Wow, what can you say now? Talk about getting the monkey off of our backs! We just put up 33 on the 7th ranked defense of the Dallas Cowboys and when our backs were against the wall and it looked like once again we were going to fold in the fourth quarter, we silenced the crowd, including a bunch of old time Cowboy stars in a big, big way!

Easily the biggest win of the season and maybe one of the biggest regular season road victories in the Ravens history! I am so stoked about this victory that I can't sleep if I tried. So many great things to say about this team, especially the offense. We all knew the defense would be tough and we kept them pretty much out of the end zone other than the first quarter TD off of Flacco's fumble until the fourth quarter was half over.

Tony Romo looked bewildered and like a deer frozen in headlights! TO never got untracked and if not for Witten, they might have lost even worse. All we heard was how great their defense had been playing and how challenged our offense was. Fans over at Blogging the Boys thought we might not even score against them. Here at the Beatdown, we were worried that our FG's would not be enough because we were missing the TD opportunities in the Red Zone. We still have Red Zone issues, so we decided to score from well outside the 20 yard line.

McGahee and McClain's TD runs were so incredible that not once, but twice we ran for long TD's when our backs were pushed up against the wall after Dallas tried to make a game of it late in the fourth quarter. Twice, the Ravens offensive line opened huge gashes in the supposedly unpenetratable Dallas defense and the game was over. Don't lie to me, both times we kept looking at the clock and prayed that the defense was not going into their prevent mode, rushing only three and sitting back until we lost another close one. I couldn't have handled another last minute meltdown. Thankfully, we responded in a huge way that sealed the deal.

Who do we look at for the key to victory? Cam Cameron called a masterful game. Derrick Mason proved he was a warrior and left it all out on the field. Who else stepped up? Punter Sam Koch kicked the hell out of the ball all night and ran like a fullback on that fake punt. Who else, I could go on all night but I won't. I'll have to leave that to another post, and you all can debate that here under the comments. I'm too fried to write any more and will post again in the morning.

Great, great win for a incredible season that will continue into January. Can you believe it? Do YOU believe in miracles? YES!

With a playoff spot at stake, the Ravens travel into the home of what used to be called "America's Team" to take on the NFC East 2007 Champion Dallas Cowboys. While the Cowboys may no longer be the unanimous choice for the moniker of "America's Team," they are still one of the most popular and certainly one of the better teams in the NFL. However, they play in what also might be the toughest division in the league, which should either keep them sharp for their out of conference games, or wear them down due to the brawls.

Depending on where you stand, this is either a benefit or danger to the Ravens. Regardless of which, don't expect the Ravens to waltz into Dallas and emerge with a victory over a very good Cowboys team. The Ravens may have still be a contender for the Wild Card positions, but they ain't ready to roll with the big boys on the road, as their modest four game winning streak comes to a screeching halt.

The Cowboys have way too many weapons, although I still don't see this game as a blowout. Dallas might have TO, Romo, Marion Barber, Jason Witten plus others on offense, but they still haven't played a defense like the Ravens, who just won't roll over and quit. At the same time, the 'boys should be able to put enough points on the board with this offense to keep the Ravens from making it a close game.

Offensively, the Ravens will have to rely on short passes and the running game, while at some point way too early for this offense, be forced to go to the pass in order to try to keep up with the Cowboys on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, that is where the game gets out of hand, as the Ravens are still not a good enough offense, much less passing team to rely on the arm of Troy Smith (or Flacco, or even Boller) to play catch up.

After a bruising loss to a tough, athletic and veteran Dallas squad, the Ravens will limp home still in playoff contention. Their hopes of playing in the post season now rest on a win against a real tough Jacksonville team while also having to rely on other teams' losing in order to squeak into the playoffs.

Cowboys: 27  Ravens: 13

Season Record:  9-6