Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images Which Ravens players concern you the most? The Dallas Cowboys (1-1) will host the Baltimore Ravens (0-2) at AT&T Stadium on Sunday afternoon in what is shaping up to be a very important game for both organizations. The Cowboys are coming off an embarrassing loss and the Ravens are still looking for their first win of the season. To the victor go the spoils. The Cowboys may have a slight edge this week with home-field advantage, however, even that didn’t help them last week against the New Orleans Saints. They will need to be at their best to beat a very good Ravens team, who is surprisingly winless this year. To walk away with the “W” Dallas will need to win it some key matchups, which we discuss below. LB DeMarvion Overshown vs. QB Lamar Jackson Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images After seeing his snap count cut significantly in Week 2 against the Saints, don’t be surprised if DeMarvion Overshown doesn’t see a huge uptick in playing time in the Week 3 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. Overshown’s sideline-to-sideline speed and agility could make him the perfect weapon to deploy as a spy on Lamar Jackson, arguably the best dual-threat QB in the league. Dallas can’t afford to allow the Ravens QB to run wild on them if they want a chance of winning and Overshown is their best chance to contain him this week. DE Micah Parsons vs. Ravens’ OL Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images Micah Parsons and the rest the Cowboys pass rush need a huge bounce back game after the no-show performance they had against the Saints last week. Fortunately, the Ravens offensive line has been wildly inconsistent through the first two weeks of the season and was victimized in their Week 2 loss to Las Vegas Raiders. Maxx Crosby absolutely terrorized them the entire game and helped sway the outcome in the Raiders favor. Micah Parsons needs to do the same for Dallas this week. .@Raiders went into @Ravens and @CrosbyMaxx got real busy disrupting the Raven offense. The following is some of the destruction #RaiderNation #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/NnY09h2WuD — Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 16, 2024 WR CeeDee Lamb vs. CB Marlon Humphrey Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images The entire Cowboys offense runs through CeeDee Lamb. As he goes, so does the offense. The Ravens surely know this as well and will do their best to contain him in this Week 3 matchup. They could choose to bracket him in coverage with multiple players or deploy their best coverage man CB Marlon Humphrey. Using Humphrey to shadow him makes sense as it would free up other of their defensive players to be utilized elsewhere. This could be a matchup that helps decide the outcome.
Cowboys news: Jerry Jones gives an opinion on playing Dalvin Cook
Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images Your Wednesday morning news around the Dallas Cowboys. Time to play Dalvin Cook? Jerry Jones addresses Cowboys’ running back situation – Joey Hayden, Dallas Morning News The Dallas Cowboys are struggling to run the ball. Is it time they turn the reigns over to Dalvin Cook? However, even with the veteran presence of Dalvin Cook in the wings on the Cowboys’ practice squad, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones doesn’t appear to be in a rush to shake up the Dallas rushing attack. “I don’t necessarily see a change that would involve Cook this week,” Jones said Tuesday morning during his weekly radio interview with 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM). “I like what we are with our running backs. We’ve got got good depth. We just didn’t get to run them enough Sunday.” Up next for the Cowboys will be the Baltimore Ravens, a team heading into AT&T Stadium desperate for a victory after a surprising 0-2 start. While the offense is led by reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, joining him in the backfield is running back Derrick Henry, a name that many floated as a possible option for the Cowboys over the offseason in free agency. Ahead of the looming matchup against Henry, Jones was also asked about the team’s decision to not pursue the two-time league leader in rushing after the departure of Tony Pollard. “If you’ve got a good player out there and you don’t sign him, guess what, you’re probably going to be playing him,” Jones said. “When you do sign them, you take one out of your competition and you put him over on your side. Big Picture: 10 Storylines for Cowboys & Ravens – Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com Here are a few storylines that could pop up during this weekend’s matchup. Ravens – The Ravens are surprisingly 0-2 to start the season and have only been 0-3 once (2015) in franchise history. So to say they would enter