BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Total domination.
The Baltimore Ravens turned in another overpowering defensive effort and rookie Jamal Lewis rushed for a season-high 187 yards in a 27-0 blanking of the Dallas Cowboys.
While their offense has sputtered for much of the season, the Ravens' defense has been among the best in the league and lived up to that billing again today. Baltimore recorded its fourth shutout this season, the most since the Pittsburgh Steelers had five in the 1976 season.
"Obviously it's a helluva win for us," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "This was substantial meaning that's a worthy opponent for us to win in the dominating fashion that we did. It says something about us. They have stood for excellence for so long. It was a very nice night for us and the shutout made it better."
Today, the Ravens totally manhandled a depleted Cowboys offense from the start, holding them to nine first downs and 179 yards.
"That was a rough day at the office. Their defense did a great job right from the start," Cowboys coach Dave Campo said. "We didn't have ball enough offensively, the defense wore us down, and we just didn't play well."
Dallas (4-7) held the ball for just over 20 minutes and was shut out for the first time since a 24-0 loss to Philadelphia on September 15, 1991 -- a span of 151 games. The Cowboys were last blanked on the road in a 15-0 defeat to the New York Giants on December 16, 1989
Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman completed 19-of-33 passes for 138 yards and was intercepted three times.
"That's an awfully good group but I don't think that anybody is so good in this league that you shouldn't be able to go down and score some points," Aikman said. "That's a reflection on how we played. We shot ourself in the foot today. They played aggressively. They had a tremendous game. We didn't move the ball today. That was the difference."
The first running back selected in the draft, Lewis battled through injuries early in the season and has been coming on of late. Today, he had his coming out party.
Lewis carried 28 times en route to his best day as a pro and has 488 yards rushing over the last four games.
"The game plan was to just pound the ball," Lewis said. "I just played my part. I did what I was coached to do this week. I was patient and ran behind my line. I'm worn out, I'm tired right now but winning this game makes it worth it."
"He keeps growing and growing. I keep waiting for the freshman slump to come and it hasn't," added Billick. "He exceeded my expectations today."
Behind Lewis, the Ravens rushed for a club-record 250 yards. Priest Holmes added 64 yards on 13 attempts, including a five-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
"That's America's Team and we beat them pretty good," said a smiling Lewis.
Cowboys outspoken owner Jerry Jones was not pleased with his club's performance afterwards.
"From a standpoint, this was very embarrassing," Jones said. "Not being able to contain their offense was stunning. They ran at will today. We have to correct this. We will correct this. Teams like to play us, they like to compete with us and they love to beat us, but not like today. This is very embarrassing."
Trent Dilfer threw touchdown passes of 40 yards to Qadry Ismail in the first quarter and 59 yards to tight end Shannon Sharpe in the third quarter for Baltimore, which produced 479 total yards.
Baltimore (8-4) remained 1 1/2 games behind first-place Tennessee (9-2) in the AFC Central.
The Ravens established their dominance from the very start, not looking anything like a team that went five games without a touchdown earlier this season.
Dilfer, in his fourth start since replacing Tony Banks, capped a seven-play, 80-yard drive with a 40-yard scoring strike to Ismail. Lewis carried four times for 29 yards on the drive.
Baltimore's second drive resembled its first, with the only difference being a field goal. Lewis accounted for 35 yards on the nine-play, 50-yard march that ended with Matt Stover kicking a 25-yard field goal with 5:02 left in the opening quarter.
The Cowboys ran just six plays from scrimmage in the first quarter and totaled 13 yards. Dallas did not get its initial first down until there was 8:49 remaining until halftime.
Smith was held in check for the second straight week and carried 11 times for 48 yards. He rushed for 16 yards on 17 attempts in last week's win over Cincinnati.
"They deserve it. That's why they are the No. 1 defense," Smith said. "We kept trying things today and they didn't work. We couldn't maintain any running game. Give their defense the credit."
Veteran cornerback Rod Woodson set up the Ravens' third score, when he intercepted Aikman at the Baltimore 33 with 4:40 remaining before halftime. It was Woodson's 58th career interception, tying him with Emmitt Thomas for eighth place on the all-time list.
"We played well. They had a good offense. They moved the ball on us a little bit and every time we came up with a big play," Woodson said. "A great defense is a very good offense."
Four plays after the interception, Dilfer found Sharpe with a 59-yard TD pass to make it 17-0 with 2:07 left before the break. Sharpe had five receptions for 101 yards.
Dilfer, who won his eighth straight start in November, completed 18-of-24 passes for 242 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Following a scoreless third quarter, Stover kicked a 19-yard field goal midway through the final period before Holmes sealed the win with a five-yard run with 3:52 remaining.
