Baltimore vs. Dallas

Ravens Run All Over Cowboys to Snap Losing Streak in Lamar Jackson's Return From COVID-19

Coming out of the other side of a COVID-19 outbreak that affected 23 Baltimore Ravens players, the team took a page from their late 2018 and 2019 game plan by dominating the running game in a 34-17 win over a Dallas Cowboys team whose weakness is run defense. 

Baltimore (7-5) was still missing six players who remain on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but they felt more complete than they did last Wednesday in a 19-14 loss at Pittsburgh, and after playing this Tuesday game, they will have more of a sense of normalcy as they enter the home stretch of the season fighting for a playoff berth.

"I'm really proud of the guys; I'm really proud of the fact that it's win that we really, really had to have," a masked head coach John Harbaugh said in the postgame news conference. "We went out there and got it against a very determined team, a very talented team, and a well-coached team who played really hard."

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Against a Dallas team that's still in the NFC East race despite being 3-9 and coming into the game with the worst run defense in the NFL, Baltimore ran for 294 yards on just 37 attempts, averaging 7.9 yards per carry. Gus Edwards led the team in yardage with 101 while quarterback Lamar Jackson ran for 94 yards and a touchdown and J.K. Dobbins had 71 yards and a score. Jackson was also 12-for-17 through the air for 107 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in his first game action in 16 days.

"I had a little flu-like symptoms. I still can't really taste or smell, but I'm good now," Jackson said after the game. "I wouldn't wish that on anybody, though. It's not good to have."

"Well the one thing you do know about Lamar: you're going to get everything he's got—that’s all you can really ask for," Harbaugh added. "I'm just impressed of the fact that he was on top of the gameplan so well. He'd been studying, obviously, through the whole time he was away, and he played a great football game."

After taking a 10-7 lead, Dallas was hurt by an Andy Dalton interception to rookie Patrick Queen that led to points, and Greg Zuerlein missed three field goals for the Cowboys. Justin Tucker also missed a 36-yard field goal attempt, snapping his NFL record of 70-straight field goals from inside 40 yards.  

Sitting a game out of the final wild card spot with four games to go, the Ravens will look to draw on their experience from 2019, when they won six of their final seven games to win the AFC North in Week 17. Despite Pittsburgh losing their first game to Washington on Monday, that's not going to happen this year, as the best the Ravens can do is tie Pittsburgh at 11-5, and the Steelers own the tiebreaker by virtue of their two head-to-head wins over Baltimore this year. But a wild card berth is certainly within reach.

"We've got all of our goals ahead of us, and for us to keep them there, we have to keep winning," running back Gus Edwards told reporters after the game when asked if this game can springboard them into a late run. "Winning every game and playing winning football. We made very few mistakes today, but we've got to cancel those [out] too." 

GAME RECAP

After a slow first quarter that only featured a Zuerlein field goal, Jackson broke through with a 37-yard touchdown run up the middle with 32 seconds left in the first quarter to put Baltimore on top, 10-7. On the ensuing kickoff, however, Tony Pollard ran the ball 66 yards to the Ravens 35. Three plays later, Dalton found Michael Gallup for a 13-yard strike to make it 10-7 Cowboys.

Baltimore then scored the next 20 points, starting with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Miles Boykin midway through the second quarter following Queen's interception. Tucker added a field goal before halftime to make it 20-10 Ravens at the break.

Jackson then hooked up with Marquise Brown for a 20-yard touchdown reception to extend the lead to 24-10 and put the game away for all intents and purposes. 

Tucker kicked a 22-yard chip-shot field goal to make it 27-10, and Dallas stopped the scoring drought with a short TD pass from Dalton to Amari Cooper with 4:04 left in the game. Zuerlein then attempted an onside kick, but James Proche recovered it. Six-straight runs followed that recovery, ending with a five-yard scamper into the end zone by Dobbins to seal the 34-17 victory. 

COVID CONCERNS

Baltimore may not be out of the woods yet when it comes to the COVID-19 outbreak, as wide receiver Dez Bryant was pulled off the field during warmups and informed of a positive test. It was to be the former Pro Bowler's first game against his former team.

Harbaugh shrugged off any real concern that the health woes may continue for his team.

"You have to trust the science on it," Harbaugh commented. "That's what the league does. They put a team into place. I've learned in the last couple of weeks that that team is very extensive, and that's their job."

UP NEXT

The Ravens have a little bit more time to prepare for their next game despite this Dallas game being on a Tuesday because next on the schedule is a Monday night matchup at division rival and fellow playoff contender Cleveland. 

The Steelers game was still considered a Week 12 matchup despite being played six days after the original date, and this game with Dallas was postponed by two days, as the NFL continues on track in their goal of finishing the season on time with each team playing their allotted 16 games by January 3, 2021.  

With three Wild Card spots available this year, the Ravens sit tied with Las Vegas for fourth in the race. The Browns are in good shape at 9-3 while Indianapolis and Miami are currently both 8-4, but the Ravens own a win over the Colts should a tiebreaker be necessary. A win on Monday night in Cleveland would tighten the race considerably. New England also isn't out of it at 6-6 and owns a head-to-head win over Baltimore as well. 

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