OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Based on the Baltimore Ravens' weightlifting feats, no one is surprised their run defense is anxious to flex its muscles against NFL leading rusher Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

"They’re the best and we’re the best, and somebody is going to come out on top," Ravens nose tackle Brandon Williams said. "Why wouldn’t you look forward to a game like this? We can’t wait."

The Cowboys top the NFL with 161 yards rushing per game, churning out big gains with Elliott and a relentless offensive line. The Ravens are the No. 1 run defense with 71.3 yards rushing allowed, and it all starts with their 679-pound wall.

Defensive tackles Brandon Williams (340 pounds) and Michael Pierce (339) are massive. They're prideful overachievers. And they're powerful.

Pierce has squatted 725 pounds. Williams has squatted a teammate during a game.

Last week, Williams was messing around in practice and lifted safety Eric Weddle for a set of five. Then, late in the Ravens' 28-7 win over Cleveland, Williams decided to celebrate when he saw he was standing next to the 195-pound Weddle.

"I asked him, 'Hey, mind if I get another set?,'" Williams said. "He’s like, 'Hell yeah!'"

Williams wins on creativity. Pierce wins on pure awe.

Thursday night's national broadcast showed footage of Pierce squatting the equivalent of almost four Eric Weddles last year at Samford.

"I think I could do a little more," Pierce said. "At Samford, honestly they cut me off for health reasons. I didn’t have a belt."

Their exploits in the weight room translate onto the field. To hold up against double-teams, Williams and Pierce sink their hips and rely on the powerful base they built up in the offseason. Their legs become anchors in the ground as they occupy blockers and free up linebackers C.J. Mosley and Zachary Orr.

The domination of Williams and Pierce shows up in the numbers (which come compliments of ESPN Stats & Information):

The Ravens have held teams to 2.5 yards per carry in the 77 running plays with both Williams and Pierce on the field.

Baltimore has given up 3.5 yards per carry on the 96 running plays when either Williams or Pierce are off the field.

The Ravens have allowed 5.8 yards per carry on the 20 plays with Williams and Pierce both on the sideline.

It would be an oversimplification to label the Ravens' dynamic run-stopping duo as space-eaters.

"They’re two big guys, but they’re two big guys that are really excellent athletes," coach John Harbaugh said. "They’re in great shape. They’re explosive. They play hard. They use their hands really well. They can get off blocks."

Williams and Pierce are the Ravens' first line of defense Sunday, when the Ravens face their biggest challenge of the season. Elliott is averaging 111.7 yards per game, which is 18.7 yards more than anyone else in the NFL.

Much of Elliott's success comes up the gut of the defense. He has gained 72.6 percent of his yards in between the tackles.

"He’s a really good back. He’s proven that he can do it," Williams said. "My biggest thing is his power comes from his offensive line. It’s kind of like, cut the head of the snake."

The Ravens have heard all week about how the Cowboys have the best offensive line in the NFL. Dallas' front certainly has a pedigree, with three first-round picks (left tackle Tyron Smith, center Travis Frederick and right guard Zack Martin) who come from big-name schools like USC, Wisconsin and Notre Dame.

It's a stark contrast to the Ravens' defensive line. Williams is a third-round pick from Division II Missouri Southern State, and Pierce is an undrafted rookie out of Samford.

"It’s best on best. It doesn’t matter what school you came from," Pierce said. "For me and Brandon, we’re just trying to prove our worth. We want to show we’re one of the most dominant fronts in the league."

Stopping the run is not only a source of pride with the Ravens. It's become tradition.

Since the franchise moved to Baltimore in 1996, the Ravens have never allowed an opponent to average more than four yards per carry in any of their 20 seasons, which is an NFL record.

The names up front have changed over the years, from Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams (2000-01) to Haloti Ngata and Kelly Gregg (2006-10) to Williams and Pierce. The staggering low rushing totals, however, have remained the same.

"That’s who we are," Williams said. "That’s our standard is stopping the run. You don’t become a Raven if you don’t know how to stop the run."