Sunday’s game at AT&T Stadium in desperation would be an understatement, especially considering this is a franchise that has been to the playoffs five of the last six years, including a trip to the AFC Championship Game last season with the league’s MVP. – Speaking of Lamar Jackson, he leads a Ravens offense ranked No. 1 in total yards after two weeks with 417.5 yards per game. He’s arguably the most dynamic running quarterback in NFL history, rushing for 83.5 yards per game in the first two weeks. But that’s also around his QB rating of 86.5. Jackson has thrown an interception in each of his first two losses. Cowboys – What a wake-up call it was for the Cowboys, who were humbled with a 25-point blowout home loss to the Saints in Week 2. It was the first regular-season home loss at AT&T Stadium in 16 games and the biggest blowout at home since the 2020 season (38-10 loss to Arizona). More alarming for the Cowboys, was how similar the game felt to the playoff loss at home to Green Bay back in January, when the Packers steamrolled to a 21-point halftime lead and cruised to the Divisional round. – What a defense a week makes. After Mike Zimmer’s defense received a ton of praise for a dominating win over Cleveland, the unit was gutted by the Saints, who scored touchdowns on their first six drives. The defense had no answer for Alvin Kamara, who did the majority of damage on the perimeter, torching the Cowboys on the edge. After getting a sack and 11 pressures in Week 1 in Cleveland, All-Pro pass-rusher Micah Parsons was held in check by the Saints, totaling just three pressures and no sacks. Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy Could Be Replaced by ‘Rising, Bright Football Mind’ – Anne Erickson, Heavy on Cowboys Hey, if you can’t beat them, hire them. Klint Kubiak Could Be One of Jerry Jones’ ‘First Calls This Offseason’ Joe Summers of Sport DFW has a September 15 feature where he says the “perfect” McCarthy replacement was “made clear” during the Cowboys vs. Saints game. “New Orleans offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is quickly becoming a popular head coaching candidate,” the NFL writer and expert stated. “Derek Carr led the Saints to scores on every drive in Week 1 then continued that streak into the 4th quarter against the Cowboys, giving Jerry Jones a perfect look at someone who could replace McCarthy once he’s let go.” He added that, “Just like in 2023, Dallas was overmatched against superior schemes. Kubiak is a rising, bright football mind and could be one of Jones’ first calls this offseason. Aside from the clear strategic mistake of employing a lame-duck coach, it’s time for Jones to consider alternatives. McCarthy will remain the coach for the rest of the 2024-25 season, though someone else will almost certainly be manning the ship following the year.” Cowboys’ defense still can’t slow Shanahan coaching disciples – Todd Archer, ESPN Hopefully, Mike Zimmer can course correct when facing coaches from the “Shanahan Tree.” Not only have Kyle Shanahan’s San Francisco 49ers beaten the Cowboys three straight times — ending two of Dallas’ past three playoff runs — his coaching-tree offspring have done a number on them as well. In January, Matt LaFleur led the Green Bay Packers to a wild-card win against the Cowboys (their other recent playoff loss). In December, Mike McDaniel put together a plan that led to the Miami Dolphins beating the Cowboys. On Sunday, Klint Kubiak, in his second game as the New Orleans Saints’ offensive coordinator, overwhelmed the Cowboys’ defense on the way to a 44-19 victory. Later this season, the Cowboys (1-1) will face the Houston Texans (OC Bobby Slowik), Atlanta Falcons (OC Zac Robinson) and Cincinnati Bengals (HC Zac Taylor). Those coaches have direct ties to Shanahan or Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, who coached with Shanahan under Shanahan’s father, Mike, when they were with Washington. The Detroit Lions visit AT&T Stadium next month
Star Points: Cowboys RBs still searching for identity, Jerry reluctant to elevate Dalvin Cook
Updates: Jerry Jones on Dalvin Cook’s status :: The Mothership Link With the Cowboys ranked 25th in the league in rushing so far this season, some are calling for Cook to be activated for the Ravens game, but Jones made it sound unlikely. “I don’t necessarily see a change that would involve Cook this week,” he said during a Tuesday radio call-in. Cook last played with Baltimore at the end of last season. Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle’s postgame message is indicative of a major problem :: A to Z Sports Link When asked about the identity of the Cowboys’ running back group, Dowdle said he didn’t have an answer since “we haven’t had a lot of at bats at the plate.” For Dowdle, arguably the starting running back on the team, to not have even a typical we want to be physical-type answer to describe the identity of the team’s position group, it’s disappointing at best. Cowboys should be ready for ‘different challenge’ from Ravens, former NFL head coach says :: Dallas Morning News Link Former Ravens coach Brian Billick believes the Cowboys will see a lot of Derrick Henry up the middle on Sunday, with every run increasing the likelihood that they’ll get suckered when Lamar Jackson eventually takes off around the edge. “You better put eight people in the box,” he said. “You better make sure you keep Lamar in the pocket because that’s the thing that’s gonna get you beat.” Cowboys clearly regret passing on cheap RB who now leads the NFL in rushing :: The Landry Hat Link J.K. Dobbins was a popular name for Cowboys fans hoping the team would make a splash in free agency this past offseason. Instead, he signed with the Chargers and currently leads the league with 266 yards on just 27 attempts, a whopping 9.9 yards-per-carry average. He is also tied for first in explosive runs, second in yards after contact per attempt, and tied for fifth with 11 first downs. Oh, and he’s playing for a fraction of what the Cowboys are paying Ezekiel Elliott. Cowboys’ defense still can’t slow Shanahan coaching disciples :: ESPN Link Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak was just the latest branch of the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree to come crashing down on the Cowboys. Of the past nine games against a “Shanahan offense,” the Cowboys have lost seven. One common denominator? Rushing attacks that the Cowboys have proven incapable of stopping. Doomed to Repeat? Cowboys’ offseason inaction resulted in spectacularly similar results :: Cowboys Wire Link Every misstep the Cowboys make this season will be followed by the frustrations of the fanbase over a wasted offseason of not doing enough to improve the roster through outside means. The strategy in Dallas seems to be “just play better,” despite not actually getting markedly better at either defensive tackle or running back. Sunday showed how that philosophy will pay off. Analyzing Cowboys snap counts: Where was DeMarvion Overshown? :: The Athletic Link Mike Zimmer explained that Overshown’s underuse on Sunday was calculated: “He’s coming off an ACL, missed all of spring, didn’t really get out there until we got to OTAs. He’s working his way back in and that will continue to go forward as we go. He’s going to get plenty of reps.” Zimmer also wondered aloud if he perhaps asked Micah Parsons to do “too may different things” versus the Saints, negatively impacting some of his defensive teammates. Good, Bad, Ugly: Defensive meltdown, WR3 candidates figured prominently in Cowboys’ Week 2 :: Cowboys Wire Link The defense obviously bears the brunt of this week’s bad and ugly labels, but there were problems offensively, too. One receiver who had impressed during the summer took a serious step back, and while quarterback Dak Prescott valiantly tried to spark a comeback, his play in Week 2 cannot be completely beyond reproach. On the bright side, Brandon Aubrey unlocked a dangerous new weapon within his one-man arsenal. NFL power rankings roundup: Where do Dallas Cowboys place after week 2 of the season? :: Fort Worth Star-Telegram Link The Saints loss cost the Cowboys all those spots they had gained after their impressive season-opening win. A sampling of power rankings from various outlets has Dallas typically slotted between 11th and 18th leaguewide, although Yahoo Sports plays outlier by ranking them a surprising sixth. Apparently Jerry Jones has amnesia of recent times Cowboys endured regular-season whoopings :: Cowboys Wire Link Jones chose to brush off Week 2’s beatdown by intimating that it very rarely happens to the Cowboys. Actually, Jerry, they’ve been embarrassed by New Orleans, Buffalo, and San Francisco in just their last 14 regular-season contests. And that doesn’t even count January’s total playoff collapse at home versus Green Bay. Cowboys preseason trade compensation finalized after first two weeks of season :: Blogging the Boys Link Jordan Phillips being on the gameday roster for the Cowboys’ first two games means Dallas will give up a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Giants and then get New York’s seventh-round selection. It had already been determined that the Cowboys will not get a seventh in 2026 from Kansas City once the Chiefs released Peyton Hendershot earlier in the week. Giants sign former Vikings’ kicker who hit 61-yard game-winner against them in 2022 :: CBS Sports Link With Graham Gano suffering a hamstring injury delivering Week 2’s opening kick, the Giants missed a PAT and then failed a pair of two-point conversions. The team has signed veteran Greg Joseph off the Lions’ practice squad as Gano goes to injured reserve. The Giants host the Cowboys in Week 4’s Thursday night game on Sept. 26.
