, completed 13 of 22 passes for 162 yards, with a touchdown and a pick.
Brett Rypien takes over at quarterback with Matthew Stafford ailing
🏈 Cowboys 36, Rams 17 — End of the third quarter
With the game all but over for the Rams and Matthew Stafford dealing with a thumb injury on his right throwing hand, Brett Rypien took over at quarterback late in the third quarter.
During the Cowboys’ nearly 10-minute long drive in the third quarter, Stafford went to the locker room to have his thumb examined and taped. Stafford returned to the sideline just before Rypien took the field. It appears his day is done.
Rypien and the Rams managed to convert on fourth down once during the possession to open the fourth quarter but couldn’t convert on a fourth-and-two from the Dallas 46, putting the ball back in Dak Prescott’s hands.
Brandon Aubrey field goal gives Cowboys 36-17 lead
🏈 Cowboys 36, Rams 17 — 1:32 left in the third quarter
A time-consuming, 75-yard drive by the Cowboys finished with a 27-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey to further complicate the Rams’ dim comeback chances.
While the Rams ultimately came up with some defensive stops in the red zone to prevent a touchdown, the 17-play drive nearly took 10 minutes off the clock.
Matthew Stafford won’t let bad thumb stop him from two-point conversion catch
🏈 Cowboys 33, Rams 17 — 11:29 left in the third quarter
If the Rams are going to mount a comeback, they’ll need more drives like the one they pieced together to start the second half.
Matthew Stafford connected with Ben Skowronek on a 20-yard touchdown pass to cap an impressive seven-play, 75-yard drive. Stafford then caught a pass from Tutu Atwell and dove into the end zone on a successful two-point conversion attempt.
Stafford has been dealing with an injured thumb on his throwing hand. Will he be able to stay in the game?
Rams finally score touchdown, but Matthew Stafford is hurting
🏈 Cowboys 33, Rams 9 — HALFTIME
The Rams ended a run of 26 unanswered points when Royce Freeman scored on a one-yard touchdown run with four seconds left in the first half.
But Matthew Stafford’s two-point conversion pass fell incomplete.
A game that seemingly started well for the Rams with a slew of sacks turned into a nightmare with breakdowns on offense, defense and special teams.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott completed 17 of 21 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns, two to receiver CeeDee Lamb.
Lamb has nine receptions for 122 yards.
Stafford completed 10 of 19 passes for 107 yards, but he had a pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown. He also appeared to suffer a thumb injury when his throwing hand hit the helmet of a Cowboys player. He was back under center to start the second half.
Tight end Tyler Higbee has three catches for 29 yards, Puka Nacua two catches for 30 yards and Cooper Kupp three receptions for 16 yards.
Aaron Donald has two sacks, and Jordan Fuller intercepted a pass.
CeeDee Lamb’s second touchdown gives Cowboys a 33-3 lead
🏈 Cowboys 33, Rams 3 — 2:27 left in second quarter
The Rams cannot control Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb.
Dak Prescott tossed an eight-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Lamb, the second touchdown reception of the game for the fourth-year pro.
Lamb has nine catches for 122 yards, many of those yards coming after the catch.
Prescott has completed 17 of 21 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception.
Rams safety Jordan Fuller picked off a Prescott pass with 6:12 left in the second quarter, but the Rams went three and out, setting up the Cowboys for another scoring drive.
Cowboys in complete control early in second quarter
🏈 Cowboys 26, Rams 3 — 12:45 left in the second quarter
The Rams cannot stop the onslaught.
KaVontae Turpin returned a free kick 56 yards to set up Dak Prescott’s 10-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb to extend the lead to 23 points.
Prescott has completed eight of 10 passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns.
Lamb has five catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.
Cowboys block Rams punt, forcing a safety
🏈 Cowboys 19, Rams 3 — 13:39 left in the second quarter
The Rams’ troubles continue.
Cowboys linebacker Sam Williams blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety. KaVontae Turpin then gave the Cowboys excellent field position on the ensuing kickoff.
DaRon Bland pick-six puts Cowboys ahead 17-3
🏈 Cowboys 17, Rams 3 — 36 seconds left in the first quarter
It has not been a great homecoming so far for Matthew Stafford.
Within a span of seven seconds, the Rams fell behind by 14 points.
Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland stepped in front of a Matthew Stafford pass intended for Cooper Kupp and returned the interception 30 yards for a touchdown.
