Micah Parsons knew he was in for a challenge. “This is my first time playing Lamar so it’s gonna be very exciting,” he said before Sunday’s game. Little did he know just how “exciting” it would get.

Jason Garrett, once the mastermind behind the Cowboys’ offense, didn’t sugar-coat things after Dallas’ 28-25 loss to Baltimore. “They’re not a physical football team,” Garrett said on NBC. “Everyone understands this about the Cowboys now. You have to go in there and run the ball.”

Boy, did the Ravens get that memo. Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry turned AT&T Stadium into their playground, racking up 274 rushing yards. It was like watching a hot knife cut through Texas toast.

This ain’t Dallas‘ first rodeo with run defense woes. Last week, New Orleans trampled them for 190 yards in a 44-19 beatdown. Now the Ravens have upped the ante, leaving Cowboys fans wondering if their team forgot how to tackle.

Parsons, who’d called Jackson “probably the best dual-threat quarterback in league history,” got a front-row seat to that dual-threat show. The Ravens’ O-line, shaky in earlier games, looked like a brick wall on Sunday.

“With Lamar, you’ve got to find a way to keep him in the pocket, don’t let him get those extra runs or keep extending plays,” Micah Parsons explained before Sunday’s game. “It’s easy to say, but it’s hard to do.” Little did the Cowboys’ star linebacker know just how prophetic those words would prove to be.

Dak Prescott’s last-minute magic falls short

While the D was busy playing matador, Dak Prescott tried to save the day. Down 28-6 in the fourth, he engineered a comeback that had fans checking their heart rates. 373 yards and two TDs later, Dallas had a shot.

But the defense couldn’t seal the deal. Jackson, true to Parsons’ words, iced the game with a 10-yard scamper that felt like a gut punch to Cowboys Nation.

Garrett twisted the knife: “Run the ball, get ahead, and that’s what silences that pass rush. The Ravens controlled most of this ballgame because they handed it off and dominated the line of scrimmage.”

At 1-2, Dallas has dropped its first two home games after last year’s perfect home stand. Talk about a 180.

Flags and mental lapses keep biting the Cowboys. Six penalties had them playing catch-up all day. As the Austin American-Statesman put it, this Cowboys squad looks “undisciplined and unfocused” in what could be a make-or-break year for the coaching staff.

With the Giants coming to town Thursday, Dallas needs to plug those run defense holes pronto. Otherwise, Garrett’s tough talk might end up being the Cowboys’ 2024 eulogy. And in Jerry’s World, where winning isn’t everything – it’s the only thing – that’s about as welcome as a rattlesnake in your boot.