Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott, center, is brought down by a host of Baltimore Ravens defenders during the second half Tuesday in Baltimore. Nick Wass/Associated Press
BALTIMORE — Lamar Jackson ran for 94 yards and a touchdown as the focal point of a relentless rushing attack that amassed 294 yards, and the Baltimore Ravens emerged from a COVID-19 outbreak to beat the Dallas Cowboys 34-17 on Tuesday night.
Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson runs for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday in Baltimore. Nick Wass/Associated Press
Returning from a one-game absence after testing positive for the potentially deadly virus, Jackson carried 13 times and threw for two scores. He was one of 23 Ravens to spend time on the reserve/COVID-19 list while four different strains of the virus swept through the organization.
The game was played on Tuesday night because Baltimore’s previous game – against Pittsburgh last Wednesday – was pushed back three times while the Ravens had at least one player test positive for 10 consecutive days.
Gus Edwards ran for 101 yards on just seven carries and rookie J.K. Dobbins – who also missed time on the COVID-19 list – added 71 yards rushing with a TD to help Baltimore (7-5) break a three-game skid and stay alive in its quest to reach the postseason for a third straight year.
Dallas came in with the worst rush defense in the league, and it showed. The Ravens averaged 7.9 yards per carry and prevailed despite getting only 107 yards passing from Jackson.
The last-place Cowboys (3-9) have lost six of seven. Andy Dalton went 31 for 48 for 285 yards and two touchdowns, and Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 77 yards. But Greg Zuerlein missed three field goal tries and Dallas yielded 20 straight points after taking an early 10-7 lead.
On his first series since Nov. 22, Jackson threw a pass that was tipped and intercepted. That led to a Dallas field goal, but Jackson answered with a 37-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-2 play.
Tony Pollard took the subsequent kickoff 66 yards to set up a 13-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to Michael Gallup. It would be the last time Dallas led.
An interception by rookie Patrick Queen set up a 38-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Miles Boykin for a 14-10 lead.
Jackson’s second TD pass of the game, a 20-yarder in the third quarter to Marquise Brown, made it 24-10.
BALTIMORE RECEIVER Dez Bryant was scratched from Tuesday night’s game against his former team after apparently testing positive for COVID-19.
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Dez Bryant works out prior to a game against Dallas on Tuesday. Bryant was pulled from the game because of a positive test for COVID-19. Nick Wass/Associated Press
Bryant left the field in the middle of warming up with the team, and the Ravens announced less than an hour before their game against Dallas that Bryant was scratched with an illness.
Bryant wrote on Twitter: “Tell me why they pull me from warming up so I can go get tested… my (expletive) come back positive… I tested positive for Covid …”
Later, he posted: “Yea I’m going to go ahead and call it a quit for the rest of the season… I can’t deal with this.”
Bryant, 32, played eight years for Dallas before being cut in April 2018. He latched on with the Ravens in October and was looking forward to facing his former team for the first time.
The Ravens appeared to be past an outbreak of COVID-19 that caused 23 players to be placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson was activated Monday, along with several other players.
The NFL said that no Ravens players were identified as high-risk close contacts.
“Contact tracing was conducted from yesterday and today using the contact tracing device and the standard interviews. There were no high-risk contacts identified,” an NFL spokesperson said. “This is a scenario that had been contemplated during the development of the protocols and one the league, clubs and NFLPA planned for. The protocols worked.”
Bryant, wearing a neck gaiter pulled up above his nose, was on the field at M&T Bank Stadium catching passes hours before his highly anticipated reunion with Dallas, where he spent the first eight seasons of his career and became the franchise’s all-time leader in touchdown catches. He was not with the team during pregame warmups.
However, Bryant was photographed greeting several Cowboys players on the field. He later questioned the NFL on Twitter about why the game was allowed to take place on schedule.
“Since I tested positive for Covid before the game do the game stop or go on? @NFL,” he wrote.
NOTES: Baltimore’s Justin Tucker missed a 36-yard field goal in the second quarter, ending his NFL-record run of 70 straight successful field goals from inside 40 yards. … The Ravens have rushed for 100 yards in 35 straight games, third-longest streak in NFL history. … Baltimore has won nine straight over NFC foes, the longest active streak for one team against the other conference.
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