Doomed to Repeat? Cowboys’ offseason inaction resulted in spectacularly similar results
Doomed to Repeat? Cowboys’ offseason inaction resulted in spectacularly similar results reidhanson The Cowboys’ heavily scrutinized inactivity over the offseason will not be soon forgotten. Not after the defense offered up a near identical performance to the game that ended their season last January. Not after the Cowboys fell to 1-1 following a 44-19 loss to a New Orleans team they were expected to handily beat. Not after the Cowboys just showed the world they’re destined for the same outcome in 2024 as they suffered the year before. And year before. And year before. Amidst redefining the phrase “all in,” Jerry Jones declared from the start of the offseason, the 2024 season would be about rolling the same group back and demanding better results. Internal improvement rather than team upgrades would then be theme of the offseason. Some level of churn would be expected through free agency and the draft, but generally speaking the plan was to just play better. Critics pointed to the wide-open NFC and the window of opportunity currently facing the Cowboys. They pointed to clear and obvious deficiencies on the roster and how those weak links threaten to give the Cowboys the same results again, regardless of improved play elsewhere. Jones stood fast, refusing to open the checkbook for anything new other than a bargain. Even coaching vacancies were filled with the smallest commitment possible for Jones. Signed to a rare one-year deal, Jones added Mike Zimmer to take over for the recently departed Dan Quinn (Washington, not heaven). The defense suffered an epic collapse in Quinn’s last game and the hope was a disciplinarian like Zimmer may be able to spark improvement, even if the personnel changes were minor. The defense got their first big test in Week 2 against the high-flying Saints. Under Klint Kubiak, New Orleans ran an offense similar to that of the 49ers and Packers. Hailing from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree, New Orleans manhandled the Dallas defense in a way that seemed all too familiar to Cowboys fans. The Cowboys’ whole “just play better this time” strategy didn’t appear to pay off. Just like San Francisco and Green Bay before them, New Orleans easily put up over 40 points on the vaunted Dallas defense. The Cowboys’ minor personnel changes, coaching changes and scheme changes didn’t seem to make the slightest difference. Perhaps the critics were right after all and the Cowboys really did need to upgrade at a couple positions of obvious weakness. Defensive tackle has been, and continues to be, a point of contention on the Cowboys. Dallas is extremely thin on their defensive interior and their various Band-Aids and retreads have done little to help their cause. The Shanahan wide zone scheme stretched and sealed the Dallas defensive line with ease, resulting in huge gains and utter dominance all afternoon. Without a single disrupter on the interior, the Cowboys were again easy fodder for a Shanahan offense. The Cowboys needed to add a high-level disrupter to their interior over the offseason. There were plenty available. But Jones didn’t want to add new investments, so the Cowboys opted to make other, more affordable, adjustments. Predictably it offered the same results. The offensive side of the ball suffered a similarly predictable outcome on Sunday. The lack of investment at the running back position and pass-catcher was felt significantly. With Jake Ferguson out in Week 2, the Cowboys were without reliable downfield options not named “CeeDee Lamb.” And with the RB group unable to pull their own weight in the ground game, Dallas became one-dimensional in the worst way. It shouldn’t be surprising the areas the Cowboys refused to improve in free agency produced similar results. While RBs and run-stopping DTs aren’t considered premium positions requiring top investment, they aren’t positions that can be neglected to the degree the Cowboys have neglected them. Nothing that happened on Sunday is surprising. It’s just the product of poor strategy and inadequate personnel. [affiliatewidget_smgtolocal] Read all the best Cowboys coverage at the Austin American-Statesman and Cowboys Wire.
Cowboys roundtable: Discussions on last week’s loss, the running game, and Week 3
Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images Our writers provide their opinions on the latest Dallas Cowboys news during our weekly review on the Roundtable. Every week, we gather the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the Roundtable. This week we have David Howman, RJ Ochoa, Brian Martin and Tom Ryle. The Cowboys defense allowed 35 before halftime, what was the biggest problem on defense? On Sunday we saw a monumental loss for the season home opener. The defense was extremely underwhelming and generated very little pressure up front while the secondary failed to contain anything. The game ended in a huge 44-19 loss and the immediate reaction was to ask how bad the Cleveland Browns are and did that put fans into a false sense security. Tom: This is a trick question, right? The first half was a display of defensive ineptitude that has to include, well, everything. They couldn’t get a stop as the Saints scored a TD on all five of their possessions. There was no pressure on David Carr, and the Saints averaged a staggering 20 yards per attempt. It is not unusual for teams to still be figuring out each other in Week 2, but this looked like Mike Zimmer and the Dallas defense didn’t even know who they were preparing for. What is disturbing is that this was something we’ve seen too often: the Cowboys got punched in the mouth a couple of times early and never recovered, and that was especially true on defense. RJ: Ultimately I think the issue is not having a proper plan for the Kyle Shanahan-style offenses. Once Dallas gets in a hole against this