The Baltimore Ravens will be playing overseas for the third time in franchise history and the first since 2023 this upcoming Sunday, when they travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to take on the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3.

Coming off a disappointing home-opening loss in Week 2, where they let the New Orleans Saints score 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to complete their rally, the Ravens are currently tied for the second-best record in the AFC North division, behind only the 2-0 Cincinnati Bengals.

There are several intriguing storylines surrounding this interconference matchup between these two teams. Here are the top four.

Nnamdi Madubuike is finally poised to make long-awaited return

The healthy status and availability of the Ravens' two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle have been a staple on this list in each of the first two weeks of the regular season. He missed the final 15 games of last season with a severe neck injury that required surgery to address so that he could eventually resume his career.

That time appears to be upon us at long last after Madubuike was officially listed as a full participant on the Ravens' initial injury report on Wednesday. Even though he has yet to miss a single practice since the regular season started, he was limited in each of the previous six sessions until now, signaling that he could finally be making his 2026 debut on the international stage.

When healthy, the seventh-year veteran is one of the most potent and disruptive interior pass rushers in the league, with 21 sacks in his last 36 games. Through the first couple of games, the Ravens haven't been able to generate consistent pressure up the middle from the trenches, with no sacks and no quarterback hits recorded by any of their defensive linemen. Adding Madubuike back into the mix could change that quick, fast and in a hurry, especially against a veteran quarterback like Dak Prescott, who prefers to stay in the pocket to deliver the ball.

Who else could be in or out?

Madubuike was one of nine players listed on the Ravens' injury report for non-rest-related reasons. Joining him as a full participant for the first time after missing the first two games while still ramping up from a significant injury was second-year inside linebacker Teddye Buchanan, who missed the final three games of his rookie campaign after suffering a torn ACL. The team has been overly cautious with both players during their respective gradual ramp-ups, but the reason neither was placed on injured reserve to open the season was that the team believed both would be ready to go within the first four weeks, and they appear to be on the trajectory to meet that expectation this weekend.

On a more concerning note, two of the Ravens' most important players on the other side of the ball were not practicing, as neither two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers (hamstring) nor two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley (toe) were present on the practice field, which doesn't bode well for their availability for this week's game. Flowers missed the home opener, and the offense hasn't looked the same without him in the lineup since he exited the first half of the season opener after an explosive first two quarters of the season. Stanley left last week's game in the final two minutes of the third quarter and didn't return.

As much as the Ravens want to bounce back from last week's loss with this next game, risking the long-term health of two of their most integral offensive starters dealing with lower-extremity injuries in an international interconference game is not worth it. Four-time Pro Bowl edge defender Trey Hendrickson also didn't practice with a finger injury that kept him out of a couple of practices last week but not the game, and that will likely be the case once again this week.

How will the defense respond to an uneven performance?

A lot of talk surrounding the team's new-look defensive unit under head coach and play-caller Jesse Minter coming out of the Saints' loss has been about a lack of identity on that side of the ball. However, Ravens football has historically been all about being fast, physical and flying to the football, especially on defense.

If more players at all three levels did more of what this unit has always been about last week, instead of missing tackles and not coming downhill with authority to limit checkdowns and underneath passes to minimal gains, they'd be entering this game 2-0 instead of at .500. Going up against a far more experienced quarterback than Tyler Shough in this matchup, with better weapons, the Ravens can't afford to repeat the same mistakes.

Forcing turnovers and being more aggressive in both play-calling and execution will be key to limiting the impact of the Cowboys' explosive aerial attack. The pass rush and coverage units will need to play in more unison for four quarters, but especially in the fourth quarter. In the last meeting between these two teams in 2024, Prescott nearly led the Cowboys back from a double-digit second-half deficit, but the Ravens managed to hold on for a three-point road victory.

Will the offense bounce back and lean into strengths?

With both Flowers' and Stanley's availability for this game in question, if not outright doubt, the Ravens and first-year offensive coordinator Declan Doyle will likely have to find a way to prevail without them. Doing so will likely require some key adjustments in strategy and personnel usage.

They can't afford to not give the ball to future Hall of Fame running back Derrick Henry early and often and especially in key situations such as short yardage on either side of the field. Making sure two-time MVP-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson presents a rushing threat in such situations will only increase their odds of converting them as well.

In Flowers' absence, veteran Rashod Bateman stepped up in a significant way as the Ravens' de facto No. 1 wideout and had his most productive game in over a year with seven catches for 88 receiving yards and a touchdown. However, they didn't give their young, talented pass catchers enough opportunities to rise to the occasion. Third-year receiver Devontez was only targeted twice and he came down with a 47-yard bomb on one of them against the Saints.

Fourth-round rookie Elijah Sarratt might as well have been a healthy scratch again since he didn't see a single snap on offense, while they relied too heavily on 11th-year veteran Chris Moore. Flipping the script and spreading the wealth among the youngsters and getting rookie tight end Matt Hibner more involved could help them generate the high clip of explosive plays they could when Flowers was in the lineup.

How will Ravens adjust to travel?

The team is heading out Thursday night and arriving in Brazil on Friday morning, so that they have at least two days of normal practice schedules before spending the rest of their time in Brazil recovering from the 10-plus hours of travel and preparing for the game.

After seeing the disaster that deciding not to leave until the last minute ended for the prohibitive preseason Super Bowl favorite Los Angeles Rams, this strategy by the Ravens seems like a sound one. Given that they'll be flying during the time that players would normally be sleeping, and that Rio de Janeiro is only an hour ahead of East Coast Time in North America, recovering from the flight is more important than suffering from any kind of jet lag.

Coming into this game off a loss might be a blessing in disguise for the Ravens. After seeing that the ghosts of past failures can't still haunt them if they're not dialed in on the details, they now appear to have a steely-eyed focus heading into this matchup against a quality opponent who might be riding a little high after notching their first win over a divisional opponent last week.