Colin Cowherd argues that the Los Angeles Rams are superior to the San Francisco 49ers in their ability to move on from players, whether due to injury or off-field issues, before situations become detrimental to the team. He cites the Rams' decisions to part ways with Jalen Ramsey, Todd Gurley, and Cooper Kupp as examples, contrasting it with the 49ers' handling of the Brandon Aiyuk situation, which he believes has led to a 'old, dramatic, brittle, and expensive' roster
It is Day 87 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff. We are looking back at the 100 most iconic games in Dallas Cowboys history. The countdown will leads us right up to the opening game of 2026. Our look back doesn’t depend on just one criteria for our rankings. We take into consideration things like how big the game was for the organization, how memorable the game was, games that had unusual events take place, games that are a part of NFL lore, Cowboys firsts, and games where the Cowboys just plain dominated. Variety is the spice of life and we have all different kind of Cowboys games to review. At the bottom, we’ll link each day of the countdown so you can go back and check out any you missed. We’re now at Day 87 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff, where we revisit one of the most complete late-season performances of the Jason Garrett era. The Cowboys entered this Week 15 matchup in a strange place where the team looked talented enough to believe, inconsistent enough to frustrate everyone, and coming off another rough December stretch. Across the field were the defending NFC champions Los Angeles Rams, still fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive. Dallas needed a statement, and for one afternoon at AT&T Stadium, it absolutely delivered. The Cowboys struck first with a long, methodical 15-play, 90-yard drive that ended with Dak Prescott finding Jason Witten for a 19-yard touchdown. The Rams answered early in the second quarter when Jared Goff hit Todd Gurley for a two-yard score, but that only tied the game briefly. Dallas immediately responded with one of the highlights of the day. Prescott escaped pressure and found former Ram Tavon Austin wide open for a 59-yard touchdown to put the Cowboys back ahead 14-7. From there, Dallas took over. After a Rams punt pinned the Cowboys at their own three-yard line, Dallas marched 97 yards in eight plays, burning nearly eight minutes off the clock before Ezekiel Elliott finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown. Then Sean Lee intercepted Goff and returned the ball deep into Rams territory, setting up another Elliott touchdown. In a single quarter, a 7-7 game had become a 28-7 Cowboys halftime lead. The second half was mostly about Dallas refusing to let the Rams back in. Kai Forbath added field goals from 50 and 42 yards to stretch the lead, then added another 42-yarder in the fourth. Los Angeles scored late through Gurley and Cooper Kupp , but Tony Pollard slammed the door with a 44-yard touchdown run, giving Dallas its final points in a 44-21 rout. The numbers were exactly what Cowboys fans had wanted to see all season. Prescott threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns. Elliott rushed for 117 yards and two scores. Pollard added 131 rushing yards and the late touchdown. Dallas ran for 263 yards as a team, while the defense held the Rams to just 22 rushing yards. Against a Sean McVay offense that had represented the NFC in the previous Super Bowl, that was domination. This game belongs on the countdown because it was the 2019 Cowboys at their best. The offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage, the run game punished a playoff-caliber opponent, Prescott made explosive plays, Witten delivered a vintage moment, and the defense created a key turnover. The season ultimately did not become what it should have, but this win showed why so many people kept believing the roster was capable of more. The game began with a bizarre coin-toss controversy. Prescott’s wording initially created confusion over whether Dallas had chosen to kick rather than defer, which could have allowed the Rams to receive both halves. The issue was corrected, and Dallas received the second-half kickoff. Countdown To Kickoff by day: 100 , 99 , 98 , 97 , 96 , 95 , 94 , 93 , 92 , 91 , 90 , 89 , 88
Saquon Barkley reached out to Todd Gurley for insight into Sean McVay's offense, which the Eagles' new coordinator Sean Mannion is implementing. The scheme will feature more under-center snaps and an outside zone run scheme. Barkley expressed enthusiasm for the challenges and potential of the new system
Entering his 10th NFL season as head coach of the Los Angeles Rams , Sean McVay has been the gold standard for culture building, player development, in-game schematics, and coaching discipleship. 