Baltimore Ravens

Ravens at Cowboys: 3 things we learned

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon, 27-17. Here are the three biggest takeaways from this Week 11 NFL game.

The Dallas Cowboys are on fire, winning their ninth straight game of the season. Dallas held on at home to defeat the Baltimore Ravens, 27-17 on Sunday afternoon. The Cowboys improve to 9-1 on the year, while the Ravens fall to 5-5 on the season.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Cowboys’ 27-17 Week 11 win over the Ravens.

1. Maybe only three teams in the NFC can beat the Cowboys come playoff time. Not sure any of them will.

At 9-1, the Cowboys are going to make the NFC Playoffs, presumably by winning the NFC East and getting home field advantage. While there isn’t a perfect team in the NFL, Dallas is an outstanding one at that.

Looking at the rest of the NFC, there are only maybe three teams in the NFC that can beat them come playoff time. There is a good chance that Dallas ends up winning the NFC. The only teams that can beat Dallas in the NFC Playoffs are the Atlanta Falcons, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Washington Redskins for different reasons.

Atlanta can put up points like Dallas can, maybe eking one out in a dome shootout of sorts. Seattle has the defensive personnel to beat anybody, including Dallas. Washington is interesting because the Redskins rarely go three and out and a terrific against divisional rivals like the Cowboys.

Overall, we should expect to see the Cowboys host the Seahawks for the 2016 NFC Championship Game. Dallas can beat anybody, but only a select few in the NFC have the personnel to challenge the Cowboys.

2. We’re going to really miss Steve Smith Sr. when he retires.

He’s not going to play forever, but Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith continues to play at an elite level in the twilight of his Pro Football Hall of Fame worthy NFL career. Smith became the 13th player in NFL history with 1,000 career receptions on Sunday against the Cowboys.

His 999th was a thing of beauty: a toe-tap on a full extension grab for first down on a third and long. It was so impressive that Smith gave a joyful smile to Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett on the sidelines. Even Garrett snickered a bit.

Smith may never end up winning a Super Bowl, but his willpower and grit has made him a future Pro Football Hall of Famer. He’s not a first ballot guy because of the logjam associated with the wide receiver position for Canton enshrinement. Football is not going to be the same when Smith hangs up the spikes for good.

3. Prescott many not have a stereotypical rookie game this season.

When is it going to happen?: the Dak Prescott proves he is still a rookie game. Though he looked dreadful for the first three quarters against the Philadelphia Eagles a few weeks ago, Prescott may not be a rookie anymore. That game is not coming.

Prescott completed 27 of 36 passes for 301 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He’s more than a game manager at this point of his rookie season, but playing within Scott Linehan’s offensive system has made him almost incapable of making rookie mistakes.

The offensive line and star rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott absolutely help, but Prescott is seriously forcing his way into the NFL MVP conversation. Tony Romo is going to be on clipboard duty the rest of the season. Prescott is the present and future for Dallas at quarterback. We’ve never seen a rookie signal caller play this efficiently before. It is a delight watch every Sunday.

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