BALTIMORE – Back in action after a 15 day layoff, Lamar Jackson directed a relentless assault of which the Baltimore Ravens’ hope will be the first big step in a run to the playoffs.
Jackson ran 94 yards and a touchdown, and the Ravens were returning from a COVID-19 outbreak, racking up 294 yards in a 34-17 Dallas Cowboys router Tuesday night.
Jackson played for the first time since Nov. 22 after testing positive for the potentially deadly virus, wearing 13 times and throwing two points. He was one of 23 ravens to spend time on the reserve / COVID-19 list as four different strains of the virus swept through the organization.
“I still can’t really taste or smell it, but I’m good,” said Jackson. “I feel good to be with my boys again. It was like two weeks without seeing her. “
While the Ravens still have half a dozen players on the COVID-19 list, the team felt complete for the first time in weeks.
“It’s like when you’re going on a family vacation and one of your family members gets sick and you can’t bring them with you,” said rookie Linebacker Patrick Queen said. “You’re down in the dumps.”
The game was played on Tuesday evening because Baltimore’s previous game – against Pittsburgh last Wednesday – was pushed back three times while the Ravens had at least one positive player test for 10 consecutive days.
Gus Edwards ran 101 yards with just seven stretches and a rookie JK Dobbins – who also missed time on the COVID-19 list – added 71 yards of rushing and a TD to help Baltimore (7-5) break a three-game skid and stay alive to to reach the postseason for a third consecutive year.
“It’s a win that we really had to have. It was a must, “said coach John Harbaugh.” The running game was excellent. That was the key to the attack. “
Dallas came in with the worst quick defense in the league, and it showed. The Ravens averaged 7.9 yards per carry and won despite being just 107 yards from Jackson.
“I think today was obviously a different challenge than we saw,” said Dallas coach Mike McCarthy. “This is a unique offense. A very physical line of scrimmage and the dynamic of the combination of running backs and Lamar.”
The last cowboys (3-9) lost six out of seven. Andy Dalton went 31 for 48 for 285 yards and two touchdowns, and Ezekiel Elliott hurried for 77 meters.
“I thought Andy played the game very well,” said McCarthy. “We had to throw a few bigger punches there and hit the board with touchdowns and we couldn’t do that.”
Greg Zuerlein missed three field goal attempts and Dallas scored 20 points in a row after taking an early 10-7 lead.
The game should contain Raven’s receivers Dez Bryant Bryant left while warming up and was scratched by what Baltimore called “illness”.
Bryant wrote on Twitter that he tested positive for COVID-19 and later posted, “Yeah, I’ll go ahead and call it over for the rest of the season … I can’t handle that.”
He then posted a series of tweets, including, “Yeah, I’ll be back … I’m smart.”
Bryant scored 73 touchdowns with the Cowboys from 2010-17. Signed by the Ravens in October, he saw his first move in two years, scoring four passes in three games.
On his first streak after his unwanted week, Jackson threw a pass that was tipped and intercepted. That resulted in a field goal in Dallas, but Jackson responded with a 37-yard touchdown run in a 4-2 game.
Tony Pollard took the next 66 yards kick-off to establish a 13-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to Michael Gallup. It was the last time Dallas led.
An interception by Queen resulted in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Jackson Miles Boykin for a 14-10 tour.
Jackson’s second TD pass of the game, a 20-yarder in the third quarter up Marquise Brownmade it 24-10.
Whether Jackson was rusted or stale after a missed game was hard to tell by his performance.
“The only thing you know about Lamar, you’ll get everything he’s got,” said Harbaugh. “That’s all you can ask for.”
RAVENS STREAKS
Baltimores Justin Tucker missed a 36-yard field goal in the second quarter and finished his NFL record run of 70 successful FGs from a distance of 40 yards. … The Ravens have run 100 yards in 35 consecutive games, the third longest streak in NFL history. … Baltimore has won nine consecutive NFC opponents, the longest active streak for one team against the other conference.
INJURIES
Cowboys: LT Cameron Erving (Knee) was inactive.
Ravens: Defender Patrick Ricard left with a possible concussion in the third quarter but returned.
NEXT
Cowboys: Another street game against an AFC North opponent in Cincinnati on Sunday.
Ravens: More prime-time action for Baltimore against host Cleveland Browns on Monday night. It is a rematch of the season opener, which the Ravens won 38: 6.
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