Last Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, linebacker T.J. Watt intercepted a Stafford pass on the first play of the third quarter to set up a touchdown.
Cowboys add to their lead with a 58-yard field goal
🏈 Cowboys 10, Rams 3 — 43 seconds left in the first quarter
Brandon Aubrey kicked a 58-yard field goal to extend the Cowboys’ lead.
Aaron Donald had stymied the Cowboys with a third-down sack — his second sack of the game — but Aubrey stayed perfect this season, making his 17th field-goal attempt.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has completed seven of nine passes for 94 yards. CeeDee Lamb has four catches for 43 yards and also has rushed for 12 yards.
Rams get on the scoreboard with a field goal
🏈 Cowboys 7, Rams 3 — 5:22 left in the first quarter
Lucas Havrisik, signed by the Rams last week to replace struggling Brett Maher, kicked a 33-yard field goal in his NFL debut.
Havrisik, who played at Norco High, capped a 10-play drive that included Matthew Stafford’s 20-yard completion to tight end Tyler Higbee and a 22-yard strike to receiver Puka Nacua.
Stafford completed four of six passes for 56 yards.
Rams sacks can’t stop Cowboys from finding end zone
🏈 Cowboys 7, Rams 0 — 9:44 left in the first quarter
Well, it looked like it was going to be a Rams sackfest.
Until it wasn’t.
The Rams started the game with a sack by edge rusher Michael Hoecht, one by edge rusher Byron Young that was nullified by a penalty in the secondary, and another sack by Aaron Donald.
But Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott found receivers CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks for key third-down gains of 17 and 20 yards respectively during a drive Prescott capped with a an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson.
Prescott completed six of seven passes for 67 yards during the 10-play, 75-yard drive.
Matthew Stafford looking forward to Texas homecoming against Cowboys
As a youngster growing up in football-mad Texas, Matthew Stafford watched and rooted for the Dallas Cowboys.
Led by Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman and other star players, the Cowboys won Super Bowl titles to cap the 1992, 1993 and 1995 seasons.
Stafford, 35, has played in AT&T Stadium three times as a pro, but Sunday’s game against the Cowboys will be the first time the Rams quarterback returns with a Super Bowl championship on his resumé.
Rob Havenstein among Rams’ inactives for Sunday vs. Cowboys
The Rams already were going to have their hands full trying to control a Dallas Cowboys defensive front that includes linebacker Micah Parsons and end DeMarcus Lawrence.
It will be even more challenging without right tackle Rob Havenstein.
Havenstein is inactive because of a calf injury that forced him to sit out several days of practice.
Joe Noteboom will start in place of Havenstein, with rookie Warren McClendon Jr. backing him up.
Last season, the Cowboys sacked quarterback Matthew Stafford five times and hit him 10 times.
Here’s a look at the other Rams players who will be out today:
Matthew Stafford’s wife rips rapper Blueface for turning SoFi suite into strip club
Kelly Stafford doesn’t want her young daughters to see “a lot of butts” while watching their father play football for the Rams at SoFi Stadium.
But that’s what the wife of quarterback Matthew Stafford said happened Sunday during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, because of the antics of L.A. rapper Blueface and several female companions.
On Tuesday’s edition of her weekly podcast, “The Morning After,” Kelly Stafford talks about a very adult scene that played out in one of the suites at the game, which she attended with her daughters and nephews. In what was described as a strip-club atmosphere, Blueface could be seen throwing dollar bills at several women in thongs who were dancing while bent over.
Rams’ new kicker, from Riverside County and Norco High, relishes return home
Lucas Havrisik grew up in Riverside County and attended Norco High. But after playing in college at Arizona and stints with the Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns, Havrisik grew accustomed to being away from home.
So the Rams’ new kicker said Wednesday he had a welcome reminder this week as his plane landed in Southern California.
“Man this is nice,” Havrisik recalled saying to himself.
The Rams hope to enjoy a similar feeling Sunday when Havrisik could make his NFL debut against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
Rams vs. Cowboys matchups: How to watch, start time and prediction
Breaking down how the Rams (3-3) and Dallas Cowboys (4-2) match up heading into their game Sunday at 10 a.m. PDT in Arlington, Texas. The game will be televised on Fox.
When Rams have the ball
A Rams offense struggling to score consistently has a major challenge against an aggressive Cowboys defense that features stars Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence and ranks among the NFL’s best against the pass. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for a touchdown and had a pass intercepted last Sunday in a 24-17 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
