Fantastic game…frustrating ending. That’s how I’d sum up the Dallas Cowboys’ trip to Maracana Stadium in Rio De Janeiro. The Baltimore Ravens beat the Cowboys 34-31 on a 56 yard FG from Tyler Loop as time expired. Dallas falls to 1-2 and will take on Houston this Sunday.
WHAT A WIN!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/bhYNVlGAsi
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 27, 2026
The Cowboys had every chance to score a TD on their final drive of this game. Dallas drove from their own 35 to the Baltimore 2 yard line, but after an incompletion, a false start, a 2 yard scramble by Dak Prescott, and then a perplexing throwaway, the Cowboys settled for a chip shot FG to tie the game at 31. On the ensuing kickoff, with :07 left in regulation, Dallas chose to kick deep rather than keep it in the field of play, which would have allowed time to come off the clock. On first down, Lamar Jackson found Zay Flowers for a 27 yard gain over the middle, and after a Ravens timeout, Loop banged through the winning kick.
WALKOFF WINNER FOR TYLER LOOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MORE HIGHLIGHTS https://t.co/CLXPfDU5iM pic.twitter.com/jFcNrts8u4
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 27, 2026
Lot to break down here. First of all, if you have the ball at the 2 yard line, with all of the talent on offense, you have to find a way to score. The false start can’t happen. The play everyone is talking about is the 3rd down incompletion that was thrown in the direction of a wide open George Pickens. Watching it live, Prescott threw the ball so high, my first thought was, “was he trying to throw it away?” Pickens was clearly open, and I couldn’t believe Prescott missed him by as much as he did. After the game, head coach Brian Schottenheimer took the blame, saying he told Prescott to throw the ball away so as to avoid a turnover and assure them of the FG that would tie the game. I’ve also read that Schottenheimer told Prescott to either hit the open man or throw it away, and Schottenheimer said he gave Prescott “a word,” and he regretted using that word because he felt that it took Prescott’s aggressiveness away. Schottenheimer declined to specify what that word was, but as a wise coach often told me, “never coach caution into good players.” No matter what the communication actually was, the bottom line is that the Cowboys didn’t execute when they had a golden chance to take the lead.
What happened on the third-down pass from Dak Prescott to George Pickens with 14 seconds left?
“I was throwing it away,” Prescott said.
With no timeouts, Brian Schottenheimer didn’t want a sack, which would have either ended the game or forced the Cowboys to scramble in…
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) September 28, 2026
I didn’t have a huge issue with kicking deep for the touchback, even though you’d like to trust Brandon Aubrey to keep the ball in the field of play, which he had failed to do twice in this game. Under no circumstances can you allow Flowers to get that open, that far down the field, in that amount of time. Complete situational breakdown; can’t happen. Credit the Ravens for executing situationally, including Loop for nailing the kick. Even though the game was tied, which takes a little bit of pressure away, it’s still a 56 yarder on an unfamiliar playing surface. Can’t take that for granted.
Dallas is still struggling defensively, as they allowed 192 rushing yards on 38 carries. There were some bright spots, including stopping the Ravens twice on fourth down runs, once on the second drive of the game, which set the Cowboys up for a 30 yard TD drive, and once on 4th and goal at the 1, which preceded a 96 yard TD drive that gave Dallas a 28-24 lead in the 4th quarter. Jaishawn Barham made that stop, one of his 7 tackles and 2 tackles for loss. Barham has been playing more with DeMarvion Overshown’s injury, but even when Overshown returns, Barham still needs to be on the field more. We’re only 3 games into his rookie season, but the 3rd round pick out of Michigan has shown a lot of promise throughout training camp, the preseason, and early in the regular season.
BIG PLAY BY @JaishawnBarham 😤
📺: #BALvsDAL on CBS
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/XM2vIx7C1d pic.twitter.com/UceWBRVIEb— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 27, 2026
The Cowboys got their own running game going in this one, as they ran for 148 yards on 30 carries, with Javonte Williams carrying 19 times for 98 yards and a TD. If Dallas can continue to improve rushing the football, it will unlock everything for them offensively. CeeDee Lamb caught 7 passes for 112 yards and Pickens caught 7 for 82.
CEEDEE LAMB 💿🐑 #DallasCowboys | @_CeeDeeThree
📺: #BALvsDAL on CBS
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/XM2vIx7C1d pic.twitter.com/HEf3q0Yffx— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 27, 2026
Up next, the Cowboys visit the struggling Houston Texans Sunday at Noon on FOX. Houston is 0-3, and while there’s no shame in losing to Buffalo in Week 1, the Texans only scored 6 in their loss to Cincinnati and 17 in last week’s loss at Indianapolis. Houston is only averaging around 3 1/2 yards per carry and WR Nico Collins has missed the last 2 games with a Grade 1 hamstring strain. Collins’ availability is a massive key to this game. The Texans are 30th in the league in rushing, so Dallas better show improvement stopping the run this week. Houston still has a lot of talent on defense, as LB Azeez Al-Shaair is 4th in the NFL in tackles and DE Will Anderson Jr. is tied for second in the league with 4 sacks. The Texans are desperate and the Cowboys need to be, because a 1-3 start would be difficult to overcome.
Houston 27 Dallas 24
Matt Meyer
@Bluto51
Join HC Brian Schottenheimer from the @thestarinfrisco for a press conference presented by North Texas Ford Dealers.
Up Next 📺: #DALvsHOU 10/4 on FOX
#DallasCowboys | @ntxford https://t.co/tjMkrcjSDv— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 29, 2026
