Nick Harris: Five things to watch in Cowboys-Ravens game

The Dallas Cowboys will look to rebound against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium after a demoralizing loss to the New Orleans Saints that highlighted glaring issues on both sides of the ball in a 44-19 defeat.

With two-time MVP Lamar Jackson and two-time rushing champion Derrick Henry coming into town backed up with a defense ridden with All-Pro talents, the task only grows larger for the Cowboys.

Here are five things to watch for in Sunday’s game, including injury news and a potential personnel change on the defensive side of the ball.

Dak Prescott looking to be the aggressor

In a matchup with a Ravens defensive unit that features Pro Bowl talents at every level, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is taking some confidence from the week of practice into Sunday’s game and wants his offense to take command early.

“We’re going in and playing our game and that’s on them on how they’re going to adapt to that,” Prescott said. “We’re going to be the aggressors and bring it to them.”

The Ravens enter week three last in the NFL in passing yards per game allowed (257) but first in the NFL in rushing yards per game allowed (49.5). For the Cowboys to find some early success, look for the passing game to be relied upon, considering the running game for Dallas has had its fair share of struggles through two weeks as well.

More snaps for DeMarvion Overshown

In the team’s opening week win against the Cleveland Browns, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown was heavily featured in the team’s defensive strategy with 44 snaps including a handful of opportunities where he was asked to run down Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson when he escaped the pocket.

Last week against New Orleans, there was a direct flip in strategy with Overshown garnering only 18 snaps as a result of more offensive looks from the Saints that required more base defense formations from Mike Zimmer.

This week against Baltimore, expect a snap count from Overshown similar to his 44 in week one. With a dangerously athletic quarterback in Lamar Jackson on the field, both base and dime packages could feature more Overshown in place of Damone Clark.

“They want to get him out there more and recognize that he got limited, less snaps than they had planned on,” Jerry Jones said this week. “I think you’ll see more of him in the future.”

Mazi Smith status improving

After losing veteran defensive tackle Jordan Phillips to the injured reserve list earlier in the week with an aggravation to a wrist injury he suffered a year ago, the Cowboys saw second-year defensive tackle Mazi Smith exit practice before it could even get started on Wednesday with a back injury.

He was officially listed as a “Did Not Participate” designation in the first two practices of the week, but head coach Mike McCarthy offered more confidence in his availability after an improvement on Friday.

“Mazi is looking good,” McCarthy said. “I’ll anticipate that he’ll go through the walk-through practice tomorrow. Everything looks like he will be full steam ahead. He took a big step today.”

Tight end room at full strength

The expectation is that the Cowboys will get both Jake Ferguson and John Stephens Jr. back for Sunday’s game after Ferguson missed the game against the Saints with a knee injury, and Stephens is still searching for his NFL debut after suffering a hamstring injury in training camp that has kept him out through two weeks.

“Jake looked good today,” McCarthy said after Friday’s practice. “I’d put him in a full practice assessment.”

The excitement is also building for Stephens to finally touch the field after his rookie year was taken by a torn ACL he suffered in the preseason in 2023.

“John’s an exciting young prospect,” McCarthy said. “We’ve been excited about him since last year. He’s just been battling the component of availability. It’s good to see him back out there healthy. He’s an excellent, excellent target.”

Trey Lance serving as Lamar Jackson in practice

As part of the scout team looks heading into week three, Mike McCarthy has used third-string quarterback Trey Lance as the defense’s look at Lamar Jackson this week. Given Lance’s athleticism both in and out of the pocket, seeing the speedier element at the quarterback position has helped the defense in its preparation for Sunday.

“Trey does a good job,” McCarthy said. “We try to emulate it the best we can. I thought Trey did a really nice job [on Wednesday] and it will be something we will encourage, particularly those looks for our defense.”

Jackson is third all-time in rushing yards by a quarterback with 5,425. Trailing only Michael Vick (6,109) and Cam Newton (5,631), Jackson is the only player in the top 15 with less than 90 career games played (88).