ARLINGTON, Texas – Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens had an early, emphatic answer for the first 0-2 start since before he was their franchise quarterback.
The two-time MVP added a couple of clutch plays late when the Ravens were at risk of letting a big fourth-quarter lead get away.
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Derrick Henry ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns, Jackson accounted for two scores and the Ravens held on for a 28-25 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
The Ravens (1-2) scored touchdowns on their first two drives and led 28-6 before Dak Prescott and the Cowboys rallied big late with some help from a rare onside kick recovery.
Baltimore was a play away from having to give the ball back to the Cowboys (1-2) leading by just three when Jackson had a clutch completion to Zay Flowers.
Jackson put the game away with a nifty fake to start a 10-yard run as the Ravens finished with 274 yards rushing. It's the most Dallas has allowed since twice giving up at least 294 with one of the worst defenses in franchise history in 2020.
The Ravens, coming off a trip to the AFC championship game in which they lost to Super Bowl champion Kansas City, were 0-2 for the first time since 2015, three years before they drafted Jackson. Only one team since 2000 has made the playoffs after starting 0-3.
“Every game is a big game for us because we're trying to get somewhere,” Jackson said. “We've got to win these games to get to the playoffs, and we need to get to the Super Bowl. But it starts with the game that’s in front of us.”
The Cowboys have allowed 120 points in their past three home games, including a 48-32 wild-card loss to Green Bay in January that ended Dallas' 16-game winning streak at AT&T Stadium.
Brandon Aubrey kicked a 65-yard field goal for the Cowboys, 1 yard shy of the NFL record from 2021 held by the kicker on the other sideline, Baltimore's Justin Tucker.
Just as in last week's 44-19 loss to New Orleans, the Cowboys needed more than field goals because of their porous defense.
The touchdowns eventually came for Dallas. They were just a little late.
Prescott scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak midway through the fourth, C.J. Griffin recovered the onside kick and Jalen Tolbert had a 15-yard TD catch to make it 28-18 before the Cowboys missed on a second consecutive 2-point conversion try.
Flowers recovered Dallas' second onside kick after whiffing on the first, but the Ravens went three-and-out.
The Cowboys kicked deep after KaVontae Turpin's 16-yard scoring catch cut the deficit to three before Jackson's 9-yard completion to Flowers on third-and-6, then the keeper that finished off the final 2:53.
“Lamar was just phenomenal,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Didn’t really want to get to that situation, but we did, and we came through.”
Dallas lost consecutive home games in the same regular season for the first time since 2020, after Prescott's gruesome, season-ending ankle injury in Week 5 of a 6-10 season.
“Make sure guys don’t dwell,” Prescott said after emerging from quiet, frustrated locker room. “They can feel bad tonight, but come the morning, it’s over with. If you’re dwelling on that, you’re not going to prepare the right away. You’re still going to be looking back at things you could have done, should have done.”
Nelson Agholor had a 56-yard catch-and-run to set up Henry’s first touchdown, a 1-yard plunge for a 14-3 lead.
The Ravens opened with a five-play, 71-yard drive capped by Jackson's 9-yard run, untouched, to the pylon. His first throw of the game was a 30-yarder to uncovered tight end Charlie Kolar.
Henry, who averaged 6 yards on 25 carries, became the first Baltimore back to score at least one touchdown in each of his first three games for the franchise. He added a 23-yard catch.
A two-time rushing champion in his eight seasons with Tennessee, Henry ran 26 yards for a touchdown and a 28-6 lead on the opening drive of the second half.
Jackson was 12 of 15 for 182 yards with a 13-yard scoring toss to Rashod Bateman standing all alone in the end zone and added 87 yards rushing.
The late Dallas surge put Prescott at 28 of 51 for 379 yards and two touchdowns but once again didn't have any help from an anemic running game, even before the score got out of hand. Dallas averaged 3.2 yards per carry.
Ultimately, the Cowboys were in too big of a deficit against a team that emphasizes defense and the running game.
“You definitely want to get in front of that team,” Dallas coach Mike McCarthy said. “That’s a team that plays to their strength and their profile. We were not clean enough to get the win today.”
Injuries
Cowboys S Markquese Bell injured an ankle in the first half and didn't return. ... Ravens CB Jalyn Armour-Davis injured a hamstring and didn't return.
Up next
Ravens: Home against Buffalo next Sunday night.
Cowboys: At the New York Giants in their first NFC East game Thursday night.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL