The Dallas Cowboys are back in action on Sunday as they travel to Brazil to square off with the Baltimore Ravens. Despite losing to the New Orleans Saints just a week ago, the Ravens are one of the AFC’s best teams, so the Cowboys will have their work cut out for them.
Before the two teams square off down in South America, here are three causes for concern in this matchup.
1) Baltimore’s Rushing Attack
Two games into the 2026 regular season, Dallas’ defense has been dreadful against the run. The Cowboys have allowed the third-most
rushing yards (347) and fifth-worst Y/A (5.0), along with the third-worst defensive rush success rate (48.3%).
It hasn’t just been traditional running backs who have caused Dallas trouble on the ground; they’ve also allowed opposing quarterbacks to run wild. In their two games, the Cowboys have allowed 126 rushing yards to opposing QBs on 19 rush attempts, an average of 6.6 Y/A. If that trend continues this week, the Cowboys will have no shot at walking out of Brazil with a win.
You could argue the Ravens have the best rushing attack in the league. Both Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson are premier rushing threats, and their complementary style of power and speed makes them a perfect duo. Both players have gotten off to excellent starts this season.
Henry is second in the league with 212 rushing yards, averaging over five yards (5.3) per carry, and leads all running backs with four rushing touchdowns. While Jackson has done plenty of damage through the air, he’s also been very effective on the ground, rushing for 74 yards on 11 carries, an average of 7.4 Y/A, to go with a rushing touchdown.
This will be by far Dallas’ toughest test so far this season. With how bad the Cowboys have been against the run, Baltimore will almost certainly lean into a run-heavy game plan. If Dallas does not have an answer and fix their run defense fast, it’s going to be a long day.
2) Trey Hendrickson and the Ravens’ pass rush
The biggest roster move Baltimore made this offseason was signing veteran edge Trey Hendrickson to upgrade their pass rush. Two games into the season, the move has paid off as the Ravens have been able to get after the quarterback at a good rate.
Led by Hendrickson, Baltimore has recorded 39 total pressures, 23 hurries, and five sacks in their two contests. Last week against the Saints, Hendrickson himself recorded six total pressures and four hurries with an impressive 14.0 PRP, via Pro Football Focus.
The Cowboys offensive line played much better in pass protection last week against the Commanders, allowing just eight pressures and one sack. They’ll need to replicate this performance and not their Week 1 outing against the Giants on Sunday if they want to keep Dak Prescott upright and move the ball consistently down the field.
3) Conditions of the field at Maracanã Stadium
A hot topic the past week or so has been the conditions of the field at Maracanã Stadium, where the Cowboys and Ravens will play on Sunday. According to Yahoo Sports, members of the home soccer team, CR Flamengo, have criticized the playing surface sighting that it may be unsafe.
Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones was asked about the field conditions earlier this week and said the field conditions are not concerning to him at this time.
While it may not be concerning to Jones, it’s fair to worry about what things could look like on Sunday.
