Ravens vs. Cowboys: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 Regular Season

With quarterback Tony Romo active for the first time all season, all eyes were on rookie signal-caller Dak Prescott to see if he'd crack under the pressure.

In a word: nope.

Prescott threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns, two going to Dez Bryant, as the Dallas Cowboys pulled away in the second half for a 27-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

The Cowboys have won nine consecutive games since an opening-week loss to the New York Giants. They are the NFL's lone one-loss team and are on their way to becoming the first team to clinch a playoff berth.

Shea Serrano of The Ringer still isn't ready for the new reality:

Prescott, a fourth-round pick who was the eighth quarterback taken in April's draft, again looked like one of the best quarterbacks in football. He completed 27 of his 36 passes, with eight Cowboys posting at least one reception. With Ezekiel Elliott, who recorded 97 yards on 25 carries, (relatively) bottled up, the offense was in Prescott's hands for almost the entire game.

In the first half, that did not look promising. The Cowboys offense stalled through the entire first quarter and much of the second, failing to score until there were just six minutes remaining in the first half. 

After Prescott's touchdown strike to wideout Cole Beasley, though, the Dallas offense returned to being a well-oiled machine.

Prescott spearheaded an excellent two-minute drill at the end of the second quarter, setting up a Dan Bailey field goal to send the teams into the halftime break tied at 10-10, and then Dallas opened a two-touchdown lead on the back of extended scoring drives.

Prescott and Bryant connected for their first touchdown of the day to cap off a 10-play, 92-yard drive in the third quarter. Their second hookup ended a 13-play, 88-yard drive in the fourth.

Skip Bayless of Fox Sports 1 was impressed following the second touchdown:

Dallas held possession for more than 35 minutes, including 6:26 on a critical final drive that allowed the Cowboys to seal the game with a field goal.

Nowhere to be found was Romo, who was active for the first time in the 2016 regular season after missing the first nine games with a back injury. The four-time Pro Bowler was confined to clipboard duty.

Fox Sports put together a video portraying the situation in everyday terms:

With the Ravens defense struggling to get off the field, there wasn't much time for their offense to operate. Quarterback Joe Flacco threw for 269 yards and a touchdown, with Steve Smith Sr. showing up for another ageless performance. Smith hauled in eight passes for 99 yards and a score in one of his best games of the season.

Smith also became the 14th player in NFL history to record 1,000 receptions. ESPN's NFL Twitter feed has a theory as to how he's reached that pinnacle:

Mike Wallace added five receptions for 62 yards, while Terrance West served as Baltimore's leading rusher with 42 yards and a score.

If there was any prevailing theme of the afternoon for the Ravens, it was their propensity for shooting themselves in the foot. They committed 12 penalties for 136 yards, digging too deep of a hole against one of the NFL's best teams.

The Cowboys extended multiple drives on Ravens gaffes, and Baltimore saw some of its own promising treks cut short as a result of mental errors.

Dallas, by contrast, committed only five penalties for 45 yards.

The Ravens' loss dropped them into a tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC North lead at 5-5. They'll host a 3-6 Cincinnati Bengals team that may be weakened by the loss of star wide receiver A.J. Green (hamstring) next Sunday.

The Cowboys will look to win their 10th straight game when they host Washington on Thanksgiving. 

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Postgame Reaction

Bryant discussed the team's support of Prescott with reporters: "We're gonna continue to keep following that guy, and I wouldn't say he had a bad quarter because he didn't. The way he adjusts and the way he handles business, it says a lot about him." 

Flacco talked to reporters about the Cowboys' second-half success: "They scored every time they had the ball. In that kind of game, we've got to do the same thing."

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones resisted Super Bowl talk: "I can hang my hat on this little thing called nine wins in a row."

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.