sort of system they are pretty much done. Couple this with the fact that the offense was only able to produce field goals for the most part early on and the quicksand quickly became overwhelming. Brian: The better question would be what wasn’t the problem with the Cowboys defense in Week 2 against the Saints. They couldn’t stop the run, the pass rush was nonexistent, and the secondary gave up way too many chunk plays. All in all it was an abysmal performance. Hopefully they can rebound and get back to doing all the little fundamental things correctly moving forward, otherwise we may want to start getting use to performances like this. Howman: Simply put, the defensive line was unable to put up any resistance against the Saints offensive linemen. That’s especially concerning given that Dallas specifically brought in Linval Joseph and Jordan Phillips to fortify their trenches for such games, but those two were terrible in this one. Hopefully it’s just a case of the two veterans shaking off the rust after being late additions to the team, but if not, this could be an early warning sign for this defense. The Cowboys offense is averaging 85 rush yards per game. Both Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott lead the team in rushing with 56 yards each. Although the Saints game saw a lot of playing from behind which meant passing a lot, are you worried about this running back room yet, or the offense in general? The running game was always a concern and with the Cowboys ranking eighth-worst in total rush yards in the first two weeks. It seems fans concerns are justified so far. How long the team can wait to add Dalvin Cook will be the big question on fans lips. But the big question should be which is worse, the Cowboys running back corps or the defense’s struggles in stopping the run, averaging 141 rush yards allowed per game. Tom: For me, it’s the overall offense. Once again, they kept having to trot Brandon Aubrey out there as they stalled in the opponent’s end of the field. Add in that factor about trying to play catchup from the very first New Orleans possession, and it’s too early to know if the running game is an issue or not. I suspect the issues run deeper than that. RJ: I’d be curious to see who hasn’t been worried about the run game for a while now and even though the script of things changed it is hard to see how things can be truly and totally effective. Every single rusher generated negative RYOE for the Cowboys against New Orleans. They simply do not have a playmaker or someone who can make more with less back there. It sounds like that is asking for a lot and the purpose in saying this is not to call for heavy resources to be spent there, but some resources do. They made this bed. Brian: I’m not surprised at all Dallas’ new running back-by-committee has struggled to find any success on the ground through the first two weeks of the 2024 season. The Cowboys brass in their infinite wisdom believe they could get starting production out of the bunch of players who should be backups. Outside of doing something drastic like trading for an upgrade, we can continue to expect the Cowboys rushing attack to be more of a hindrance than a help moving forward. Howman: Look no further, RJ, because I am not the least bit worried about this running game right now. The Cowboys started their season off against two of the best defensive lines in the NFL, and in one of them they were playing from behind almost the entire game; of course they don’t great rushing numbers. But Rico Dowdle has flashed some juice and explosion as a runner, while Ezekiel Elliott has shown promise in short yardage, downhill running situations. The run game isn’t why the Cowboys lost, not even close, and I have faith that they’ll be serviceable for the year. This weekend the Cowboys take on the Baltimore Ravens. What are the main keys to success on offense and defense for Dallas in order to get a victory? The Dallas Cowboys will host the Baltimore Ravens for the
Cowboys vs Ravens: Mistakes in all 3 phases led to Baltimore’s surprising Week 2 loss
Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images Taking a look back at Baltimore’s surprising Week 2 loss. Ravens Punter Mistake Proves Costly – Jon Alfano, Sports Illustrated The importance of ‘all three phases’ was brought to light for Baltimore in Week 2. Lost in the mess of the Baltimore Ravens’ 26-23 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday was the poor performance of the special teams unit. Yes, Justin Tucker missed a 56-yard field goal, dropping him to one for seven on 50+ yard attemtps since the start of last season and proving that Father Time comes for us all. However, punter Jordan Stout also had a performance to forget, and one that arguably hurt the Ravens even more. Stout, punted four times for 173 yards on Sunday, but it’s his last attempt that he’d really like to have back. With 2:27 left in the fourth quarter, the third-year pro shanked a punt out of bounds for just 24 yards. Add on a five-yard penalty, and the Raiders started their game-winning drive from the Ravens’ 43-yard line, right on the cusp of field goal range. The Ravens still have confidence in Stout, but they need him to be much better and more consistent going forward. “Jordan is one of the best punters in the world, and that punt has got to be made – he knows it – and not just that one; it wasn’t a good game,” head coach John Harbaugh told reporters. “It wasn’t the kind of game he’s capable of, [and] it’s not the way he punted in practice, so you’ve got to take your practice performance, and you’ve got to take it to the game; you’ve got to help us. “So, he’s very conscientious, [and] he wants to be the best. Sometimes you’ve got to take a deep breath and just go through your technique and do it the right way, and he’s capable of that, and we’re going to keep supporting him and keep coaching him, and I’m confident [that] he’s going to get the job done. But the job wasn’t done in the last game, and it hurt our team.” Jason Kelce says Lamar Jackson has to be more disciplined late in games – Glenn Erby, USA Today Jason Kelce explains why Lamar Jackson needs to show up in the clutch moments. Lamar Jackson is a two-time MVP and one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but until he wins in the playoffs and avoids late-game collapses, he’ll continue to receive criticism. Baltimore is 0-2 on the season, and while it’s not all Lamar Jackson, one future Hall of Famer and recently retired All-Pro center believes Jackson has to be better late in games. While discussing the Ravens star on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown, former Eagles legend Jason Kelce praised Jackson but said the Ravens quarterback has to be “more disciplined” late in games. “The best quarterbacks, the reason they’re getting paid that money is because they answer it down the stretch.” The Ravens have lost four times after leading by double digits in the fourth quarter since 2022, according to ESPN Research. That ties the Chicago Bears for the most in the NFL in that span. After signing a five-year, $260 million contract extension, the onus falls on the quarterback late in games, and he’ll receive the bulk of the blame when things go wrong. Ravens fans have turned on Marlon Humphrey after 0-2 start – Leigh Oleszczak, EbonyBird.com The Ravens’ star cornerback received some friendly fire after Baltimore’s loss. The Baltimore Ravens are 0-2 and it’s been a major surprise in the NFL. The Ravens went 14-3 a season ago, secured the top seed in the AFC, and were so close to representing the conference in the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, after narrowly losing to both the Chiefs and the Raiders, the good guys find themselves winless through two weeks with a very tough schedule on the horizon. The Ravens’ next three games are against the Cowboys, Bills, and Bengals, which is no cakewalk. They need to win in Week 3 to avoid an 0-3 start. Ravens fans aren’t taking the rough start well and there was a fan heckling Marlon Humphrey as he left M&T Bank Stadium following Sunday’s loss. “You give more effort to your podcast than you do on the field” the fan said to Humphrey. The Ravens secondary had a rough day at the office, allowing Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew to throw for 276 yards and the touchdown that tied the game. Davante Adams demolished the Ravens secondary all day long, finishing with nine grabs for 110 yards and that game-tying touchdown. It’s clear that Baltimore’s defense isn’t the same as the unit that stifled offenses throughout the entire 2023 season and that’s because Mike Macdonald left to take the Seahawks head coaching job in the offseason. The Ravens are still a good team despite the 0-2 start but their defense definitely needs to figure it out and fast. Ranking winless NFL teams: Teams eliminated from 2024 playoffs – Bill Barnwell, ESPN The 0-2 Ravens are looking to fight out of their hole. I don’t know if alarm bells were going off in Baltimore after the Ravens lost to the Chiefs in Week 1. Losing to the Raiders at home, though, should have everyone’s attention. One year after going 13-4 and wowing advanced metrics with their regular-season performance, the Ravens are 0-2. It’s the first time since 2020 that a Lamar Jackson-led team has lost two straight, let alone two straight to begin the season. Some of their problems could be expected and are straight out of their entry in the likely-to-decline column from before the season. After posting a league-best plus-12 turnover differential last season, they have been even through two games, with one giveaway and one takeaway in each of contest. Their red zone dominance has faded; an offense that converted nearly 62% of its red zone trips into touchdowns is 3-for-7, while a defense that allowed touchdowns
Apparently Jerry Jones has amnesia of recent times Cowboys endured regular-season whoopings
Apparently Jerry Jones has amnesia of recent times Cowboys endured regular-season whoopings K.D. Drummond Sir, can you be serious for five seconds, please? Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke to 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday, and while there may be some actual substance to his thoughts buried deep in there, one quote making the rounds around Cowboys Nation is so ridiculous it deserves to be highlighted. Longtime beat reporter Clarence Hill, Jr. of All City DLLS tweeted out a snippet that is so tone deaf it has to be highlighted. Following Sunday’s debacle at AT&T Stadium, the 2024 home opener where the Cowboys were throttled 44-19 by the New Orleans Saints, there’s a sense of “same-old Cowboys” floating around. Jones is looking to squash that notion and in what is now his normal flubbing of media appearances, stuck his foot deep in it. Jerry Jones has a bright side to the Cowboys embarrassing blow out loss to the Saints: “If we’ve got any albatross around our neck, it’s that we’ve been a good-to-very-good team during the season over the last 4-5 years with Mike and we haven’t done well in the playoffs. So let’s trade some challenges during the season for doing well in the playoffs, if you want to look at it that way.” – @1053thefan Apparently Jones has been Men-in-Blacked about what happened in Week 15 last season in Buffalo when the Bills dominated McCarthy’s boys 31-10. Or Week 5 when Kyle Shanahan lambasted the troops 42-10. While it’s true that Dallas has had regular season success, winning 12 games each of the prior three seasons, and they are normally the team blowing an opponent out, somehow forgetting that they’ve been blown out now three times in their last 14 contests is remarkable. No, Jerry, fans don’t want to look at it that way. They would like to not lose in such a fashion AND also get postseason wins.
