Ravens vs. Cowboys: 5 things to watch, including QB runs, third down and Nnamdi Madubuike

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When the Ravens flew to London three years ago for a Week 6 game against the Tennessee Titans, they made themselves feel at home.

They flew out of Baltimore on Monday, six days before the game. They rented a cozy hotel. They gave the team time to explore the city; some players visited the Tower of London and the Churchill Museum. Quarterback Lamar Jackson went shopping, buying his mother a Chanel purse.

This week, with only a one-hour time difference between Baltimore and Rio de Janeiro, Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys (1-1) is a “business trip,” players and coaches said. The Ravens (1-1) will arrive Friday morning after a 10-hour nonstop flight. They’ll head back Sunday night. There won’t be much downtime in between.

“They kind of know why we are going there,” coach Jesse Minter said Wednesday. “I think everybody would tell you, we are going over there for one reason, and that is to play the game and give ourselves the best chance to win.”

As the Ravens prepare for the NFL’s first game at the historic Maracanã Stadium, here’s what to watch in their Week 3 matchup against Dallas. All stats are courtesy of Sports Info Solutions, Pro Football Focus and the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, unless otherwise noted.

1. When Jackson was asked last month about his career-low rushing totals in 2025, he pointed to his injuries.

“It really would not [have] put my team in a good position if I was just running hurt,” said Jackson, who had 67 carries for 349 yards and two touchdowns last season, all career lows, as he dealt with knee, ankle, toe and back injuries.

On Sunday, in a loss to the New Orleans Saints, Jackson was healthy. But his involvement in the Ravens’ ground game was limited to scrambles. Through two weeks, he has just one touch on a designed carry: a 5-yard read option keeper for a touchdown in the Ravens’ season-opening win over the Indianapolis Colts.

“I am a part of the run game,” Jackson said Wednesday. “Sometimes, the defense just doesn’t give us the look.”

His usage Sunday could depend as much on Dallas as it does on Declan Doyle. The Ravens’ offensive coordinator said Thursday that he called multiple read option plays Sunday, only for Jackson to hand the ball off after the defense had deterred a keeper.

But Jackson should at least have scrambling opportunities. In Week 1, New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart had three scrambles for 26 yards against the Cowboys. On Sunday, before leaving late in the first half with an elbow injury, Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels had six scrambles for 69 yards and five first downs.

2. Running back Derrick Henry endeared himself to Ravens fans early in his debut season with a stampeding performance against the Cowboys. He could be in line for another memorable game.

In Week 3 of the 2024 season, Henry had 25 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-25 win over Dallas. That Cowboys defense had run-stopping woes. So does this one.

Entering Week 3, Dallas has the NFL’s fourth-worst run defense success rate, which measures how often a team has a “successful” play, according to RBSDM.com. The Cowboys are third worst in rushing yards per game allowed (173.5) and fifth worst in yards per carry allowed (5.0).

Henry’s downhill playing style could be a pain for Dallas, which typically plays with light boxes and has key injuries at linebacker and safety. Even on plays when the Cowboys have first hit the ball carrier at or behind the line of scrimmage, they’ve allowed 2.7 yards per carry, the second-highest rate in the NFL.

Henry hasn’t had to worry too much about early contact. He’s been hit at or behind the line of scrimmage on just 17.5% of his carries this season, the lowest rate among 43 qualifying running backs and less than half his 43.3% rate last year.

If the Ravens can get Henry to the second and third levels, as they often did in Week 1, he should have a clear advantage over the Cowboys’ defensive personnel. Dallas has ruled out safeties Malik Hooker and P.J. Locke and inside linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, all of whom have started at least once this season. The Cowboys’ defensive signal-caller, inside linebacker and Maryland native Jaishawn Barham, is a rookie, and so is their primary nickel back, safety Caleb Downs.

“If you slow him down a little bit, it’s harder for him to get to top speed,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer told local reporters Wednesday. “Now, once he gets to top speed, I don’t know if many people are going to catch him.”

