Cowboys Pregame Three Thoughts: Week 3
It is time to find out what these 2024 Dallas Cowboys are made of against the Ravens.
Bob Sturm
Sep 20, 2024

The Dallas Cowboys have no choice but to answer the challenge to their manhood.
Not only do they have to deal with a week of being called soft and front-runners, but now they also have to deal with a team that is designed to deal with soft teams in an incredibly unpleasant way. The Baltimore Ravens are a punishing running team, and a tough-as-nails defense. Oh, and they are winless and mad.
Let’s start with the defense: Since 2018, they have been at or near the top 10 in pretty much every single season. They get the ball and they hit the man. They play defense as if their reputation depends upon it.
Now, onto the running game. This is a team that believes in ground and pound. Since 2018, they have been ranked 2nd, 1st, 1st, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, and this year they are only 7th through two weeks.
They believe in challenging your manhood and outlasting your appetite for pain. The fact that they appear on the schedule at the very moment this city has accused the Cowboys of not having the stomach for the fight—mostly because last week they didn’t—shows the schedule maker’s sick sense of humor coming to life.
Of course, I cannot wait because this is the type of gut check you live for if you love big NFL tests. Well, this is a big one.
Let’s dive in.

These are my Cowboys PreGame Three Thoughts:
– This running game was the source of many off-season fears and there has been almost nothing to soothe those ominous feelings. For Dallas to win this game, they have got to find a way to run the ball – even if Baltimore is not going to cooperate.
When Dallas has the ball:
As we sit here today, we know that Dallas has little to work with on the ground. In Cleveland, they were saved by some effective jet sweeps, but the Saints were sitting on them, and Dallas turned to a traditional ground game, and that went nowhere fast.
So, in this contest, they'll have their work cut out for them. The Ravens have a very fast defense that can fly to the ball, but Dallas finds itself in a spot where its offense is juiceless. They seem to have CeeDee Lamb and a bunch of hopes and prayers that someone else can put a defense under duress. We just haven’t seen it, and frankly, aren’t sure it will happen.
Skyler’s lineup chart shows us that we expect Jake Ferguson back in the mix, but now we want to see more diverse usage of receivers in more diverse and creative ways.

What that means is getting Brandin Cooks and Jalen Tolbert involved in something that is more significant than comeback routes. Both have play-making potential, but it seems important that they are involved in more ways. I am optimistic both of them can change the make-up of this attack, but only if they're utilized. That is a play-caller and a quarterback issue, and I would like to see it change post-haste.

The Ravens have plenty of players to worry about on defense, but they have exceptional players at all three levels of their defense. Justin Madubuike (formerly of Texas A&M) was fantastic last year. We always knew it would take him a bit to adjust to the NFL game, but he is now a $100 million player, which is catching many by surprise.
Kyle Hamilton is the nickel back and has been used as both a big nickel and a safety who can fly around and make plays. What is interesting is that he still has the knack he had at Notre Dame for making both great plays and horrid plays on tape. He continues to be a player who is endlessly debated. There are those who think he is great and others who think he has holes in his game. Like LSU linebacker Devin White, formerly of Tampa Bay and now in Philadelphia, there are folks on both sides of the aisle on his work.
And then between them is another $100 million player in Roquan Smith. Those of you who have been with me for a while know I have always loved this player out of Georgia, and while he was uninspired in Chicago, he has blossomed in Baltimore. Here is a highlight reel from our guy Josh Clevenger showing his work against the Raiders last week. He is an absolute heat-seeker.
Like we said, they fly to the ball and they won’t back down. Dallas’ offense could stand for some physical dominance from the offensive line. They may have to save this thing a bit, if they can.
– The defense will have all eyes on them. The recipe is out and the reputation is being earned. Are they soft? Or are they about to send a message to the entire NFL that they don’t appreciate those words and are about to back it up with a huge game.
When Baltimore has the ball:
Listen, I know this looks like a horrible matchup, and a guy like me who preaches that “styles make fights” should never fall for this. But man, if watching the NFL has taught us anything, it’s that teams do respond.
Emotionally, they respond. They are upset and breathing fire. But here’s the question: can they do anything about it?
If the major issue is effort, then just turn it on. But we believe that effort is only part of the story, and the bigger part might be that they are 2-3 excellent defensive tackles short of having enough talent to run a stout defense. We are officially in the "let’s try Carlos Watkins again" phase. Wow, and it’s only Week 3.
Now, let’s be clear—Baltimore’s offensive line has two new starting guards, Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele, who are trying to figure things out on the fly. This is not the world’s best offensive line at all. But boy, do they have a couple of runners behind them who are nearly impossible to tackle, helping their cause.

And we know them both pretty well.
Lamar Jackson poses a whole different set of challenges than someone like Derek Carr. That means the Cowboys' designated QB spy, DeMarvion Overshown, will enter the fray quite a bit. The Cowboys hope his speed will contain Lamar, but let’s be honest, it probably won’t, because Lamar has seen every trick in the book, and every fast defender spying on him is awfully basic in comparison.
Lamar Jackson is a sensational playmaker and a two-time NFL MVP. He asks questions of a defense that aren’t often asked, and now they pair him with Derrick Henry in a way that stresses your gap integrity and your pursuit. Dallas will not only need more heart than they showed last week, but also more scheme discipline. As you surely know, this is a massive ask.

The Cowboys defense has been pretty weak across the board, but the stats are an average of both New Orleans AND Cleveland, so most appear average. However, their red zone efficiency is dead last, and points against will take a while to fix.
In my mind, beyond Lamar, this is a game that makes me focus on Zay Flowers' tape, because the Cowboys will desperately want to keep him corralled. Easier said than done. Check out his tape from last week:
This is a very good offense and they can beat you in many different ways. Their offensive line is massive and physical. Todd Monken has brought in a more diverse passing game to add to the run component, but this might be more about Dallas. We need a response if they have one, so all eyes are on the Cowboys defense. In Week 1, they looked elite. In Week 2, they looked like a complete joke. The league expects that Baltimore will know the codes. Let’s see if Dallas has a response.
We are all waiting for it.
– Dallas needs a response and under Mike McCarthy they usually do. This team bounces back after losses at an incredibly high rate. So, let’s see it.
It was in the game notes:
“Since 2021, the Cowboys are 12-2 the week following a loss, an .857 winning percentage in weeks following a loss that is tied with Buffalo for best in the NFL over the last three-plus seasons.”
This is one of the top reasons – along with home form – that validates Mike McCarthy’s tenure. When people try to run him out of town, we can look at the following three attributes that they have a hard time explaining a way.
- This team is 37-16 since the start of 2021 overall - 3rd best in NFL
- This team is 21-5 at home since the start of 2021 – the best in the NFL
- This team is 12-2 in the week following a loss - tied for best in the NFL
If you want to tell me that he is just a different version of Jason Garrett or Wade Phillips, I am going to point at the board here and these three copy points—none of which mention Aaron Rodgers, Super Bowl 45, or anything prior to 2021—to verify his high level of quality as the coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
The bottom line is simple. His teams do not—normally—tolerate losing. They respond with a sharp and determined effort to make sure losing streaks never happen. They get off the mat, dust off, and attack with a vengeance. None of those numbers above guarantee anything, but this is why I expect a significantly better display on Sunday against an equally determined and high-quality opponent.
As usual,
I join Bart Scott in my closing thoughts: Can’t wait!