Seven Teams The Dallas Cowboys Just Can’t Beat
Jan 29, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; General view of Super Bowl XXXV championship ring to commemorate the Baltimore Ravens 34-7 victory over the New York Giants on January 28, 2001 on display at the NFL Experience at the Phoenix Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sport
Baltimore Ravens (4) vs. Dallas Cowboys (0)
Last Meeting: October 14, 2012
Finally, the one team in the NFL that the Cowboys have never beaten:
The Baltimore Ravens.
That’s right.
Obviously there’s no postseason history hear to speak of, which is probably best because it likely wouldn’t have gone very well.
Born from the ashes of the Cleveland franchise in ’96, it wasn’t until 2000 that these two franchises actually played a football game.
If you’re memory is sharp, you’ll instantly remember the sheer dominance displayed by the Ravens down the stretch that year, ultimately landing the upstart franchise in Super Bowl XXXV against the badly out-manned New York Giants.
At the time of the first meeting, the Cowboys were on their way to the first of three consecutive records of 5-11 while unknowingly approaching the end of the Troy Aikman era – in fact, that was just three games away after this ugly 27-0 shutout.
In fact, Dallas didn’t even score its first point against the Ravens until the second game in 2004, that one being a 30-10 loss.
After two tried against the Ravens, both in Baltimore, there was finally a football game between these two teams at Texas Stadium – the last one ever for the building.
With 3:42 left in the game, again the last one at one of the most famous and recognizable sports stadiums in the world, the Cowboys needed the ball back to try to steal the game in the closing minutes.
Instead, the Ravens started setting new records for “The House That Landry Built.”
On first down, running back Willis McGahee took a handoff from Joe Flacco and burst up the middle for a stunning 77-yard touchdown, at the moment the longest rushing touchdown ever by an opposing running back at Texas Stadium – think about that for a minute.
The Cowboys scored a touchdown afterward to put themselves back in position for a miracle comeback in a one-score game – it’s happened before, right?
On the Ravens next play from scrimmage, fullback Le’Ron McClain took a similar handoff from Flacco and broke tackles and finally free for an 82-yard game-clinching touchdown. In a matter of seconds, there was a new record for longest touchdown run for an opposing runner in the same building – think about that, too.
Anyway, that’s basically how this series has gone for Cowboys.
We’ll see what happens when the two teams meet in 2016, possibly for the first time in the new building in Arlington.
To be fair, half of Dallas’ four losses to the Ravens have come during seasons in which Baltimore was eventually crowned the best team in pro football, like the last time the teams met back in Maryland in ’12. Further, the Cowboys were either on the verge of a complete rebuild or were just underway with a major renovation.