C.J. Anderson rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and Todd Gurley added 115 yards and a score as the Los Angeles Rams ran their way into the NFC Championship game with a 30-22 victory Saturday over the visiting Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Jared Goff was 15-of-28 passing for 186 yards as the Rams moved one victory from the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance since 2001, when they lost to the New England Patriots.
The Rams will face the winner of Sunday's Philadelphia Eagles-New Orleans Saints matchup in next weekend's NFC title game.
"It was incredible what they did today," Goff said of the Rams' running backs. "We know this (Cowboys) defense, and we prepared for it well all week. What Todd and C.J. did ... Todd started it and C.J. finished it off."
Dak Prescott was 20 of 32 for 266 yards and one touchdown passing while also rushing for a score as the Cowboys lost their eighth consecutive road playoff game.
The Rams totaled 273 yards on the ground, a franchise record for a playoff game. It was the most rushing yards the Cowboys' defense has given up in a game this season. Dallas entered with the fifth-best rushing defense in the NFL, allowing 94.6 yards per game.
"We just didn't do a good enough job of controlling the line of scrimmage, winning our gaps and tackling," Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said. "They were able to run consistently throughout the game. They controlled the pace and tempo of the game really because of that."
Anderson, who was signed late in the season and played in just two regular-season games, scored on a 1-yard TD run to give the Rams a 13-7 lead with seven minutes remaining in the first half.
Gurley, who was playing in his first game since Dec. 16 against Philadelphia because of knee soreness, added a 35-yard TD run with 3:27 remaining in the opening half to give the Rams a 20-7 lead.
After a third-quarter field goal from the Rams' Greg Zuerlein, the Cowboys cut the deficit to 23-15 on a 1-yard TD run from Ezekiel Elliott and a 2-point conversion catch from Amari Cooper.
The Cowboys started a potential game-tying drive late in the third quarter, but Elliott was stopped on fourth down from the Rams' 35-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Rams promptly went on a 12-play, 65-yard drive, capped by a 1-yard TD run from Anderson to take a 30-15 lead with 7:16 remaining. Prescott added the Cowboys' final TD on a 1-yard run with 2:11 remaining.
Elliott was held to 47 yards on 20 rushes for the Cowboys.
"Even when we were in three-receiver sets they were in base, so they were committed to stopping our running game," Garrett said. "If they're committed to taking one thing away you have to be able to beat them in the other area, and at times we did a good job of that tonight."
At 32, the Rams' Sean McVay became the youngest head coach to win a playoff game, ahead of John Madden, who was 33 when he won his first playoff game with the Oakland Raiders.
--Field Level Media
Dallas | L.A. Rams | |
Ezekiel Elliott | Player | C.J. Anderson |
20 | Attempts | 23 |
47 | Yards | 123 |
2.4 | Avg Yards | 5.4 |
1 | Touchdowns | 2 |
15 | Long | 15 |
Dallas | L.A. Rams | |
Michael Gallup | Player | Robert Woods |
6 | Receptions | 6 |
119 | Yards | 69 |
19.8 | Avg Yards | 11.5 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
44 | Long | 18 |
Yards | Scoring | Defense | ||||||
Team | Tot | Rus | Pas | TD | FG | INT | Sck | FF |
Dallas | 308 | 50 | 258 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
L.A. Rams | 459 | 273 | 186 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 |