Ravens News 9/20: Sensible Solution

How can the Ravens get better blocking? Maybe there's an easy and sensible way.Jonas Shaffer, The Baltimore Banner Right guard Daniel Faalele is the Ravens' biggest question mark up front , and Ben Cleveland, for at least another week, does not appear to be the solution.

"If Ben had earned the job at right guard," coach John Harbaugh said at his Monday news conference, "he'd be the starting right guard."

But the Ravens' pecking order shouldn't disqualify Cleveland from appearing altogether. There is perhaps an elegant workaround to the team's offensive line shakiness and run game struggles, especially this week: Deploy Cleveland situationally as a sixth offensive lineman.

A smattering of snaps Sunday could have broad appeal, inside and outside the Ravens' facility. The move would mollify fans clamoring for Cleveland — for a time, anyway. It would give Cleveland a chance to prove himself in a game. It would keep Faalele at right guard. And, maybe most important, it could help the 0-2 Ravens in a nearly must-win game against the Dallas Cowboys .

Six-lineman plays are already in coordinator Todd Monken's playbook, and he said Thursday that they're an option moving forward. "Those guys are good football players," he said. "We're just not able to get them all on the field at once." The Ravens ran 21 such plays last season, according to TruMedia, averaging 3.1 yards per play, with a success rate of 47.6% — several ticks above their seasonlong rate (44%, which ranked sixth in the NFL). Cleveland appeared in 15 of those jumbo looks, most of which came in short-yardage and goal-line situations.

Ravens Secondary Is Confident That Problems Will Be SolvedClifton Brown, BaltimoreRavens.com With a deep and versatile secondary, the Ravens didn't expect pass defense to be a problem.

Instead, Baltimore has yielded more passing yards than any team in the NFL – 257 yards per game heading into Sunday's matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. Rashee Rice and Davante Adams have both had 100-yard games against the Ravens, and on Sunday they will face CeeDee Lamb, who's had three straight 1,000-yard seasons, including 1,749 yards last season.

Talent is not the issue, nor is confidence. Williams made that clear when asked about the Ravens starting 0-2.

"Just fixing the little details," Stephens said. "There's definitely things we can do better, like closing out games. It's something that's got to get fixed. It's [a] next game mentality. We can't change what happened, but we can improve. We're not backing away from anything. We know who we are, it's just a matter of proving it."

"I don't even know what our record is," Williams said. "I just know we need to go out and get a victory. Nobody ever likes losing. But at the end of the day, you've got to have short-term memory and do your job."

Ravens vs. Cowboys scouting report for Week 3: Who has the edge?Childs Walker, The Baltimore SunRavens passing game vs. Cowboys pass defense

Through two games, Lamar Jackson's completion percentage and yards per attempt are down from his 2023 NFL Most Valuable Player levels. He has spread the ball effectively, connecting at least five times with five different receivers, but he couldn't hurt the Raiders downfield, completing just one pass over 20 yards (to Zay Flowers late in the second quarter). The Ravens went away from their play-action game against Las Vegas (despite great efficiency when they did use it).

Dallas has played the pass effectively in recent years, ranking seventh in DVOA in 2023. Parsons is the star, but the Cowboys also ranked eighth in the league with 17 interceptions last year and have three in the first two games this year. All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland is out with a foot injury, but Trevon Diggs is back as a dangerous ballhawk after missing most of last season. Veteran DeMarcus Lawrence complements Parsons as a pass rusher. The Cowboys had little luck reaching quarterback Derek Carr in their blowout loss to the Saints after they were all over Deshaun Watson in their opening win in Cleveland.

EDGE: Cowboys

This is an unusually high-stakes matchup for so early in the season. The Ravens can't afford to start 0-3, and the Cowboys can't afford to be licked on their home field two weeks in a row. If the Ravens can keep Parsons out of Jackson's face — a big if — they'll score plenty. If they build an early lead, they'll press on Dallas with a superior run game. Can their secondary do a better job on Lamb than it did against the Raiders' top two targets? The answer is yes. The Ravens will begin digging out of their hole with a bruising road win. Ravens 27, Cowboys 23

Week 3 NFL picks: Jets unanimously chosen to beat Pats on Thursday; will Ravens or Cowboys get right?Tom Blair, NFL.com Which scuffling would-be Super Bowl contender will pull itself together first? As Tom Brady pointed out in the game broadcast last Sunday, New Orleans countered the potency of Mike Zimmer's defense by staying out of obvious passing downs. Can the Ravens follow a similar strategy? They actually got into too many third-and-longs against the Raiders , thanks in part to Derrick Henry 's early struggles running the ball, and John Harbaugh is having to answer the wrong kinds of questions about his offensive line . Even if Henry has a smoother time against the worst-graded run defense in the league (per Pro Football Focus), Baltimore as a whole does not look ready to match the Saints' pace. Then again, Dallas' offense isn't exactly a powerhouse at the moment, either, and Baltimore's D figures to have something to say about the outcome. It feels like this one will be close, and maybe ugly, so I will (with more reluctance than last week) hitch my wagon to the home team.

Cowboys 25-20

NFL Week 3 picks against the spread: Why Falcons' Bijan Robinson is one RB to take seriouslyVic Tafur, The Athletic Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys (+1) | 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday, Fox

It's rare that a game comes down to one question, but this one does: Do the Ravens have any faith in Derrick Henry ? They gave him the ball only 13 times last week in a game in which they led in the fourth quarter against the Raiders. The Ravens also had some losses on the offensive line in the offseason, Lamar Jackson missed clutch throws and their defense is not as good as it was. That's why they are 0-2. But they are good enough to beat the Cowboys if they get Henry and Jackson going on the ground. The Cowboys just got marched on by the Saints and have allowed one rushing TD on every 11.6 carries this season, the worst rate in the NFL. They rank 31st in defensive total rush EPA and defensive rush success percentage. Running the ball will also help keep Dak Prescott off the field, as the Ravens are 26th in defensive EPA per pass at -0.19. Give us Henry — who I thought the Cowboys should have signed — and the desperate Ravens.

The pick: Ravens