NFL Week 3 live updates: Inactives, schedule, kickoff times, matchups, odds and predictions

By Jeff Zrebiec, Jon Machota, Saad Yousuf and Alex Andrejev

The Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson survived a late scare against the Dallas Cowboys to earn their first win of the season on Sunday.

The Ravens’ two-time MVP quarterback threw for one touchdown and rushed for another while relying on veteran running back Derrick Henry, the four-time Pro Bowler Baltimore signed in March, to further fuel their ground game. Henry added two TDs in the 28-25 victory.

The Cowboys lacked the same spark — even Tom Brady expressed frustration with Dallas’ offense in the broadcast booth. Though three fourth-quarter touchdowns kept the game close, Dallas couldn’t complete the comeback and fell to 1-2.

Ravens prove they have an attacking identity

All the talk all week was about how the Ravens lacked an offensive identity in the first two weeks. Well, they found one on Sunday. The Ravens are always at their best when they lean heavily on their run game. They made it clear that was their intention and they haven’t wavered from it.

Jackson had another solid game, but he was never really asked to do much. Baltimore threw the ball just 15 times. The Ravens will need to do more through the air, but with the Cowboys’ trouble stopping the run, offensive coordinator Todd Monken stuck to the script Sunday. — Jeff Zrebiec, Ravens Editor

How Baltimore rode on his big back

Henry, who is living in Dallas during the offseason, was interested in signing with the Cowboys during the offseason. The Cowboys, however, weren’t so interested. Henry showed the Cowboys what they were missing, rushing for 151 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries and adding a catch for 23 yards.

Lamar on Derrick Henry: “He did what kings do.”

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) September 23, 2024

The Ravens needed all those yards to shut out the Cowboys. Henry now has four touchdowns in three games with his new team. — Zrebiec

Ravens still have a penalty problem

This may be nitpicking in what was otherwise a dominant win for much of four quarters, but the Ravens still have a penalty problem to solve. They entered the game 30th in penalties and 31st in penalty yards. They went out against the Cowboys adding 13 more penalties for 105 yards.

A few of the offensive penalties helped stop Ravens drives. Some penalties are the cost of doing business, but the Ravens need to reduce unnecessary penalties. — Zrebiec

Cowboys offense found spark, but not enough

It was a case of too little, too late for the Cowboys’ offense. After sputtering for much of the game’s first 50 minutes, Dak Prescott led a fierce rally aided by an onside kick recovery. The offense was able to march down the field, with Prescott distributing the ball evenly between his targets. However, there simply wasn’t enough time on the clock to recover from a series of early miscues.

CeeDee Lamb’s fumble in the red zone in the first half was huge, as it wiped out a potential touchdown, but at least a field goal, which proved to be the difference in the game. Tyler Guyton’s holding penalty late in the first half was also the potential difference between a touchdown or a field goal. The offense left too many plays on the field, asking too much of their struggling defense, which couldn’t give them the final stop they needed.

Despite the loss, Prescott remained confident in his team, saying, “Jump off if you want to,” as he walked back to the locker room. Saad Yousuf, Cowboys Staff Writer

Defensive issues sink Dallas

For the second week in a row, the Cowboys are down and it’s all because of the defense. Too many open receivers, too many big runs, too many big plays allowed when the game was still winnable. Last week, it was Alvin Kamara and Derek Carr who looked like one of the best running back/quarterback duos in the league. This week, it’s Henry and Jackson.

Dallas’ offense did everything it could to come back late in the game. The defense finally had a chance to play its part again. Trevon Diggs faced third-and-six with 2:18 to play, leaving Jackson too much space to find Zay Flowers for a first down. After using all of their timeouts, the Cowboys still had a chance just after the two-minute warning.

But Jackson made another play with his feet and was able to score the final first down needed to run out the clock.

We know there are issues at defensive tackle, but there’s plenty of blame to be spread among Dallas’ defense, which extends beyond the middle of the defense. — Jon Machota, Cowboys staff writer

Required reading

(Photo: Sam Hodde/Getty Images)