Keys to victory in the Dallas Cowboys versus Los Angeles Rams game

The Cowboys did not do much to bolster confidence in their upcoming trench war with Aaron Donald by how they played against Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne. No matter who Dallas rotated in a left guard, they got beat up by Allen, who put up eight tackles, four for a loss, a sack, a pass deflection, a QB hit, and two additional pressures. Aaron Donald is one of the very few players that can legitimately say he is better than Jonathan Allen. So how can the Cowboys even contain him?

Start by choosing a left guard and sticking with him. No more rotation of a compromised Connor McGovern coming off a high ankle sprain, a very young, not quite ready, Matt Farniok, and a veteran left tackle moved to guard trying to get into game shape in Jason Peters. If Peters is ready, plug him in and let him work with the young center, Tyler Biadasz, and rookie left tackle Tyler Smith. Donald is going to beat anybody you put out their many times, but at least the group can work together and build chemistry while getting to work against the best in the game. For Dallas it isn’t about shutting down Donald, but just not letting him ruin the game.

For Los Angeles, Donald should be who the whole game plan centers around. He is a mismatch inside for Biadasz and whomever the left guard is. The Rams need to use this to find pressures elsewhere, knowing the resources that will be needed to handle the perennial defensive player of the year candid. If Dallas wants to put two guys on Donald, the way the San Francisco 49ers did on Monday night, then Los Angeles will likely bring blitz packages that overload the rest of the Cowboys offensive line. If Dallas leaves Donald one-on-one too often, he will cause problems for the offense all game long, and those problems usually bring about game changing plays like turnovers.

Controlling how much Donald is able to ruin the offensive drives for the Cowboys will be essential to them winning. If Dallas can run and protect Cooper Rush from getting rattled by such an impactful player, they might be able to pull off their fourth straight victory.

You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or at Youtube on the Across the Cowboys Podcast.