OWINGS MILLS - Exploiting a hole on the left side of the Kansas City Chiefs' defense, Ravens running back Ray Rice darted down the sideline for a 37-yard gain.
While Baltimore struggled to throw the ball against a physical and aggressive Chiefs defense, Rice and the running game had success.
Rice ran for a season-best 102 yards on 17 carries, averaging six yards per carry.
The Ravens will hope for similar success Sunday against a comparable defense in the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys are the NFL's top-ranked team against the pass and have one of the league's top pass rushers in outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, but their run defense has been average through the early part of the season.
Dallas is ranked 15th in the NFL against the run.
"We saw we could take advantage of [Kansas City's] aggressiveness, and we see that in Dallas as well," Baltimore tight end Ed Dickson said. "If those [outside linebackers] are just jetting upfield, we can get some of those inside runs. And when they start keying in on those inside runs, we can get to the outside on them. We can use their aggressiveness against them, and that's what we had seen in Kansas City and used that at times."
But the Cowboys' rush defense has stiffened in recent weeks.
After allowing New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw (78 yards, one touchdown) and Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (122 yards, one touchdown) to rush for a combined 200 yards and two scores during its first two games of the season, Dallas hasn't allowed more than 52 yards to an opposing ball-carrier in either of its last two games.
"They're just as good in their run defense, in my opinion, as they are in their pass defense," Dickson said, later adding, "We're going to try to make it more balanced, so that they're not keying in on whether we're going to run the ball or pass the ball."
Dallas middle linebacker Sean Lee leads the NFL in tackles per game (11.75).
"They're physical against the run," Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta said. "They've got linebackers that fly around, run well and make a lot of plays. They're just overall a very good defense."
