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Cowboys steamroll Rams behind Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard

By Alex Butler
Dallas Cowboys running backs Ezekiel Elliott (21) and Tony Pollard combined for 248 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries during a win against the Los Angeles Rams Sunday in Arlington, Texas.  Photo by Ian Halperin/UPI
1 of 3 | Dallas Cowboys running backs Ezekiel Elliott (21) and Tony Pollard combined for 248 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries during a win against the Los Angeles Rams Sunday in Arlington, Texas.  Photo by Ian Halperin/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The Dallas Cowboys out-rushed the Los Angeles Rams 263 yards to 22 yards in a lopsided Week 15 home victory, moving to 7-7 on the season.

Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott sparked the Cowboys' ground game in the 44-21 win Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Pollard had 131 yards and a score on 12 carries. Elliott had 117 yards and two scores on 24 carries.

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Dallas out-gained Los Angeles 475 to 289 in total yards and did not allow a sack or a turnover.

"The offensive line, I don't know what they ate for breakfast, but they did a hell of a job and made it easy on us backs," Elliott told reporters.

"We know what type of men we have in this room. We know how good our offensive line is. We're pros just like them. When we go out there and handle our business, when we go out there and execute, we're hard to stop."

The game began with three consecutive punts before Dallas marched down the field with a 15-play, 90-yard scoring drive, taking 6:21 off the clock. The drive ended with Dak Prescott throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass to veteran tight end Jason Witten.

The Rams answered on the next drive, with Jared Goff throwing a two-yard touchdown pass to Todd Gurley at the start of the second quarter. Dallas responded by scoring 21 unanswered points and seized control of the game.

Prescott hit Tavon Austin with a 59-yard touchdown pass on the first drive of the rally. Elliott then rushed for a one-yard touchdown, capping off a 97-yard drive to give the Cowboys a 21-7 lead. Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee intercepted Goff on the Rams' next drive, giving Dallas the ball at the Los Angeles 9-yard line. Elliott ran in for a 3-yard score four plays later, giving Dallas a 28-7 lead at the half.

Kai Forbath hit a 50-yard field goal for Dallas at the start of the third quarter and added two more field goals to start the fourth before the Rams tried to get back into the game. Gurley rushed for a 7-yard score with 3:22 remaining, but Dallas answered with a 44-yard Pollard rushing touchdown, pushing their lead to 44-15.

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Goff connected with Cooper Kupp for a 7-yard score with 45 seconds remaining for the final points of the game.

"They beat us in all three phases and you have to give them credit," Rams head coach Sean McVay said. "We didn't play nearly good enough, didn't coach good enough. These are things we just have to figure out. We haven't been consistent enough really throughout this season."

Goff completed 33 of 51 passes for 284 yards, two scores and an interception in the loss. Prescott completed 15 of 23 passes for 212 yards and two scores for the Cowboys. Lee had three tackles and a sack, in addition to his interception.

"I think we felt that our identity was at risk," Lee said of the Cowboys' defense. "We weren't playing like we've been playing for the last five years ... We said let's win the hitting, let's win the hustle."

The Cowboys next battle the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC East affair with playoff implications at 4:25 p.m. EST Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Dallas and Philadelphia are tied atop the division entering the Week 16 matchup. The Rams -- last season's Super Bowl runner-up -- face the San Francisco 49ers at 8:15 p.m. EST Saturday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

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