NFL Picks Week 7: Dallas Cowboys vs. St. Louis Rams

The Dallas Cowboys ease off of their tough Week 6 loss to the New England Patriots to play the winless St. Louis Rams.  Tony Romo and the Cowboys need a breath mint.   The Rams are that breath mint. 

This game will put much less pressure on the Cowboys.  The Rams have struggled this season after nearly winning the NFC West last season despite finishing 7-9.  The Rams average 9.8 points per game. Only one of the Rams' losses has been within a touchdown.

That is much different from the Cowboys' affairs.

The Cowboys might as well be called the Kardiac Kids, the nickname bestowed upon the 1980 and 2002 Cleveland Browns.  Each Cowboys game has been decided by a touchdown or less.  Every game has come down to the last drive.

To grab both of their wins, the Cowboys have needed game-ending field goals by rookie Dan Bailey.

Hopefully, the Cowboys won't need Bailey to save them against the winless Rams.

Several questions must be answered for the Cowboys to return to .500.

Will the Cowboys need Bailey to kick field goals to deliver a victory?  Can Tony Romo do a better job of finishing drives than he did against the Patriots?  Will the Cowboys present a decent pass rush with DeMarcus Ware suffering from back spasms and Jason Hatcher still injured?  Can the Cowboys' secondary repeat its stellar performance from the game against the Patriots? 

Tony Romo

30-of-43, 345 yards passing, 4 TD, 4 rushes for 20 yards

Romo will have no problem against the Rams.

The Rams have some quality on the defensive line, particularly Chris Long.  Also, the Cowboys have holes on the offensive line.  Bill Nagy has been placed on injured reserve. Derrick Dockery is still injured.

Nonetheless, Romo will succeed.  Romo will hit the holes in the Rams' defense.  He will thrive dropping screen passes to DeMarco Murray and Tashard Choice as he did against the Patriots.

When Romo finds the chance, he will stretch the field.

Tashard Choice

10 rushes for 45 yards, 5 receptions for 32 yards

Choice may take advantage of the poor Rams rushing defense.  The Rams are the worst team defending the run in the NFL, allowing 163 yards per game.  Spending a bit of time on the ground wouldn't be a bad idea for the Cowboys.

Choice won't have a hard time hitting holes while running the ball.  Choice will have some good rushes.  and a few significant gains.

Also, Choice will be effective catching passes.  Choice will take a couple screen passes.  When Romo needs to check down, he'll find Choice.

Dez Bryant

5 catches, 97 yards, TD

Dez Bryant will have a nice game against the Rams.  Bryant will match up against the only relevant cornerback for the Rams, Justin King.

This isn't exactly a Darrelle Revis smackfest.

Bryant will get the best of the King and make some slick catches.  On a couple of plays, Bryant will elude King and garner big gains after the catch.  Bryant may even haul in a deep catch.

Miles Austin

9 receptions, 140 yards, 2 TD

This will be a big day for Miles Austin.  Austin will be matched up with the Rams' Al Harris.  Harris, a 14-year veteran, has seen better days.  He'll have trouble keeping up with Austin.

Austin will elude Harris.  On several occasions, Austin will break away and obtain great separation.  At least twice, Romo will hit Austin for big gains—and Austin will find the ball in his hands in the end zone a couple times.

DeMarcus Ware

3 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 pass deflection

Despite his back spasms, Ware will not miss this game.  Ware missed practice on Wednesday, but he still should play on Sunday.

Ware will hungrily pursue Sam Bradford, who will play despite a high ankle sprain.  Ware is one  guy who loves to go after injured quarterbacks.  With Bradford's injury, Ware won't be shy about going after him.

Furthermore, Bradford has been hit a ton this season.  Bradford has been sacked 21 times, once every 9.7 drop backs.  No quarterback has been sacked more than Bradford.

Ware notched his 20th multi-sack game against the Patriots.  Look for Ware to obtain number 21 against the Rams.

Sean Lee

5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass deflection

Sean Lee will do a fine job against the Rams.  Stephen Jackson has only run the ball 40 times, so Jackson won't threaten the Cowboys too much.  When he does run the ball, Lee will be waiting on the other side to plug the gap and bring him down.

Lee will do a good job patrolling in the passing game.  Lee will close passing lanes and he'll knock a pass down.

Dan Bailey

2/2 FG, 4/4 XP

Bailey has had a terrific rookie year.  Besides his two game-winning field goals, Bailey leads the league in field goals made.  Granted, he owes some of those opportunities to drives that died and were left to his foot.

Nonetheless, Bailey has been gold for the Cowboys.  Against the Rams, Bailey will continue to produce.  Two more field goals will confirm his status as the best rookie on the team.

Prediction

Prediction:  Cowboys 34, St. Louis Rams 7

The Cowboys will have a great game against the Rams on Sunday.  They will be much more successful than their previous five games.  The Cowboys shouldn't have to worry about squeaking out a close win against a winless team.

The Cowboys offense will click on all cylinders.

With Romo passing the ball well and completing more drives for touchdowns, little talk will persist in the locker room about his leadership after this win.  Romo might get hit a few times, but he'll survive.  This isn't the biggest test for the struggling Cowboys offensive line.

The Cowboys defense will have another strong showing.  Ware and Anthony Spencer will get on top of Bradford.  Terence Newman will do well against Brandon Lloyd in Lloyd's first game in a Rams uniform.

The Cowboys will even out their record, sustaining hope for their playoff chances.