Baltimore Ravens vs. Dallas Cowboys Matchup Breakdown For Fantasy Football Week 3

Baltimore Ravens Fantasy Preview

Baltimore spent the first two weeks of the 2026 season definitively answering the offseason’s two most prominent questions tossed their way: Is Lamar Jackson healthy, and will new OC Declan Doyle really make his mark pulling the switches? It’s only a couple of games in, but it’s getting more difficult with each passing day to not full-throatedly answer yes to both.

To address the first inquiry, Lamar’s combining a double-digit scramble rate (10.3%; highest in three years) with an NFL-leading 10.0 yards/pass attempt (highest of his career). Safe to say things are looking up from a dual-threat perspective. And that’s missing alpha WR Zay Flowers for more than half of all snaps, along with up-and-coming rookie Ja'Kobi Lane, who also went down. Talk about turning lemons into lemonade.

Reports around Flowers remain cloudy, though he hasn’t practiced as of Thursday. It could mean one more week of post-post-post-post hype sleeper Rashod Bateman, who served as the only BAL every-down receiver last weekend, breaking out for (7-88-1) on 9 looks against the Saints. And perhaps the most interesting thing about his Week 2 usage? Bateman moved around the formation (something he spoke about during the preseason), catching two balls for 16 yards and that lone score from the slot.

After Bateman, it’s a mix of LaJohntay Wester, Chris Moore, and Devontez Walker. Moore mostly works outside in 12-personnel, with Wester alternating with Bateman in 3-WR sets. Walker’s an interesting name if you’re looking for boom-or-bust production due to his ability to win deep, but there are two issues here. First is losing routes to Chris Moore (why), and second, Dallas is constantly parked in 5-DB Quarters. Their softer approach allows lots of completions/game (23.0), but also keeps their opponents below 10 yards/reception (which is excellent) and just two +20-yard completions this season.

You may want to get a pen and paper for my analysis of Baltimore's run game. (taps microphone) It’s awesome! That’s it. The timeless Derrick Henry’s still blowing up spreadsheets like undersized defenses. Oh, and now he’s catching a couple passes a game for good measure. Amazing to think that at his age, averaging +25 fantasy points/game is hardly a stretch. Crazy stuff.

• Start: QB Lamar Jackson, RB Derrick Henry, WR Zay Flowers, WR Rashod Bateman (if no Flowers), TE Mark Andrews
• Sit: WR Chris Moore
• Sleeper: WR Devontez Walker

Dallas Cowboys Fantasy Preview

How about them Cowboys? After a bit of a sluggish start versus Arvell Reese and the Giants, Dallas pops off for 37 points. Suddenly drafters are reminded of Dak Prescott’s capabilities, as he throws one fewer incompletion than passing TDs for an insane 143.8 passer rating.  Rag the Commanders’ secondary all you like, you gotta beat the bad teams into dust. Mission accomplished.

Dallas presented as a preseason fantasy goldmine for that lovely potential combination of explosivity and consolidation — and they delivered right on time. Only four pass-catching skill players see the field, earning targets in two distinct tiers. Up top, of course, is the dynamic duo of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. As far as the latter goes, please don’t panic. If anything, I’d try and tempt the Pickens manager in your league to sell low on a failing Cowboy narrative.

Sure, the drops can be frustrating, but a 23.0% target/route with nearly 100 air yards a game is absolutely going to pay the fantasy bills eventually. Without a TD on the ledger yet, hanging that goose egg in four deep shots so far can stick in our craw … I get it. With that, I’m somewhat shocked that DAL’s clear-cut WR3 Ryan Flournoy remains available in +90% of leagues. Anyone running nearly 30 routes a game for a Prescott-led offense should be rostered for contingency value alone.

Speaking of consolidation, RB Javonte Williams continues to deliver a workhorse load even if the fantasy ceiling hasn’t shown itself yet. Already commanding the fifth-highest backfield opportunity share in the NFL, Williams even added over four targets per game to his bag, for a lovely little boost to his scoring floor. As Dallas’ play volume climbs, so will Williams up fantasy leaderboards.

Not to put any injury-centric negativity into the universe, but this is precisely the situation gamers should target in fantasy. A highly prolific offense with one player dominating all phases of the run game leaves lots of fantasy opportunities in its wake in case of emergency. Though not entirely clear, my best guess for ‘next man up’ is former Cardinal, Emari Demercado. There’s not much to go on analytically due to such a small sample, but that’s kinda the point — he’s currently available for free and would easily headline every mainstream waiver article if Williams somehow became unavailable.

Defensive matchup’s tough and interesting but not necessarily one to be afraid of. Baltimore runs a ton of 6-DB zone packages, which hurts them in the secondary when not creating pressure up front. We all know what happens when Dak’s afforded time — he’ll tear that zone apart (hence the 52.5 total)

• Start: QB Dak Prescott, RB Javonte Williams, WR CeeDee Lamb, WR George Pickens
• Sit: TE Jake Ferguson
• Sleeper: WR Ryan Flournoy

Next Week’s Bold Headline, Today

Dallas’ ineffective run D makes headlines again, as the ability to stop the ageless wonder King Henry lands the Boys below .500 for the second time this season.