2024 Week 3: Ravens 28, Cowboys 25
This game was a blowout for the first 3 quarters until the Ravens started playing prevent and the Cowboys scored 19 points in the 4th quarter.
Dallas had a blowout win over the Browns in Week 1, arguably the worst team in the NFL, and have been crushed in their 2 games since. The Cowboys are probably a .500 team and going to fall sooner rather than later. Mike McCarthy isn’t doing this team any favors and if the Cowboys have a rough string of games he could be fired around their BYE week 7. At that point Mike Zimmer would take over in Dallas. He’s a lateral move at best, almost certainly a downgrade.
Baltimore is off to a weird start this season, they could be 3-0 but could just as easily be 0-3. If the Ravens can beat Buffalo this week and get to 2-2 then they are in the playoff picture. A loss causes the alarms to go off.
=====================================
RB Report:
- Let’s start this report off with Derrick Henry (25-151-2, 1 catch for 23 yards). Henry is playing exactly how I had expected him to. No one else believed Henry still had juice left … he’s old… he's slow… he’s taken too many carries… That’s what everyone said about Henry before the season, I bet they feel foolish now! They don’t obviously, but I like to think they do. Let me bask in my glory just this once.
- Rico Dowdle (8-32-0, 3 catches for 24-0/5) is the clear lead in Dallas. He’s another standard RB that doesn’t stand out too much.
- Deuce Vaughn (2-5-0, 1 catch for 8 yards) was the first RB to rotate in to give Dowdle a break. I don’t see any signs of him moving up the totem pole in this offense for a reason unbeknownst to me.
[I don’t think Vaughn played a single snap for Dallas on TNF. I know he didn’t get any touches]
- Zeke Elliott (3-6-0, 1 catch for 6 yards) will probably be cut, he looks so slow.
- FB/TE Hunter Luepke (2-41-0/3) had a nice game here. Luepke is a very athletic player and practiced a lot with the TEs this offseason so he could get more action. Luepke ran good routes and his hands looked solid in his two catches. A Vaughn/Luepke backfield would be genius for Dallas to pursue but it’s too obvious for an NFL coach to realize.
[He played very well with an expanded role against NYG on TNF. I’m excited to get into his tape on Monday]
QB Report:
- Dak Prescott (28/51 for 379 yards, 2 TDs) is playing the worst football of his career. This is the lowest completion percentage of his career (60% this season, only 1 season below 65% prior) and he is being sacked at a very high rate. [Dak just played well on TNF but I’m still worried about this offense]
- Lamar Jackson (12/15 for 182 yards, 1 TD, 14 carries for 87-1) didn’t play a major role despite the 2 touchdowns, this game was dominated by Derrick Henry from start to finish.
WR/TE Report:
- CeeDee Lamb (4-67-0/7) is being hurt by the lack of a run game. Teams are focusing more on covering CD, and Dak hasn’t been great this year. [It looks like the rust started to shake off for Dak and namely this connection on TNF. 1 broken play added 40+ yards and a score for CD. I’m not loving this]
- Mark Andrews (0-0-0/1) career might be over, he was out snapped by Charlie Kolar and Isaiah Likely. This offense is going to turn into which tight ends block the best for Derrick Henry very soon.
D/ST Report:
- Kyle Van Noy (2 sacks, 2 TFLs) was hurt Week 1 but has 2 sacks in the 2 games he’s played. Van Noy has been on a bit of a tear lately… 7 sacks in his last 6 games if you look back into 2023.
- This game also represented a changing of the guard so-to-speak…Brandon Aubrey is becoming the best Kicker in the league and Justin Tucker, the greatest kicker ever, is starting to miss kicks more and more often, going back to last season.
image source: (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)