The Dallas Cowboys are one of the most successful franchises in league history. No, they haven't won any conference or Super Bowl championships in over 30 years, but they do have five Lombardis in their trophy case and they generally have been really good across the regular season as well
. That's why, when looking over their head-to-head records against most of the other NFL teams, they are either neck-and-neck or have a decided advantage.Dallas has a .500 or better record against 25 of the other 31 franchises. They're right below that mark against Cleveland (14-16), and just slightly off that pace against SF (14-17-1) and Green Bay (13-17-1). It's only two AFC teams who routinely have their number: the Denver Broncos (4-10) and this week's
opponent, the Baltimore Ravens (1-6).
The Cowboys have been, as the kids say, absolute cheeks in Baltimore, with the Ravens winning all four Maryland contests by a combined 122 to 56 count, while also being 2-1 in Dallas. The Cowboys need an injection of good fortune to stem the tide, so there should be hope in the fact this Week 3 game is in Brazil. In the land of augmentation, perhaps the Cowboys can fill themselves with the confidence necessary to strut out of Maracanã Stadium victorious.
It won't be easy. In fact, the Cowboys will have to sport some duality in their efforts and a rash of injuries will make things even tougher. Here's a handful of things they'll be asking of themselves.
No. 1: Contain Derrick Henry BUT also spy Lamar Jackson
The Ravens, just like the Cowboys, come into the contest 1-1. After an offensive explosion in Week 1's 41-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts, they scored just 17 points in their Week 2 loss to the New Orleans Saints. The biggest difference was the loss of wideout Zay Flowers, but the game script limited star and seemingly immortal running back Derrick Henry.
Henry isn't showing signs of slowing down in his Age 33 season, rushing for 168 yards and three scores vs the Colts. He added a more pedestrian 68 yards and one score last week, but game scripts were totally different based on the score.
The issue is that Dallas hasn't been able to stop either the Giants or the Commanders running backs from strong performances through two weeks, while also allowing both Jaxson Dart and Jayden Daniels to run at will from the QB position.
No team is better suited to take advantage of these deficiencies than the Ravens with Henry and Jackson. Rookie Jaishawn Barham appears capable of being a strong linebacker to contend with Henry, if the DTs can do their jobs, but Dallas will be without DeMarvion Overshown, who would be their best weapon to spy Jackson with.
No. 2: Travel south of the equator BUT have as normal a week as possible
Dallas is approximately 3,500 kilometers north of the equator. Rio De Janeiro is about 2,500 kilometers south of it. The Cowboys will board a plane Thursday night and fly 10 hours to their home-away-from home destination. Much has been made in the first few weeks of the season about plans to travel internationally after the Los Angeles Rams laid an egg in Australia in Week 1.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer is having his team do their Friday walkthough practice on Thursday, and then will have their team try to refocus on the task at hand as soon as they land. For a team as young as Dallas is, traveling internationally is a huge deal. Sleeping on extra-long flights isn't second nature for a lot of folks and if schedules are off, performances will be too.
No. 3: Caleb Downs needs to keep it up, BUT from a different role in defense
The Dallas Cowboys drafted Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs to be a multiple-spot weapon in Christian Parker's new defense. The thought was there'd be movement as a rookie, but a home as the slot corner would be where he would primarily be deployed in 2026. He's been strong through two games, forcing a fumble, getting a sack and getting a pass deflection, while only missing one tackle.
Downs has performed this well while playing 86 of his 132 snaps from the slot. He's played another 32 snaps in the box and just 14 as a free safety.
With Flowers, who spends around 40% of his snaps in the slot missing his second-straight day of practice on Thursday after missing Week 2 potentially out, perhaps the best plan of action is to let Downs take the vacated spot next to Jalen Thompson at safety.
Dallas is down both Malik Hooker (forearm) and PJ Locke (foot) through just two weeks of the season. Dallas' defense could be better off having Reddy Steward take Downs' slot snaps, if Flowers is out, than having Markquese Bell take the safety snaps.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Brazilian But List: How Cowboys can pad and plump W/L record vs Ravens
