FRISCO, Texas -- Both the Baltimore Ravens (0-2) and the Dallas Cowboys (1-1) are looking to bounce back after deflating losses in Week 2.
Baltimore is coming off of a 26-23 home defeat against the Las Vegas Raiders after 23-13 in the fourth quarter, marking their 11th loss when leading by seven or more points in the fourth quarter since 2020. If that sounds like a lot, well that's because it is. No one else in the NFL has more than seven such losses in the 2020's, and the Ravens' 11th such losses are the most by any team in a five-year span in the play-by-play data tracking era, since 1991.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys are coming off of their second consecutive home loss in a row in which they allowed 44 or more points between their 2023 NFC Wild Card Round defeat against the Green Bay Packers (48-32) and their Week 2 faceplant against the New Orleans Saints (44-19). These two home losses in consecutive order make them the only team since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger to allow 44 or more points in back-to-back home games.
The good news for the Cowboys is that they are 10-1 in their last 11 games following a loss, and quarterback Dak Prescott's 116.4 passer rating in games after a loss since 2021, when he returned from his gruesome season-ending ankle injury he suffered in 2020, is the best in the NFL in that span.
Cowboys' last 11 games following a loss
W-L | 10-1 |
PPG | 31.7 |
PPG Allowed | 16.5 |
PPG Differential | +15.3 |
Reigning NFL MVP and Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has lost three consecutive starts dating to last season's AFC Championship game, and he will look to avoid losing four in a row for the first time in either his college or pro football career.
Let's dig into Sunday's matchup and predict a winner.
All NFL odds are via SportsLine Consensus.
How to watch
Date: Sunday, Sept. 22 | Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
Location: AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
Channel: Fox | Stream: fubo
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Ravens -1; O/U 47.5
When the Ravens have the ball
Jackson, a two-time NFL MVP, possesses a "really remarkable" ability to extend plays while scrambling both inside and outside of the pocket, according to Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy. Combine that with four-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick "King" Henry, and the Cowboys have a tall task in front of them on Sunday in terms of stopping the run.
"Keep emphasizing tackling," McCarthy said of defending Henry on Thursday. "Think the biggest thing is making sure we're right. Make sure we're clean on where our feet are and so forth. ... So much of what we do is more about the footwork and the angles and the anticipation, taking the first step and getting the first punch in. We do our team fundamentals, so when we have tackling drills that we do every Wednesday in a shells format, it requires the footwork and the angles and the approach, but then we have the padded work today [Thursday], so that's obviously a little more dynamic. Those are the things you work on every week. We obviously understand who we're playing against and how we need to tackle."
However, Dallas three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons feels like the Cowboys defense needs to worry more about themselves than their Week 3 opponent. They were smoked by five-time Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara for 115 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, an average of 5.8 yards per carry in New Orleans' 44-19 Week 2 win at the Cowboys on Sunday. Kamara totaled 180 yards from scrimmage to go along with four touchdowns.
"I think it was effort and technique. ... At some point, all 11 [on the field] got to have the same mindset, and that's just toughness," Parsons said on Wednesday. "You talk about who you want to be and all this other stuff. but you've got go out there and be it. It can't just be one guy. It can't be two guys. It's all 11 guys. It takes everyone. I affect the linebackers, the linebackers affect the DBs. We aren't all synchronized. One group's getting F'd up, then another group's going to get F'd up. It's a synchronized chain. So at the end of the day, it's all about toughness and having the mentality like I'm going to dominate the man in front of me. Not all 11 had that last week."
Dallas' focus is centered on the run so that the Cowboys' elite pass rush, powered by Parsons, can earn the right to rush Jackson as a passer. Saints quarterback Derek Carr only had to drop back to pass, in a traditional sense without play-action, just five times on Sunday. That was the lowest amount of true dropbacks (no play-action) in a Week 2 game by a significant margin as the next quarterback above Carr, Cardinals Pro Bowler Kyler Murray, had 13 in a 41-10 win against the Los Angeles Rams. If they do get the Ravens into predictable passing down and distances both he and second-year linebacker DeMarvion Overshown will be candidates to QB spy Jackson.
"It's a great chance," Parsons said of he and Overshown spying Jackson to keep him in the pocket. "As long as we stay in our rush lanes, we do what we're supposed to, but importantly is to get him to pass the ball. We didn't do a good enough job of that. So until we show we can earn the right [to pass rush], I mean what, we had three dropbacks last game? That's outrageous. That's not even a football game. It's like we're playing pony football all over again. So until we fix the fundamentals, I'm not even worried about Lamar at this point."
When the Cowboys have the ball
Offensively, Dallas hopes to get their running back committee of undrafted veteran Rico Dowdle, a late-career Ezekiel Elliott and 2023 sixth-round pick Deuce Vaughn more than the 36 carries they have received through two weeks in order to better evaluate what they have at the position. So far, it hasn't been great. Their ground attack averages 85 yards per game (26th in the NFL) and 3.7 yards per game (26th in the NFL).
What the Cowboys really need is to simply get their passing game looking like it did in 2023 when Prescott led the NFL with 36 passing touchdowns and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb led the NFL with 135 catches. One thing that will definitely help that cause is the return of Pro Bowl tight end Jake Ferguson from his bone brusie/MCL sprain he suffered in Week 1 at the Browns. He was held out of their Week 2 game against the Saints, but Ferguson was a full practice participant on Friday and didn't have a game status. He's playing ball. Prescott explained how crucial his presence is after the loss against the Saints.
"Everywhere," Prescott said postgame on Sunday when asked where Ferguson was missed. "I guess you can say that those young tight ends [Schoonmaker and undrafted rookie Brevyn Spann-Ford] did a good job. Simply, they did a good job. As I've said throughout the week, Jake's more than just a tight end on Sunday. He's an aggressor. He brings a physical nature to this group. He's got a mentality that other guys feed off of, that's very contagious, but those other guys did play well. They did their job and stepped up. The made some plays, but [the game] just got away from us."
Another crucial component to the passing game getting going against is getting Prescott and Lamb back on the same page after the latter missed the Cowboys' entire offseason program, including training camp, while holding out for his eventual four-year, $136 million contract he signed in late August. They missed on what should have been a touchdown early second quarter against New Orleans because of miscommunication. Prescott said on Thursday the passing game's return to form is "close."
Prediction
This matchup between two regular postseason participants will also be close, but Dallas' inability to stop the run and get off the field will be their doom on Sunday in a three-point defeat.
Predicted score: Ravens 27-24