5 Rams to watch in Week 5 vs. Cowboys

[theramswire.usatoday.com] 5 Rams to watch in Week 5 vs. Cowboys

Skyler Carlin
October 7, 2022 1:00 pm PT
The Los Angeles Rams will host the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium in Week 5 following a 15-point loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4. The Rams will enter Sunday’s game with a 2-2 record and are hoping to avoid having a losing record.

On the other side of the field, the Cowboys improved to 3-1 on the season after taking down the Washington Commanders in Week 4. While Dak Prescott has missed the last three games for Dallas, Cooper Rush has kept the offense afloat to lead the Cowboys to a three-game winning streak.


With the Rams searching for answers on both sides of the ball, here are five players to watch on Sunday versus the Cowboys.

Cam Akers
The Rams have tried to go back and forth between Darrell Henderson and Cam Akers to incite a spark in the running game. Both haven’t been able to consistently produce on the ground and Henderson has gotten most of the snaps in the offense to begin the season.

While Henderson has looked solid at times, Akers is just two weeks removed from a performance against the Arizona Cardinals in which he notched 61 rushing yards and a touchdown. On top of that, Sean McVay said he’s ‘pleased’ with how Akers has performed thus far.

Despite the shaky start to the season, Akers gets a chance to face a defense of the Cowboys that is allowing five yards per attempt and boasts the No. 25 ranked rush DVOA defense. If the Rams can have success running the football, it could maybe help the offense begin getting back on track.


Allen Robinson
Much has been made about the slow start to the season for Allen Robinson after signing a three-year, $45 million contract in the offseason with the Rams. The Pro Bowl wideout has been a ghost in the offense as he’s caught only nine of his 18 targets for 95 yards and a touchdown in the first four weeks.

McVay has continuously iterated that the Rams need to do a better job getting Robinson involved in the offense, though, we’ve yet to see him be targeted consistently by Matthew Stafford. Los Angeles desperately needs another wide receiver to step up alongside Cooper Kupp to help open up the offense.

Until we begin to see glimpses of him being a consistent contributor in the passing game, Robinson will continue to be a player that fans have their sights set on.


Rob Havenstein
There’s no doubt that the banged-up offensive line of the Rams is going to have to focus on preventing Micah Parsons from single-handedly wrecking Sunday’s game. But with Parsons already being mentioned in the key matchups article, it needs to be mentioned that Rob Havenstein is going to have his hands full against DeMarcus Lawrence.

While all the attention has been on Parsons — and for good reason — Lawrence has also gotten off to a great start this season. The Pro Bowl defensive end had a three-sack game two weeks ago and he’s tied for the seventh-best pass-rush win rate among defensive ends this season (26%).

Leonard Floyd
The Cowboys have had quite a few guys in their defensive front be productive to begin the season. Meanwhile, outside of Aaron Donald, the Rams haven’t gotten much production from the other members of the defensive front.

Raheem Morris has called out the pass-rushing unit ahead of Sunday’s matchup and Leonard Floyd has gotten off to a slow start. The former first-round pick has been productive since joining the Rams, however, he’s yet to record a sack this season and he’s not providing consistent pressure.

With Los Angeles dealing with a bevy of injuries in the secondary, getting a notable outing from Floyd and the other edge rushers on the Rams could aid the defense tremendously.

David Long Jr.
All signs are pointing toward David Long Jr. potentially returning following a two-game absence for the Rams. Long has been limited in practice this week and he’ll likely draw the responsibility of covering CeeDee Lamb.

Michael Gallup returned for the Cowboys last week, allowing Lamb to see more snaps out of the slot. Jalen Ramsey could see Lamb on certain snaps, but Long should see the majority of the snaps in the nickel cornerback spot.

While Dallas wants to lean on Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard with Rush starting again, Los Angeles will need Long and the other defensive backs to prevent Lamb from having an explosive performance in Week 5.