2026 will feature his 5th offensive coordinator, 4th defensive coordinator, and 5th special teams coordinator. Sean McVay has remained the architect of the offense, although his recent hires have given interesting wrinkles and personnel packaging compared to the early years. The defense saw a drastic change from 2019 into the 2020 decade. While the special teams has never recovered since the days of John Fassel. Here’s a look down memory lane of the staffs that Sean McVay has formed year after year. Fresh off of being hired at age 30, McVay targeted legendary coach, Wade Phillips to be his defensive mastermind. His recruiting pitch worked and Phillips began to unleash the full potential of Aaron Donald and company. McVay also secured the services of former colleague Matt LaFleur, whom he worked with in Washington. Rams offense: 1st of 32 (29.9 ppg) Rams defense: 12th of 32 (20.6 ppg against) Within one year, McVay already lost pieces of his staff. Matt LaFleur left Los Angeles for the Tennessee Titans . His quarterbacks coach, Greg Olson , parted for the Oakland Raiders to join Jon Gruden. Zac Taylor slid into the role of quarterbacks coach while the Rams opted to work without an official offensive coordinator. Shane Waldron was also promoted to passing game coordinator. Rams offense: 2nd of 32 (32.9 ppg) Rams defense: 20th of 32 (24.0 ppg against) Once again, McVay opted to navigate the season without an official offensive coordinator but the Rams experienced significant regression off of their Super Bowl run. A lot of that was due to Todd Gurley ’s chronic knee injury and Jared Goff’s rise in turnovers. McVay also lost Zac Taylor to the Cincinnati Bengals . Rams offense: 11th of 32 (24.6 ppg) Rams defense: 17th of 32 (22.8 ppg against) After seeing the Vic Fangio defense limit his offense over the past year and a half, McVay opted to hire a disciple of Fangio’s, Brandon Staley. With Wade Phillips contract expired, McVay made the switch at defensive coordinator. Using his ties to Jay Gruden, McVay poached Kevin O’Connell from the Washington Redskins , giving himself a sounding board in the offensive room. Rams offense: 22nd of 32 (23.3 ppg) Rams defense: 1st of 32 (18.5 ppg against) The staff’s full potential was unleashed with the acquisition of Matthew Stafford . Jared Goff was identified as the weak link within the offense and Sean McVay and Kevin O’Connell immediately course-corrected the offense under Stafford. Brandon Staley departed after one year for the Los Angeles Chargers head coaching job. Raheem Morris, another former colleague during McVay’s Washington years, became the new DC. Rams offense: 7th of 32 (27.1 ppg) Rams defense: 15th of 32 (21.9 ppg against) Kevin O’Connell was poached by the Minnesota Vikings after Super Bowl LVI. After serving on McVay’s staff from 2018-2020, Liam Coen became the new offensive coordinator. The season was largely derailed by injuries however the Rams offensive play design surprisingly lacked a lot of creativity. Matthew Stafford’s offseason elbow injury might have been the factor in that. Rams offense: 27th of 32 (18.1 ppg) Rams defense: 21st of 32 (22.6 ppg against) After questioning his own future, Sean McVay did return for year 7. Liam Coen went back to the University of Kentucky. This prompted McVay to hire Mike LaFleur, who had been let go from the New York Jets . LaFleur’s hire brought a different look to the Rams offense, bringing wrinkles of Kyle Shanahan’s offense in San Francisco . This was the year that the Rams started to run more gap and duo with their running game. Rams offense: 8th of 32 (23.8 ppg) Rams defense: 19th of 32 (22.2 ppg against) Raheem Morris became the 5th coach to land a head coaching job from Sean McVay’s staff. Morris secure the At
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This year’s backfield split between Kyren Williams and Blake Corum could be the most shared workload we’ve seen over Sean McVay’s time with the Los Angeles Rams. It’s one of the most interesting dynamics across this refreshed roster. In his early years, McVay seemed adamantly opposed to a shared backfield. Todd Gurley shouldered an outsized burden on his way to an Offensive Player of Award in 2017. The Rams ran Gurley’s wheels off, and 2019 concluded his career with the team. Even as Gurley’s effectiveness dipped in his last season in Los Angeles , the Rams were committed to giving him a larger workload. By necessity LA varied its approach in 2020-2o22. Sony Michel , Darrell Henderson , Cam Akers , and Malcolm Brown all took turns to prove they were the guy, and ultimately none were successful in the long term. The Rams returned to a stable backfield in 2023 a year removed from identifying Williams in the fifth round. LA loved Williams so much they drafted his clone in the third round of the 2024 class in Blake Corum. While Corum was relegated to the bench for most of the 2024 season before suffering an injury that held him out of the playoffs, he bounced back in a big way during his second year. 2025 brought the most mixed backfield we’ve seen in the McVay era outside of injuries forcing their hand. Season Primary Running Back Share of Total RB Carries 2017 Todd Gurley 78% 2018 Todd Gurley 69% 2019 Todd Gurley 75% 2023 Kyren Williams 73% 2024 Kyren Williams 76% 2025 Kyren Williams 54% Split backfields provide an inherent advantage in real football. If your primary back is injured, your offense won’t change much because it’s already used to the other guy. While Williams and Corum are overall similar players, they are just different enough that things feel varied when the more fleet of foot Corum steps onto the field. It took the Rams and McVay a long time to finally reach a modern NFL backfield. They’ve now arrived. This approach is certain to play dividends and keep Williams and Corum fresher than they’d otherwise be into the postseason. That is important for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. But fantasy football heads hate split backfields. Despite rushing for more than 1,200 yards, 10 touchdowns, and hauling in 30 receptions in each of his last two seasons, Williams enters 2026 as just the 17th ranked back for fantasy football purposes . Corum remains one of the best bargain gambles in all of fantasy with a #38 ranking. This projects him as one of the best backups across the NFL. Will the backfield of Williams and Corum in 2026 be the most mixed we’ve seen since Sean McVay joined the Rams in 2017?
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