Can Cowboys buck short, strange, painful history vs their most uncommon opponent?
Nevertheless, if the Cowboys are able to come away from Saturday night's contest with a W, it will be among the rarest achievements in franchise history.
That's because the Cowboys have only ever beaten the Baltimore Ravens- preseason or regular season- one time.
The Ravens, celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, are easily the Cowboys' most uncommon opponent. They've played just seven times in the regular season.
That number is tied with the Houston Texans, but the Cowboys have squared off against their intrastate rivals many times- it used to be an annual preseason tradition- in what is informally known as the Governor's Cup. The Cowboys and Ravens, on the other hand, have just one previous preseason meeting. At eight total head-to-head games ever, the Ravens are by far the team most unfamiliar to the Cowboys.
The few occasions the interconference foes have met, though, have provided some noteworthy moments.
2000: Ravens 27, Cowboys 0
The first time Dallas and Baltimore tangled was in the 2000 season. The punchless Cowboys didn't manage to score at all against what many consider the greatest NFL defense ever assembled, losing 27-0 after a three-interception outing from Troy Aikman and a 48-yard day from Emmitt Smith. The Ravens went on to win Super Bowl XXXV two months later.
2004: Ravens 30, Cowboys 10
The 2004 Week 11 game wasn't much of a game at all, with Cowboys quarterbacks Vinny Testaverde and Drew Henson combining for just 128 total passing yards. Dallas actually led 3-0 at halftime before giving up 30 straight points after the break.
2008: Ravens 33, Cowboys 24
The two teams' 2008 meeting was memorable as the final home game ever played in Texas Stadium. The Ravens ruined that party with a 33-24 win, sealed by a late Le'Ron McClain 82-yard score, the longest run by a Cowboys opponent in the building's history. Baltimore eventually lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC championship.
2012: Ravens 31, Cowboys 29
2012's Week 6 date provided plenty of drama just off Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Jacoby Jones tied an NFL record with a 108-yard kickoff return in the third quarter, but Tony Romo and the Cowboys would not go quietly. His touchdown throw to Dez Bryant (capping an 18-play drive) brought the Cowboys to within two points with :32 to play. The pair couldn't connect, however, on the tying conversion attempt. Dan Bailey's onside kick was recovered by Dallas, and a defensive pass interference call on the next snap helped set up a 50-yard field game-winning goal try... which sailed wide left. Baltimore ended the season as Super Bowl champs once again.
2016: Cowboys 27, Ravens 17
Dallas's only win ever against the Ravens came in 2016. It was Week 11, and Dak Prescott, in his magnificent debut season, led the Cowboys to a 27-17 victory and the franchise's first-ever nine-game win streak. Prescott went on to be named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year. That game also featured Ezekiel Elliott breaking Tony Dorsett's single-season record for most rushing yards by a Cowboys rookie. The Cowboys' .143 regular-season win percentage versus the Ravens remains- by a large margin- their lowest against all opponents.
2020: Ravens 34, Cowboys 17
Originally scheduled for the Thursday after Thanksgiving, a COVID-19 outbreak within the Ravens organization caused the game to be postponed. The two teams met in an incredibly rare Tuesday game- a first for the Cowboys- that saw the depleted Dallas squad get trounced. Andy Dalton filled in admirably for an injured Prescott, but kicker Greg Zuerlein missed three field goal attempts, and the Cowboys defense gave up nearly 300 yards on the ground.
2024: Ravens 28, Cowboys 25
Last year's Week 3 battle looked much closer in the box score than it was on the field. A furious 19-point Cowboys rally wasn't enough to overcome the 28-6 lead Baltimore had built up over the first three quarters. The majority of the damage was done by running back Derrick Henry, who Dallas had elected not to pursue in free agency; he gashed the Cowboys for 151 yards and two scores. Dallas had been beaten badly by New Orleans the week prior, but this was the game that confirmed to Cowboys fans 2025 would be unbearingly long and painful.
Previous preseason meetings
The Cowboys and Ravens have met in the preseason just once before, in 2014. Baltimore won that mid-August exhibition by a 37-30 score behind quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Tyrod Taylor, but early miscues by Dallas gave Baltimore two touchdowns before either of them even took the field. For Dallas, Tony Romo started and tossed a touchdown on his surgically-repaired back but then turned the offense over to Brandon Weeden, who struggled.
Dallas and Baltimore were supposed to meet in the 2020 preseason as well, but the NFL memorably scrapped its entire preseason slate that year due to COVID-19.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Will Cowboys' painful series history vs Ravens continue in preseason?
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