It’s not very often two teams square off against one another and the strengths and weaknesses of both ball clubs align as they do in the Week 3 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens. Whichever team can best exploit this will likely be the one that walks away with the “W”.
The Cowboys and Ravens currently find themselves in similar situations through the first two weeks of the 2026 NFL season. Both teams are 1-1 with a disappointing and unexpected loss under their belts, and yet,
both still have Super Bowl aspirations. But there is still a lot of football left to play.
As we all know, the Cowboys biggest weakness so far through the first two weeks of the season this year is their run defense. They are currently ranked 30th in the league allowing 173.5 rushing yards per game. On the flipside, the Ravens rushing attack is ranked fifth in the league, averaging 155 yards per game.
Baltimore’s rushing attack, headlined by QB Lamar Jackson and RB Derrick Henry, could very well decide the outcome of this game. This is a tough duo to try to contain, especially Jackson, who may be arguably the best dual-threat QB in the history of the league. If Dallas can limit their production though, it could lead to victory.
The best chance for the Cowboys securing back-to-back wins is by exploiting the Ravens biggest weakness, their pass defense. Baltimore’s currently allowing 191 passing yards a game, ranking 11th in the league. That’s not too shabby, but they have as of yet faced a team with the caliber of weapons Dak Prescott has at his disposal.
In CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, the Cowboys All-Pro WR duo is arguably the best in the entire league. Then throw in Jake Ferguson and Ryan Flournoy, both of whom have strong chemistry with Prescott, and it becomes one of the more lethal units in the entire league. That could help even the playing field against the Ravens potent rushing attack.
Add it all up and this is one of those strengths versus weaknesses matchup’s that could potentially go either way depending on which team is better exploits their opponent. And, considering both teams are playing at a neutral venue in Brazil, neither one has the edge of home field advantage, making this strength/weakness matchup all the more interesting.
