Blown lead might linger with Rams awhile

The St. Louis Rams could not have gotten off to a better start. Everything was working great Sunday afternoon as they built a 21-0 lead on the Dallas Cowboys.

But following Dallas’ 34-31 victory at the Edward Jones Dome, the Rams were left scratching their heads, wondering how they let the game get away from them.

“We just didn’t capitalize on the plays we needed to make,” defensive end William Hayes said. “We gave that game away. We played good football, but just didn’t finish. You have to finish. It wasn’t anything they did. We lost that game. They didn’t beat us.”

St. Louis took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards in 15 plays using a mix of short passes with runs from Zac Stacy and Trey Watts. Austin Davis, making his second career start, capped the drive with a perfect play-action pass to tight end Lance Kendricks, who tip-toed inside the pylon.

Alec Ogletree then forced a DeMarco Murray fumble to end the first Dallas possession at the Rams 35. That led to a 51-yard touchdown pass to Brian Quick on the first play of the second quarter. The Rams had not thrown a touchdown pass in either of their first two games.

“The offense was rolling,” said Davis, who went 30-of-42 for 327 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Rams (1-2) had two failed red-zone chances when they were stopped on fourth-and-inches at the Dallas 15 in the third quarter. Jared Cook later dropped a sure touchdown pass early in the fourth and the Rams settled for a 28-yard Greg Zuerlein field goal.

“It’s like having the world in your hands and you drop it,” Cook said.

The so-called “24-hour rule” will be tough to follow as the Rams enter their bye week.

“I wish there was some magic potion we can all drink and forget about it,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “Having two weeks to really settle in a loss is going to be hard to get over, but you’ve got to do it.”

No sacks

The Rams had one of the league’s most formidable pass rush last year, but did not record a sack on Sunday and have just one in three games. Robert Quinn was a defensive player of the year candidate last year after picking up 19 sacks, but does not have one this season.

“We’re getting good rushes,” Quinn said. “We have been back there but when we get our opportunities, we have to get them down.”

Chris Long, who has 33 sacks over the last three years, was lost in Week 1 with an ankle injury. Eugene Sims said Long’s absence is definitely a factor, but the other linemen have to find a way to step up.

“We’re supposed to have one of the best D-lines in the league,” Sims said. “Teams are scheming against us, but we’ll figure it out.”

Too many penalties

The Rams were flagged eight times for 119 yards. A pair of pass interference penalties on Lamarcus Joyner and Janoris Jenkins led to two Dallas touchdowns. The Joyner penalty resulted in a 27-yard gain on a third-and-6 and set up a 1-yard Murray score. The Cowboys took their first lead following Jenkins’ 33-yard penalty in the fourth quarter. Three plays later, Romo found a wide-open Terrance Williams over the middle for a 12-yard touchdown to give the Cowboys a 27-24 lead with 6:13 remaining.

A phantom roughing the passer call on Sims kept a drive alive to allow the Cowboys to kick a field goal before halftime. Sims was flagged for defensive holding to negate a sack with 2:31 remaining.

“I was just trying to make a play and he made a bad call,” Sims said. “It’s their job to make a call, but we’ll see where it goes in the next couple of days.

“It’s a big stain on the game because, in the last minute, I’m trying to make a play to win the game. Everybody who saw it knew it was a bad call.”

Bironas remembered

Former Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas, who died in a car accident Saturday night, played under current Rams coach Jeff Fisher for six seasons. Both Hayes and Cook played with Bironas while with the Titans.

“That hurt. That was family,” said Hayes, who played with Bironas for four seasons. “Anytime you lose someone close to you, it’s not easy.”

Cook, a Bironas teammate from 2009 to 2012, didn’t want to believe the news.

“It’s terrible,” he said. “It was a very sad thing to hear.”

This story was originally published September 21, 2014 at 7:25 PM.