Dallas Cowboys vs. Baltimore Ravens, 2024 NFL Week 3
Dallas Cowboys vs. Baltimore Ravens, 2024 NFL Week 3 Keep track of everything related to Cowboys vs. Ravens in NFL Week 3 as Dallas hosts Baltimore on Sunday afternoon. Contributors: The Dallas Cowboys will play host to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon, the second ever meeting between the two clubs at AT&T Stadium. Dallas won that first meeting, a game that marked an intense time in Cowboys franchise history. That particular contest was the first that Dallas played following Tony Romo’s “football is a meritocracy” speech and the team would go on to defeat the Ravens for the first time ever. Prior to that the last meeting between the teams in DFW was the final game ever played at Texas Stadium, so needless to say when the two meet up in the metroplex it is always epic. This time around things are rather tense for Dallas as they are coming off of an embarrassing loss at home. Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs and all the rest will do everything they can to make sure that the team does not fall below .500 early on in the season. The Ravens have some work to do to climb out of that kind of hole themselves, though. Baltimore is winless on the young season and certainly does not want to fall to 0-3. Reigning MVP, two-time winner overall, Lamar Jackson will surely look to capitalize on the porous run defense that Dallas has, but his new teammate Derrick Henry will probably help out in that sense as well. Here’s our stream for everything you need to know about it all. We will update it throughout the week to include all relevant news regarding the game, injuries and everything else.
Cowboys preseason trade compensation finalized after first two weeks of season
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports Trade compensation from the recent Dallas Cowboys trades has officially been finalized. As the Dallas Cowboys were training out in Oxnard, California they made a few decisions and deals as it related to their roster. The Cowboys executed two trades before the regular season officially arrived in both trading for and trading away a player. Jordan Phillips was acquired by way of the New York Giants and Peyton Hendershot was sent to the Kansas City Chiefs. Each of these trades involved compensation that carried certain stipulations and we are officially at a place where it has been finalized. Trade updates: With Jordan Phillips on 46-man for 2 games, the Cowboys give up their 6th round pick in ’26 to Giants and get NY’s 7th round pick in ’26. With Peyton Hendershot released by KC, Chiefs will keep ’26 7th round pick since he was not on 53 for 5 games or 46 for 3. — Todd Archer (@toddarcher) September 17, 2024 ESPN’s Todd Archer noted on Tuesday morning that with Phillips now appearing on the Cowboys’ gameday roster both games of the season that Dallas will officially send their 2026 sixth-round pick to the Giants and receive their seventh-round pick in that same year in return. While this next decision did not involve the Cowboys directly, the Chiefs waived Peyton Hendershot on Monday which means that he will not meet the requirements that were in place for Dallas to receive a pick from Kansas City. Nothing there, although Hendershot’s time in Kansas City seemed to be memorable as the Chiefs were fined $100,000 for an altercation that Hendershot had with Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith during the NFL opener.
