The Baltimore Ravens escaped their Week 3 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys with a 34-31 victory thanks to some late heroics by several key players. Here are Baltimore Beatdown’s game balls coming out of Brazil:
Tyler Loop
Take a bow, Tyler Loop. Eight-and-a-half months after he ended the Ravens’ 2025 season with a heartbreaking miss and nudged the franchise towards their offseason overhaul, the second-year kicker got a second chance at immortality – this time, from 56 yards, the second-longest attempt of his young
career. Again, Loop was asked to follow up a miraculous Lamar Jackson completion, only adding to the pressure as he trotted out on the field. But he fired away from the left hash and kept the football just inside the upright before sprinting down the field with his teammates in a euphoric celebration that will likely continue through the entire flight home. Loop’s Week 1 performance already inspired plenty of confidence in a bounce-back campaign, and his blocked kick in Week 2 was not exactly his fault, either. But his first career game-winner will finally and fully invite him back into Ravens fans’ good graces. – Nikhil Mehta
Lamar Jackson
The Ravens offense stumbled through the first half before hitting the big red button labeled ‘LAMAR JACKSON’S LEGS – PRESS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY.’ From there, the greatest offensive weapon in the history of football took over. His deep ball wasn’t perfect on Sunday – it was still good enough to draw multiple defensive pass interference flags – but he peppered the middle of the field and moved the ball with on the ground as needed. And of course, he threw an absolute frozen rope to Zay Flowers to set up Loop’s game-winning field goal – with the wherewithal to call a timeout before the clock hit 0:00. This game proved that the Ravens can win any game with their two-time MVP under center. – Nikhil Mehta
Zay Flowers
In a game many, including myself, questioned if he should even be playing, Zay Flowers balled out. Between the hamstring injury that’s plagued him for a couple weeks, the poor field conditions in Rio and limited practice during the week, it seemed apparent Flowers wouldn’t play. Instead, a report came out late Saturday night that Flowers planned to test his hamstring in warmup and could potentailly go. He got the gameday activation then casually lead the lead with 84 yards on five catches, including catching the missile launched from Lamar Jackson to set the Ravens’ game winning field goal. The Ravens likely don’t come close to winning this game if he doesn’t play. – Zach Canter
Keondre Jackson
The Ravens only had a chance to win Sunday’s game because of a Baltimore classic in the third quarter: a blocked field goal. With an assist from Chandler Rivers, whose incredible jump off the edge opened a hole, Keondre Jackson sliced through the line of scrimmage and got a full extension in front of Brandon Aubrey – one of the NFL’s best kickers in recent memory – to block his 59-yard attempt. After a rough week, Jackson’s block and Loop’s clutch kick represent a major turnaround for Anthony Levine Sr.’s special teams units. – Nikhil Mehta
Vega Ioane
In hindsight, this was a disaster waiting to happen. The Ravens only kept two centers on their 53-man roster and lost Corey Bullock to the Panthers on waivers during final cuts without another option on the practice squad. So of course, Jovaughn Gwyn and Ethan Pocic would go down in the second half of the same game and force first-round pick Vega Ioane to move from right guard to center with the game on the line. He only lined up at center a handful of times in college, all in 2024, but he got his snaps off without issue and did just enough to hold down the fort. Is Ioane the plan for the Ravens going forward, or will offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and OL coach Dwyane Ledford have to cook up yet another solution? – Nikhil Mehta
