Dallas Cowboys vs Baltimore Ravens Quick Game Preview
We see if the Dallas Cowboys can set a new franchise record for consecutive wins with nine when they take on the Baltimore Ravens Sunday.
The Dallas Cowboys return home this Sunday when they look to keep the winning streak alive against the Baltimore Ravens. The Cowboys have a chance to make it 9 straight wins, a new franchise record.
The Cowboys won the most entertaining game of the year Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, complete with a game-winning touchdown from rookie superstar Ezekiel Elliott. However they need to put their emotions in the rear-view as they will try to make it 4 for 4 against the AFC North, as the first-place Ravens aren’t a team to look past. The Baltimore run defense is currently ranked at the top of the league and will be the third top-5 unit they face in their 2016 campaign.
Normally facing the top-ranked run defense in the league would be cause for concern for a run-heavy team featuring a rookie running back, but the Cowboys are no strangers to this scenario. When they traveled to Lambeau Field to take on the Packers’ top-ranked run defense back in Week Six, Elliott left Wisconsin with a career high 157 yards.
As for the Ravens, they’ve won their last two games, giving them a slim lead over the rest of the AFC North. They’ve been a streaky team this year; winning their first three, losing their next four, then regrouping for their current two game win streak. They head into Dallas with quite a bit to play for, with the Steelers and the Bengals within two games of their division lead.
Much like it has been all season, the talk of the week has been the Cowboys’ quarterback position. Shortly after their thrilling win in Pittsburgh, it came out that Tony Romo would remain behind Dak Prescott as the backup quarterback for the first time in over a decade. While some still believe that Romo is the better option of the two, he ended the questions on if Dak would be pulled in favor of the veteran by standing up, taking his demotion in stride, and throwing his 100% support behind the young signal-caller.
The “quarterback controversy” questions should not be a distraction now that the team has a clear starter at the quarterback position and can continue to focus on nothing but winning football games.
On the other sideline, Joe Flacco has been about as mediocre as possible, throwing 9 touchdowns to 9 interceptions, while completing 62% of his passes. He has targets in the passing game with Steve Smith and Mike Wallace, so even though his season numbers are average, the air attack is still a threat to a Cowboys defense that’s missing Morris Claiborne and Barry Church.
While the Ravens have the top-ranked rushing defense, it’ll be the Baltimore backfield that will have the most trouble. The Ravens are ranked 28th in rushing offense, while the Cowboys come into the weekend ranked third in rushing yards allowed on the season. Their lead back, Terrance West, has 510 yards on the season, which isn’t enough to buoy a mediocre passing game. Their offense hasn’t had a fantastic game yet this season, this is a team that wins thanks to its defense.
Next: Is Elliott breaking the rookie rushing record a bad thing?
The Cowboys should come away with a win this week, as long as they don’t look ahead to their Thanksgiving Day matchup with Washington Redskins, the second of three games a twelve-day span. That’s a tough stretch for any team, especially one dealing with nagging injuries as the Cowboys currently are. This stretch could define their season, but they need to take care of business Sunday to continue their historic 2016.