Good, Bad, Ugly: Defensive meltdown, WR3 candidates figured prominently in Cowboys’ Week 2
As famously predicted in song, the Saints sure came marching into Arlington this past Sunday. But the jazz standard’s lyrics never mention that they’d then go on to steamroll over the high-flying Cowboys once they got there. The defense was downright awful on Sunday- against both the rush and the pass- and, incredibly, their performance looks even worse on a film re-watch after the fact. But there were problems on the other side of the ball, too; one receiver who had impressed during the summer took a serious step back, and while quarterback Dak Prescott valiantly tried to spark a comeback, his play in Week 2 cannot be completely beyond reproach. Believe it or not, though, there were a few silver linings to be found. Luke Schoonmaker played well in place of the injured Jake Ferguson, a small-school project finally started to show what the team saw when they made him a third-round draft pick, and Brandon Aubrey unlocked a dangerous new weapon within his one-man arsenal. The team- and Cowboys fans, too- may be content to just burn the tape from Week 2’s 44-19 no-show, but first, we’ll take one more look back to dig into the good, the bad, and the ugly from Sunday’s holy smackdown at the hands of the Saints. [affiliatewidget_smgtolocal] Good: Jalen Tolbert proving worth the wait The third-year receiver out of South Alabama was M.I.A. as a rookie and only started to blossom in his second season last year. On Sunday, he was one of the few bright spots for the entire Cowboys roster. Tolbert caught six of his team-high nine targets for 82 yards and made two huge plays on the same third-quarter drive. His impressive 39-yard grab converted a third down to put the offense inside the Saints’ 10, and then he hustled back to a loose ball three plays later to salvage the possession and turn a surefire turnover into a field goal try. Playing the most snaps of any Dallas receiver in Week 2 and turning in three of the team’s seven longest plays, he may now be the staff’s clear-cut preference at WR3. Bad: Defense had no answers for Saints run game Reports of Mike Zimmer having definitively fixed the Cowboys’ run defense were, it turns out, greatly exaggerated. After a solid season opener in Cleveland, the D-line let the Saints march all over them in Week 2. Twenty-nine-year-old Alvin Kamara, who hadn’t rushed for over 100 rushing yards in a game since the 2022 season, notched his fifth-highest total ever with 115 and scored three touchdowns on the ground. (He added 65 yards and another score as a receiver out of the backfield, too.) And it wasn’t just a great day for the five-time Pro Bowler; Jamaal Williams, Taysom Hill, Rashid Shaheed, and Chris Olave all averaged at least 4.3 yards per rushing attempt against Dallas on Sunday. That is very concerning, with Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson on deck. Ugly: Missed throws early dig even deeper hole To be crystal clear, Dak Prescott was not the reason the Cowboys got steamrolled. But several of his 12 incompletions on the day happened to come at brutal moments and severely hampered the team as they tried to play catch-up with a New Orleans offense that scored touchdowns on their first six possessions. Especially disappointing were the deep-ball misses: one to Rico Dowdle and another to Tolbert on their opening drive, one to Jalen Brooks that was intercepted (more on that one later), and multiple misfires to CeeDee Lamb. All were in the first half; any might have scored and sparked a turnaround before things got out of hand. Prescott and Lamb did connect on the gorgeous 65-yard touchdown catch-and-run, but that was more a byproduct of Lamb’s post-grab slip-and-shake move than anything. Prescott’s 69% completion percentage was certainly serviceable, but in a track meet of a game, the drops stood out. Good: Brandon Aubrey is positively weapons-grade If the Cowboys were to name a team MVP after two weeks, it’s Aubrey. The second-year kicker knocked all four of his field goal tries through, with a 38-yarder being the shortest. Cowboys fans don’t have to think too far back to recall a time when a 38-yarder was a little dicey; now anything from 60 yards and in is practically considered a gimme for the ex-soccer star. But despite personally scoring 54% of the team’s points so far in 2024, Aubrey is also acing the league’s new dynamic kickoffs. His squib shot to start the game was perfectly placed in the corner of the landing zone, pinning the Saints at their own 20 instead of the 30. (Not that it deterred them from scoring.) As he and John Fassel continue to experiment with kickoff strategies and Aubrey dials in his ball placement, opponents will likely have to regularly contend with poor starting field position. Bad: Jalen Brooks doesn’t help his cause in WR rotation The 2023 undrafted free agent had, by all accounts, a fantastic camp and was earning the trust of Prescott and his Cowboys coaches. He may have lost a good bit of it Sunday. On a gotta-have-it drive late in the second quarter with the offense driving toward a potential touchdown that would have kept the game in reach, Brooks slipped on an in-route and watched New Orleans cornerback Paulson Adebo haul in the pick instead. It was a gutting beat at the worst possible time. The Saints went on to score again, and the rout was on. From the Fox booth, Tom Brady said he wouldn’t go back to Brooks again in the game. Prescott did (right away, actually), and the South Carolina product reeled in the pass for a 10-yard gain. But it proved to be his only reception of the day, and Brooks ultimately didn’t help himself in the Cowboys’ crowded WR3 rotation. Ugly: Cowboys’ lack of pressure on Carr Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak managed to not only expose the Cowboys’ run defense,
