Dallas Cowboys Football: Winners and Losers from Pokes' Win vs. Rams

Today, the Dallas Cowboys enjoyed a blowout victory against the St. Louis Rams led by a breakout performance by DeMarco Murray, as he set a Cowboys record for most rushing yards in a game with 252 yards.  

However, Murray was not the only winner from today's victory.  Here are the winners and losers (mostly Rams players) from today's Cowboys victory.

Winner: DeMarco Murray

So far this season, the Cowboys have had a terrible time running the ball outside of a strong game by Felix Jones against the Redskins. 

When Jones went down with an injury last week against New England, many Cowboy fans panicked as they saw their poor running game go from bad to worse, but Demarco Murray would have something to say about that. 

Murray started the day with a 91-yard rushing touchdown and would go on to set a team record for rushing yards in the game, passing Cowboy legends like Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith. 

The Cowboys may have found a star today in Murray, but at the very least, they’ve found someone to establish their rushing game and take some pressure off of the passing game.

Winner: Dez Bryant

Dez Bryant has battled injuries all season, but when he’s been healthy, he’s been very dangerous. 

Today, Dez Bryant had five catches for 90 yards and a touchdown for the Cowboys.  The Cowboys can chalk this one up as a victory because Bryant showed the great playmaker he is. 

If Bryant can stay healthy and continue to make plays, he can create havoc for defenses. 

Opposing teams will now have Austin, Bryant and Whitten to worry about in the passing game and Murray to worry about in the backfield. 

That is a lot of weapons for Tony Romo, and can help the Cowboys go deep in the playoffs.

Loser: The Rams Defense

The human eye may look at the above picture and say, "It looks like there's nothing here."  

That's how it felt watching the Rams defense today.

It’s hard to single out just one person on the Rams defense.  After all, there are 11 of them, and none of them could stop DeMarco Murray. 

Keep in mind this Rams defense was facing the Cowboys third string running back. The Cowboys starting left guard, Montrae Holland, was signed several days ago, and the Cowboys had the 27th ranked rushing offense going into today’s game. 

Most NFL defenses would be salivating looking at this matchup, but for the Rams, they became a part of NFL history for all the wrong reasons.

Loser: Stephen Jackson

Stephen Jackson didn’t have a terrible game (70 yards on 18 carries), but it has become clear, he is no longer the focal point of an offense. 

There was a point in time where defenses had to specifically focus in on how to stop Stephen Jackson.  At this point, Stephen Jackson has just become another part of the ineffective Rams offense. 

Jackson has failed to have a 100-yard game yet this season, and with Sam Bradford out, it doesn’t look like Jackson will have any help elsewhere.

Winner: Brandon Lloyd

I’m not quite sure if you could say there are any bright spots for the Rams today, but Brandon Lloyd ended up having a solid game. 

Lloyd caught six balls for 74 yards, and while that seems irrelevant after today’s blowout, the Rams should be satisfied with this. 

Lloyd had this game catching balls from A.J. Feeley and will have a substantial upgrade when Sam Bradford comes back from injury. 

The Rams won’t improve dramatically this season, but a Lloyd-Bradford combination could be great for the passing attack.

Winner: Montrae Holland

Montrae Holland is a part of one of the unsung heroes of football, the offensive line. 

Holland was signed on Thursday and started for the Cowboys today. 

While this should have created a world of problems for the Dallas Cowboys, Holland was a part of the front five for the Cowboys that led to a record breaking game for DeMarco Murray. 

While they did not play a tough defense, give credit to Montrae Holland for coming in on the fly and helping the Cowboys get a huge victory.

Winner: Abram Elam

Abram Elam is the Dallas Cowboys starting strong safety and had a great game for the Cowboys on defense against the Rams. 

Elam had eight tackles and a fumble recovery, and three of his eight tackles were for a loss. 

If Elam can continue to get into the backfield and stop the run, this Cowboys defense will continue to be strong, as they can add this performance onto the strong performance they had last week.

Winner: DeMarcus Ware

There were many question marks about DeMarcus Ware headed into this week, as he had missed some practice time this past week and has battled back spasms this season. 

Those seemed to not be an issue, as he played and was able to sack A.J. Feeley once during the game while putting pressure on him several times. 

Ware is a key part of the Cowboys defense, and you could argue that he is the catalyst for the Cowboys success on defense with the pressure he puts on the quarterback. 

Ware is consistent, and will continue to be the catalyst for the Cowboys' defensive success this season.

Loser: Tashard Choice

This isn’t necessarily a knock on Choice’s performance, as DeMarco Murray stole Choice’s spot early in the first quarter. 

However, this is starting to become the story of Choice’s career. 

He’s always had decent talent, but always seems to be stuck behind another running back. 

Before, it was Marion Barber and Felix Jones, and today, DeMarco Murray took this role and it seems after this performance, he will be keeping it. 

Could Choice be moved in the offseason?  If so, can he be a No. 1 back for an NFL team?

Winner: Tony Romo

Tony Romo really didn’t have to do a whole lot of work today.  Romo only had to throw the ball 24 times due to a breakout performance from DeMarco Murray. 

Tony Romo is not a winner due to an outstanding performance like Murray, but he is a winner because he did not take his team out of the game with mistakes, and for one week, he did not give the media any ammunition.

Romo has always found himself at the center of the media during his time in Dallas. 

This is due to the way he played on Sunday, vacations taken during a bye week and even the people he’s dated. 

Today, however, Romo will not be the topic of discussion when it comes to Dallas Cowboys football; it will be DeMarco Murray. 

With that, Romo can tune out the media and focus on next week, which makes him a winner.