The last time the Dallas Cowboys took the field, quarterback Tony Romo threw five interceptions and they were beaten soundly by the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football.
That 34-18 defeat is a distant memory now for the Cowboys (2-2), who had a bye week to shake off the loss and get healthy for Sunday's game against the Ravens.
"We had a week to recoup, refresh, regroup," Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr said after Monday’s practice. "I felt like we were refreshed, guys had a sense of urgency."
The Ravens are looking to hand the Cowboys their third-straight loss coming off a bye. Dallas is 0-1 after the bye week under Head Coach Jason Garrett, who is in his second full season as the team's coach. Historically, the Cowboys are 16-7 following the bye week, which is the second-best mark in the NFL since the bye week was instituted in 1990.
Every team handles their bye week differently, but the Cowboys decided to give the players off last week before holding practice again Monday to fully start the week of preparation.
"Sometimes it's good to get away," Garrett said. "We've been a team that's been banged up, like most teams around the league, and the bye week gives you a chance to heal up a little bit, get refreshed."
This year's bye week came at a much-needed time for the Cowboys, who used the extra rest to get a couple of critical players back on the field. Pro Bowl nose tackle Jay Ratliff is expected to play Sunday after missing the first four games with a high ankle sprain, and outside linebacker Anthony Spencer has returned to practice after sitting out the Week 4 game with a pectoral injury.
The good news for the Ravens is that they are also healthy heading into the game. Baltimore had only two players listed on the injury report going into last week's game and did not report any new injuries after the game.
The official injury report for both teams will be released around 4 p.m. Wednesday.
