Ravens Showed A Methodical Approach Against Cowboys

According to NFL Savant, 15 out of 20 passes from Lamar Jackson were thrown short (0-9 yards). Many of these short plays were of the simpler variety, with Jackson taking what the defense gave him and moving the chains. For example, with 9:18 remaining in the second quarter, Jackson took the snap from an empty shotgun set and found Rashod Bateman on a curl route for six yards. Dallas’ cornerbacks were giving several yards of cushion, while linebacker Jaishawn Barham could not shift over quickly enough from his zone assignment to close the throwing window.

There were also examples of short throws turning into much larger gains. Later in the second quarter, Jackson hit rookie tight end Josh Cuevas on a block-and-release route. Dallas’ linebackers had dropped deeper into coverage, leaving the underneath area wide open. Nobody was within five yards of Cuevas when he secured the pass, allowing him to turn upfield for 14 yards and a new set of downs.

Many short plays were completed due to Dallas constantly playing deep in coverage and not being able to cover the underneath routes. But there were also plays where they played man-to-man and still got beat thanks to clever play-calling. Late in the first quarter, Jackson delivered a pass to Zay Flowers on a drag route from the slot. What sprung this was Derrick Henry faking out Cowboys linebacker Rashan Gary by making him think that he was leaving the backfield to run a route. This pulled Gary to the right and gave Flowers space to turn upfield for a 22-yard gain.

Flowers probably catches the pass regardless. He beat Dee Winters by stemming outside before breaking back across the field, and asking a linebacker to stay with Flowers in space is a questionable call to begin with. But Henry’s route fake made the play more impactful. By pulling Gary away from the middle of the field, Baltimore removed a defender who otherwise could have been in position to rally to Flowers after the catch. Instead, Flowers had open grass and turned a short completion into a 22-yard gain.

Dallas’ defense was picked apart in several different ways throughout the game. Whether the Cowboys were playing man or zone, Baltimore consistently found answers underneath, and Jackson responded with one of his most efficient performances of the season. The Ravens deserve credit for designing concepts that attacked Dallas’ zone tendencies while also leaning on Derrick Henry and preserving the threat of deeper shots.