The Cowboys left Week 2 with a win and a lot to like from Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, but the ground game still looks stuck in mud. That becomes a bigger problem now, because Baltimore is set to welcome back Nnamdi Madubuike, and that’s the kind of reinforcement that can wreck a run plan before it ever gets going.
Dallas beat the Washington Commanders behind a strong passing display, scoring 37 points with all four touchdowns coming through the air. But the offense can’t keep leaning that hard on Prescott and Lamb and expect everything to hold up. The run game has been too shaky for that.
Through two games, the numbers are rough. The Cowboys have only 135 rushing yards on 40 carries, which works out to just over 3.3 yards per attempt.
NFL Next Gen Stats has Williams at minus-3.7 EPA per rush and Demercado at minus-1.5. Williams has two rushing yards fewer than expected, while Demercado has one more.
Even mixing Lamb into the rushing attack hasn’t provided the answer.
Tyler Smith’s absence matters here, especially when Dallas tries to run between the tackles. Still, the backs have to create more on their own. If they don’t, defenses won’t have any reason to respect the ground game and will keep loading the box.
Baltimore has already shown it can handle quality runners. Jonathan Taylor went for 98 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in Week 1, a 5.2-yard average, and he never needed a long breakaway run to pad the total. Then the Ravens tightened up in Week 2 and held the New Orleans Saints to 65 yards on 27 carries, or 2.4 yards per rush, against a group that included Travis Etienne Jr., Alvin Kamara, and a mobile Tyler Shough.
Now the Ravens are getting Madubuike back, according to Baltimore reporter Jamison Hensley. Ravens defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said Madubuike looked more comfortable in practice on Thursday, and if he returns after about a year out because of a neck injury, that only makes Dallas’ job harder.
Madubuike was an All-Pro and Pro Bowl defensive tackle in 2023 and 2024, and while he’s known for getting after the quarterback, he’s also a problem against the run. He can move around Baltimore’s front, which is a bad sign for a Cowboys rushing attack already searching for answers.
PFF graded Madubuike at 69.9 against the run last season, when he recorded four stops in just a game and some change. In 2025, he piled up 30 run stops, and the year before that he had 42. If he’s active Sunday, Dallas will have one more heavy lift on its hands, and a run game that already needs help could be facing another wall.
In Other News...
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Even before kickoff, though, Cowboys fans found another reason to grumble. Social media lit up after caricatures of Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson were displayed at the stadium, and plenty of viewers thought Prescotts version did him no favors. It is a small detail in a big international showcase, but for a fan base that already watches every Dak storyline closely, it was the kind of pregame image that got people talking fast. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Brazil Game Suddenly Comes With A Serious Field Concern
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Cowboys Defense Faces Its Biggest Early Test Against Lamar Jackson
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Now comes Baltimore and Lamar Jackson, the kind of matchup that can expose even small cracks in a front sevens discipline. Jacksons mobility and scrambling ability make him a difficult target for any defense, but especially one that has already shown some frustration getting quarterbacks to the ground. For Dallas, this looks like the first real stress test of how well its pass rush can hold up when the passer is also a threat to turn a broken play into a big gain. [Read more 🡒]