Baltimore Ravens @ Dallas Cowboys Game Preview
By Andy Davies
The Dallas Cowboys host the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, as both teams look to avenge Week Two losses.
With just one win between the Ravens and Cowboys so far this season, this Week Three clash has become even more important than it already was for two teams with playoff aspirations.
Here is a preview of Sunday’s matchup between the Cowboys and Ravens on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
A Game You Do Not Want To Lose
The Cowboys earned a win in Week One over the Cleveland Browns but fell to the New Orleans Saints in Week Two during their home opener. Meanwhile, the Ravens are 0-2 despite having a lot of Super Bowl expectations.
Granted, against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week One, they were probably expected to lose. However, against the Las Vegas Raiders with an extra few days’ rest, the Ravens suffered a shock 26-23 loss, despite being 23-13 up in the fourth quarter.
With division rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers playing on Sunday for the chance to go 3-0, a loss for Baltimore in Dallas on Sunday could be catastrophic for their AFC North aspirations. In terms of making the playoffs, there is a big difference between starting 0-2 and 0-3.
Meanwhile, for the Cowboys, they are still joint top of their division. Along with the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders, they occupy a 1-1 record. A loss is far less catastrophic for them, but they will want to prove to the NFL world that they can win in big spots. Despite their 0-2 start, the Ravens are still a tough prospect and have been in close scores in both losses.
Key Players and Matchups
Of course, it starts with the quarterback as Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson look to answer some early season criticism.
If they want to succeed in this game, their success hangs on the performance of their weapons, most notably Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb and Baltimore’s Zay Flowers. Neither the Cowboys or Ravens have excelled on defense this season, with both teams ranking 28th and 30th for points allowed respectively.
Judging by the first two games this season, Lamb will have a field day. He will line up against a Baltimore defense that has allowed the most passing yards this season in the NFL. Marlon Humphrey will need to step up, with a fan outside M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday claiming he puts more effort to his podcast than on the field outside.
On the flip side, the Ravens have allowed the least rushing yards. This means that the likes of Ezekiel Elliot, Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughan may struggle to make an impact in this game. They will find it especially tough against linebacker Odafe Oweh, who helping this Baltimore run defense perform so well.
A real shining light for the Baltimore defense, he was given the fifth highest PFF grade amongst edge defenders (90.0). His 2.5 sacks so far this season rank him tied for 10th in the entire league. He also has a 75+ PFF grade in both pass rush and run defense, with only three other edge rushers achieving this. Expect him to stand out against this aforementioned underwhelming Dallas run game.
After all, Elliot is the Cowboys’ lead rusher and has just 56 yards in the opening two games. He is just 31 rushing yards clear of Lamb and has twelve more carries.
The Cowboys pass defense ranks 16th, whereas their run defense sits 20th. Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson are bound to want to capitalise on the weakest part of their defensive unit.
The kicker battle between Dallas’ Brandon Aubrey and Baltimore’s Justin Tucker will be interesting. It has not been the strongest of starts to a season for Tucker. Out of the 37 attempted 50+ yard field goal attempts made in the first two weeks across the NFL, only two have been missed. These both belong to Tucker.
It has been the complete opposite for Aubrey. Along with the Houston Texans’ Ka’imi Fairbairn, he has outscored Lamb, Tyreek Hill, DK Metcalf, Joe Mixon, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Patrick Mahomes as well as many more NFL stars on fantasy football.
He was perfect with four out of four field goals made and converted his one extra point attempt against the Saints in Week Two. Aubrey was also perfect in the Week One win over the Browns, also converting all four of his field goal attempts and converted all three extra point attempts. He has yet to miss a kick out of twelve attempts so far.
In a game that could be tight and go down to the wire, it could come down to the feet of Aubrey or Tucker.
Prediction
This game is incredibly tough to call. Both teams are eager to get their seasons back on track and we all know they are better than their records suggest.
With home advantage and more reliability right now on defense and special teams, Dallas are The Touchdown’s pick to win the game, coming out with a 37-34 win in a thriller.
ANDY DAVIES
NFL ANALYST
ANDY IS A SPORTS JOURNALISM GRADUATE WITH OVER FOUR YEARS EXPERIENCE OF NFL WRITING AND PODCASTING. ANDY HAS BEEN TO EVERY NFL STADIUM AND IS THE HOST OF THE ACROSS THE POD PODCAST AND HAS PRESS PASS EXPERIENCE AT THE LONDON GAMES AND MANY OTHER NFL BASED EVENTS, HAVING INTERVIEWED THE LIKES OF JASON BELL, OSI UMENYIORA, DOUG PEDERSON, DERRICK HENRY, TREVOR LAWRENCE AND MIKE VRABEL.