Football is all about momentum. Sometimes those shifts happen quickly and unexpectedly.
The Dallas Cowboys were two yards away from taking the lead against the Baltimore Ravens. After fighting back in Brazil, Dallas had an opportunity to finish the game with its offense and make the long journey home with a victory. Instead, a penalty helped unravel that opportunity, and Baltimore needed just seven seconds to deliver the final blow.
Luke Schoonmaker’s false start during Dallas’ final possession stands
out as the turning point in the Cowboys’ 34-31 defeat. The penalty pushed the offense away from the goal line at the worst possible moment, beginning a sequence that ended with Dallas settling for a tie and then failing to protect it.
A pass-interference penalty against Nate Wiggins had given the Cowboys first-and-goal at the Baltimore two-yard line. After an incomplete pass intended for George Pickens, Schoonmaker moved early. Dallas suddenly needed seven yards instead of two. Prescott scrambled for two yards, then threw incomplete on third down. Brandon Aubrey’s 23-yard field goal tied the score with seven seconds remaining.
Five yards might sound like a small setback, but that close to the end zone, it changes the challenge. Baltimore gained more space to defend, while Dallas lost the advantage of the running game threat right at the goal line. A touchdown was still possible, but the Cowboys had made their most important possession harder before the ball was even snapped.
The frustration was greater because Dallas had worked so hard to get back into the game. Jaishawn Barham’s fourth-down stop on Derrick Henry had helped keep the Cowboys alive, and the offense followed with a 96-yard touchdown drive. KaVontae Turpin finished it with a nine-yard scoring run to put Dallas ahead 28-24. Those were the kinds of plays that should have provided the foundation for a memorable comeback.
Instead, the Cowboys reached their final scoring opportunity and failed to finish it. Schoonmaker’s penalty was costly, but responsibility extended beyond one player. Dallas still had chances afterward, and Brian Schottenheimer acknowledged that he had over-coached Prescott on the third-down throwaway, placing too much emphasis on protecting the field-goal opportunity.
Even then, the Cowboys had another chance to recover. Seven seconds remained, and Baltimore needed to move into kicking range. Dallas did not need a spectacular defensive play. It needed to prevent one.
Aubrey’s kickoff went for a touchback, leaving all seven seconds available and giving Baltimore possession at its own 35. Lamar Jackson then found Zay Flowers for 27 yards. Flowers went down, Jackson secured a timeout with one second remaining, and Tyler Loop had his opportunity. His 56-yard field goal ended the game.
That is what makes this finish so difficult to accept. The Cowboys had an opportunity to take the lead, then an opportunity to force overtime. Both disappeared through a sequence of mistakes that Baltimore was ready to punish.
Schoonmaker’s false start began the decisive swing. The stalled possession left the door open, and the completion to Flowers allowed the Ravens to walk through it. Dallas had done enough to give itself a chance to win in Brazil. In the moments that mattered most, it could not finish the job.
