The Dallas Cowboys will play their first-ever Brazil worldwide recreation in Week 3, and that recreation might be in opposition to the Baltimore Ravens. For the Cowboys, this might be their first recreation exterior of the continental United States since a 2014 win in London in opposition to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The placement of this recreation apart, the Cowboys and Ravens assembly for the primary time since a 2024 Ravens win in Arlington ought to be a fantastic early-season benchmark for 2 groups that had been on the skin of the playoff image wanting in for 2025. Second 12 months head coach Brian Schottenheimer might be going up in opposition to one among ten new head coaches employed this cycle, Jesse Minter. The Ravens with Minter might be in search of a robust begin to their season, after lacking the playoffs at actually the final minute attainable, a Sunday Evening Soccer loss in Week 18 on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens not being within the AFC playoff subject for the primary time since 2021 led to the teaching change from John Harbaugh, who the Cowboys will nonetheless should play twice after they see the Giants this season, to Minter – final with the Los Angeles Chargers as defensive coordinator for 2 seasons.
Minter might be a head coach calling the defensive performs for Baltimore, making this Brazil matchup one the place each groups’ head coaches name the performs on reverse sides of the ball. The Ravens are hoping having a head teaching emphasis on protection could make them a minimum of a playoff contender once more, and have needed to rebuild the protection in a rush to assist accomplish that. Paired with an MVP winner at QB in Lamar Jackson, and Derrick Henry nonetheless a fixture within the backfield, the Ravens getting their defensive woes righted might simply see them emerge as frontrunners in a division with the Steelers, Bengals, and Browns all coming off 2025 seasons with 10 wins or fewer.
The Ravens would be the solely AFC North opponent the Cowboys play in 2026, and whereas week three is way too early to know on the time in the event that they’ll be taking part in the highest crew on this division, their poor report in opposition to Baltimore all time on high of the juicy quarterback, working again, and training matchups on this recreation is a good place to begin previewing all of Dallas’ upcoming opponents.
Obligatory Credit score: Sam Greene-Imagn Photographs
Ravens Key Free Agent Signings/Departures
DE Trey HendricksonG John SimpsonTE Durham SmytheCB Chidobe Awuzie (Re-signed)
* DEPARTED IN FREE AGENCY
DE Dre’mont JonesTE Charlie KolarTE Isaiah LikelyC Tyler LinderbaumDE David Ojabo
The Ravens had been concerned in one of many wildest tales of this offseason after they in the end ended up flipping star go rusher Trey Hendrickson from the rival Bengals. Simply earlier than this although, the Ravens had a deal in place for one more high go rusher Maxx Crosby, earlier than that deal was rescinded for medical causes. Hendrickson offers the Ravens a formidable duo on the protection together with Roquan Smith. Within the secondary they’ve safeties Kyle Hamilton and Malaki Starks, and cornerbacks with Chidobe Awuzie, Marlon Humphrey, and Nate Wiggins.
In contrast to the Cowboys, the Ravens didn’t draft closely on protection to get new items for Jesse Minter. This work went into refreshing an offense in want of offensive line assist, reinforcements at tight finish after shedding each Possible and Kolar, and assist at extensive receiver.
Spherical 1, Decide 14: OL Olaivavega IoaneRound 2, Decide 13 (45 Total): EDGE Zion YoungRound 3, Decide 16 (80 Total): WR Ja’Kobi LaneRound 4, Decide 15 (115 Total): WR Elijah SarrattRound 4, Decide 33 (133 Total): TE Matthew HibnerRound 5, Decide 22 (162 Total): CB Chandler RiversRound 5, Decide 33 (173 Total): TE Josh CuevasRound 5, Decide 34 (174 Total): RB Adam RandallRound 6, Decide 30 (211 Total): P Ryan EckleyRound 7, Decide 34 (250 Total): DT Rayshaun BennyRound 7, Decide 37 (253 Total): OL Evan Beerntsen
(Picture by Carmen Mandato/Getty Photographs) Getty Photographs
The Ravens normal working process within the draft for years has been sticking to their board and getting extraordinarily excessive worth picks, even when it means breaking the developments of what different groups round them are doing within the draft. There weren’t many robust offensive developments in a draft dominated by protection, however one among them was a run on tight ends and extensive receivers within the center rounds, which the Ravens actually had their say in.
