FULL BOXSCORE

What Kevin Patra thought:

1. Ravens sprint to big lead, hold on to it in Dallas. Derrick Henry was rolling when Baltimore built a 28-6 lead that it held midway through the fourth quarter. Then the offense sputtered, Justin Tucker missed a field goal and the defense allowed three consecutive touchdown drives, making things tight. Lamar Jackson hit Zay Flowers with a clutch third-down pass to seal the game. He sealed it with a 10-yard keeper to get Baltimore into the winning column. The Ravens ran over Dallas’ defense early, with Henry and Jackson finding lanes and cutting the Cowboys in the gut. Henry galloped 25 times for 151 yards (6.0 YPC) with two touchdowns. Combine that with Jackson’s 14 carries for 87 rushing yards and a score, and the Ravens performed as we expected them to on the ground this season. Baltimore bullied itself for 274 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 45 carries. By coming up big, John Harbaugh’s team was able to grind out a questionable run defense with Henry. The King showed that he may not be the engine of the Ravens’ offense every week, but he can still grind opponents to a halt when needed.
2. The Cowboys’ furious comeback attempt fails. Mike McCarthy wanted to get off to a quick start and elected to receive the ball to start the game. A punt on the first drive, combined with his defense’s inability to get off the field, ruined the game as the Cowboys fell behind 14-3 in the opening period. Mike Zimmer’s defense deserves the lion’s share of the blame for getting back on the ground. The offense’s inability to sustain drives and a CeeDee Lam fumble in scoring range was a major factor in the 28-6 deficit. Credit Roof Prescott for finding playmakers late to make it interesting, but it was too little too late. McCarthy’s club has again played inconsistently through four quarters through three games. Early in the game, it looked like they were going to be beaten at home for the third straight time, dating back to the last postseason. Perhaps the Cowboys can build on the late-game performance, but an L is an L.
3. Best kicker in NFL torch has officially been passed. We have known for a while that Brandon Aubrey was the best booter in the NFL. Sunday confirmed it, with former crown holder Justin Tucker present. Aubrey hit both field goals, a 51-yarder to end the first half and a seemingly nonchalant 65-yard hammer in the first quarter — one yard shy of Tucker’s league record of 66 yards. The ease with which Aubrey hits the pigskin is miraculous. He deserves a shot at a 70-yarder at some point. The Cowboys kicker also pulled a rabbit out of his head with an excellent watermelon-style onside kick that actually worked. Meanwhile, Tucker continued to struggle, missing a 46-yarder early in the fourth quarter. We knew the torch would be passed from Tucker at some point. Sunday made it official.

Next Gen Stats Insight from Ravens-Cowboys (via NFL Pro): Dak Prescott completed 35.3% of his pass attempts in a tight window in Week 3, his highest percentage in a game in six-plus seasons (since Week 4, 2018). Prescott struggled in tight window throws against the Ravens, completing 5 of 18 such pass attempts for 66 yards (-7.0% CPOE).

NFL Research: Derrick Henry had his 12th career game with 150-plus rushing yards and two-plus rushing touchdowns, tied for the second-most in NFL history, tied with LaDainian Tomlinson and one behind Jim Brown. Henry is the first 30-something to have such a game since the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson in Week 12, 2015.