3. Early downs were not the issue for the Ravens’ pass defense Sunday. New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough went 18-for-24 for 121 yards and a touchdown on first and second downs, posting a modest 44% success rate.

Third down was the real bugaboo. Shough went 9-for-10 for 131 yards and finished with a 58.3% success rate despite facing more regular pressure and throwing the ball downfield more aggressively. He converted two third-and-13 plays, two third-and-8s and a third-and-7.

“There are obviously some plays that you want back, and I think [it’s] probably third down,” safety Kyle Hamilton said Wednesday. “That is the most disheartening, I would say. I think we pretty much dominated on first and second down for most of the game.”

The Cowboys won’t let the Ravens off the hook easily, either. Dallas leads the NFL in third-down-conversion rate (68.2%), far ahead of the second-place San Francisco 49ers (63.2%).

Quarterback Dak Prescott is 13-for-17 for 107 yards, with 11 first downs or touchdowns, and he’s taken just one sack on third down. The Cowboys’ disappointing running game, meanwhile, is 4-for-4 on third-down attempts.

“Getting off the field is huge, just mentally, physically,” Hamilton said. “You extend drives, and they are rotating people in and out, so they have fresh bodies, but you have to earn the right to rush the passer on third down, which I think we did, but we just did not execute.”

4. The Ravens have one of the NFL’s most improved pass rushes, ranking 10th in ESPN’s win rate (55%) and fifth in NGS’ pressure rate (43.8%) after finishing 28th in both last season.

But there’s still a Nnamdi Madubuike-shaped hole up front. With Madubuike inactive over the Ravens’ first two weeks and Calais Campbell ineffective as a pass rusher, the Ravens’ most productive defender in Madubuike’s usual spots has been an outside linebacker.

Tavius Robinson has a team-high three pressures when aligned as a two-technique (lined over a guard), three-technique (lined over a guard’s outside shoulder) or 4i-technique (over a tackle’s inside shoulder). Defensive lineman Aeneas Peebles and outside linebacker Zion Young each have one. Campbell and defensive lineman Broderick Washington have zero over 48 combined pass rush snaps. None has managed a sack.

Madubuike, meanwhile, had two sacks and seven pressures in 50 pass rush snaps from those inside alignments last season. Those came in just two games. If he can rediscover his old form this season — Madubuike was a full participant in practice Wednesday and Thursday for the first time since a season-ending neck injury last year, suggesting he could make his season debut Sunday — the trickle-down effects would be far-reaching.

Madubuike could draw double teams, easing the burden on defensive lineman Travis Jones (team-high five sacks in 2025). Deploying Madubuike’s explosiveness on stunts and twists alongside the team’s edge rushers could also add a new stressor for offensive linemen.

“I think he’s a force multiplier,” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said Thursday. “There is a reason why he commands the check he does, because he makes plays. He is going to make everybody around him better.”

5. The Ravens won’t even see the Maracanã Stadium field until Saturday. But the team heard plenty of speculation this week about the condition of the playing surface.

“There is a lot of just he-said, she-said kind of thing going on right now, so we will see,” Hamilton said, alluding to recent comments from Brazilian soccer players unhappy with the grass field. “I know the players are the product in this league. As soon as we lose putting the players forward is when we lose the league, and I am sure the league knows that and they are doing their best to put us in the position to be safe.”

NFL field director Nick Pappas told The Banner on Monday that league officials in Rio de Janeiro were focused on improving “footing, traction and the consistency of the stadium’s playing surface.”

But, if the Ravens find the field conditions Sunday suboptimal, they could take precautions by sidelining their injured players. Wide receiver Zay Flowers, for instance, is returning from a hamstring injury, while left tackle Ronnie Stanley is dealing with a toe injury. Neither took part in practice Wednesday or Thursday.

“We will figure out what is best,” Minter said Wednesday. “I think you always take everything into account to make sure that it is in the best interest of the player.”