Touchdown Ione and Younger to get higher up entrance on either side of the ball with their first two picks was nice work, however three straight talent place picks after this with Lane, Sarratt, and Hibner tells a extra full story – particularly when additionally contemplating Cuevas and Randall as consecutive fifth-round picks.
Baltimore remains to be getting top-end manufacturing from Derrick Henry out of the backfield, so getting in step with the most important present offensive pattern of including tight ends and linemen to get in heavy personnel groupings makes quite a lot of sense for them. Lane and Sarratt assist the general dimension of their offense too, as massive goal receivers with spectacular catch radiuses to develop into favourite targets of Lamar Jackson.
Declan Doyle is the brand new offensive coordinator for the Ravens tasked with making this new-look group gel, coming over from the Chicago Bears the place he was Ben Johnson’s OC in 2025. Coming from Iowa with expertise as a graduate assistant at that degree and being a good ends coach for the Broncos earlier than this, it isn’t exhausting to see how the Ravens are planning on attacking opposing defenses this season.
That leads us to different teaching adjustments being made near the harbor on the shores of Maryland.
Ravens 2026 Teaching Modifications
* New to employees this season:
Head Coach Jesse MinterOffensive Coordinator Declan DoyleDefensive Coordinator Anthony WeaverOutside Linebackers Harland BowerPassing Recreation Coordinator Marcus BradyWide Receivers Keary ColbertDefensive Line Lou EspositoRunning Backs Eddie FaulknerTight Ends Zack GrossiOffensive Line and Run Recreation Coordinator Dwayne LedfordSecondary and Cross Recreation Coordinator Mike MickensSafeties P.J. VolkerQuarterbacks Israel Woolfork
The spectacular 18-year run by John Harbaugh coming to a stunning finish in Baltimore this offseason created a levy-opening state of affairs for brand spanking new coaches to affix the employees everywhere in key positions. Retaining a defensive focus from Harbaugh to Minter offers the Ravens some continuity, however total this received’t be a robust suite for his or her teaching employees in 2026. Having fully new coordinators, a brand new coach within the room with each Jackson and Henry, new coaches within the trenches on both facet with offensive line and defensive position, and a brand new tight ends coach with all the depth chart adjustments there may be going to take a while to come back collectively.
The Cowboys personal employees isn’t with out sweeping adjustments both although, however since we all know that is an early season matchup already for context, how a lot a few of their expertise from final 12 months could be a bonus from Schottenheimer on down offensively will go a good distance in deciding early season momentum. Schottenheimer and Minter coached in opposition to one another in Week 16 final season, with Minter’s Chargers protection getting the perfect of the Cowboys in a 34-17 highway win for Los Angeles.
(Picture by Rob Carr/Getty Photographs) Getty Photographs
Within the final assembly between the Cowboys and Ravens in 2024, additionally every week three matchup, a determined Ravens crew that got here to AT&T Stadium 0-2 bought a 28-25 win after main 28-6 within the third quarter. The best way the Cowboys stormed again late was seen as a good signal, however nonetheless a second straight dwelling loss within the first three weeks of the season set the Cowboys up for an total 2-7 dwelling report that took them out of the playoff image and led to a Ravens-esque teaching clear out going from Mike McCarthy to Schotty that offseason.
The final time the Cowboys missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons was 2019-20, and for the Ravens 2015-17. Each groups could have direct affect in whether or not or not the opposite can keep away from these streaks being renewed from 2025-26 in Brazil. The primary ever crew to win a recreation in Brazil was the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, who went on to win that 12 months’s Tremendous Bowl. Minter and the Chargers had been 2025 winners in Brazil in opposition to the Chiefs, and did make the playoffs, however had been bounced swiftly within the Wild Card spherical.
