You have to play through the final whistle.
The Dallas Cowboys fought back against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in Brazil, and it looked like they earned overtime to try and snatch away a win after being huge underdogs.
It was the Ravens who snatched things away, though. The Cowboys got caught not ready for the final 7 seconds of the game and the Ravens proved to be the better team. There really is no other way to say it.
The Cowboys are now 1-2 on the season and have to get ready to take on a winless
Houston Texans team next week.
For now though… everything hurts.
Below you will find our recap of how it all unfolded.
First Quarter
The Cowboys won the toss and deferred which put the defense up first. Talk about setting the stage given the opponent.
Amazingly, the defense stood tall and did so right away. They held Baltimore to a three and out which surprised every Cowboys fan in the world given how the defense has looked recently.
The offense was no shock though as they began to move with relative ease. What was shocking though was that they did so on the ground. Javonte Williams was moving and grooving, and the Cowboys just about punched things in for an opening touchdown until Dak Prescott was sacked on 3rd and Goal. Dallas kicked a field goal for the game’s first points, though.
Shortly after the offense was back at work once more. This was the case as Baltimore went for it on fourth down, by way of Derrick Henry of all people, and was denied. Seriously. Shocking stuff.
As the Cowboys got back on offense they began to flirt with the endzone once more, and KaVontae Turpin was a big reason why thanks to some serious effort.
Shortly after Javonte Williams finished the job and gave the Cowboys a 10-0 lead.
Unfortunately the Ravens remain a solid NFL team. They were able to march down the field, they started with great field position after Brandon Aubrey put the kickoff out of bounds, and cashed in with a touchdown of their own to narrow things to 10-7. It was Derrick Henry who found the endzone because of course it was.
Dallas’ offense came up why their next time out and ended the quarter with the punt team set to come out.
Second Quarter
The Cowboys did indeed punt the ball away to start the second quarter which put Lamar Jackson and co. back on the field.
It looked like the Cowboys were going to pull Jackson off of the field once more. It was 3rd and 11 and everyone held their breath… but then a yellow flag came out to signal pass interference and the Ravens picked up 49 yards as a result. Right after Henry was back in the endzone and Baltimore had a 14-10 lead.
The Cowboys offense took over facing a deficit for the first time in the game and that stress seemed to show. They reached fourth and short just behind midfield, and after calling a timeout to get things together… the Cowboys did not get it. In fact, Javonte Williams fumbled to make it all the more frustrating.
The Ravens moved down the field once more, but at the very least the Cowboys defense held them out of the endzone entirely. Baltimore did pick up a field goal to give them a full touchdown lead and the Cowboys took things back over from there.
Notably, Dallas took over at their own 35-yard line with 4:44 left before halftime. Given that they deferred to start the game this set them up for an opportunity for the proverbial double-dip.
The Cowboys established the first half of it by way of a Brandon Aubrey field goal, and points are always welcome.
The teams went to their respective locker rooms with Baltimore up 17-13.
Third Quarter
The Cowboys got the ball after Ricky Martin performed at halftime (the NFL really wanted to make the Brazil game a spectacle) and began to move the ball with some urgency. It was great to see.
Unfortunately the good vibes did not last long. When it seemed inevitable that the Cowboys were going to score, even after they boldly converted a 4th and 3, a shovel pass from Jake Ferguson resulted in a fumble. The broadcast did not believe Ferguson ever had possession, but it was reviewed as all turnovers are and the Ravens were awarded possession as they recovered it.
Thankfully, the Cowboys defense stood tall. This really appeared to be a moment that had the potential to unravel the entire game for Dallas, but a quick stop gave their offense the ball back still down by four.
It was a bit more of the same for the offense. They moved a little, but they got stuck and couldn’t move all the way. They settled for a 59-yard field goal attempt… that was blocked.
Baltimore began the next drive with their best field position of the day as they started at their own 49-yard line. It took four plays for Lamar Jackson to find Chris Moore for a touchdown and to give the Ravens a 24-13 lead.
It was clear that the Cowboys were going to have to play perfect football from this point on to stand a chance. They took the first step of that by marching down the field and finally finding the endzone. Dak Prescott found Jake Ferguson for the score, and right after he found CeeDee Lamb to make it a 24-21 game.
The quarter ended with Baltimore threatening to score once more.
Fourth Quarter
It was not looking good. The Ravens were right on the goal line. In fact, they faced a 4th and Goal with the opportunity to really twist the knife.
It should be noted it was only deemed 4th and Goal after a review on the down before that proved Derrick Henry did not get in. Baltimore went that route on the critical fourth down… and he did not get in again! Jaishawn Barham had the critical play!
Being up against your own goal line can feel intimidating in general, but especially so in circumstances like this.
Shortly into the drive… Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb opened things up big time.
Things were moving fast and chaotically. It felt like blinking would mean you missed something massive.
KaVontae Turpin really proved that as he found the endzone right after! It took just 7 plays for the Cowboys to travel 96 yards for this score!
Everyone tried to catch their breath after all of that action. There was still almost the entire fourth quarter left after the mini marathon.
The Ravens looked to be attempting to act this way. Calm. Cool. Conservative. Nobody was trying to be a hero.
But then a hero emerged and his name was Jaishawn Barham. He earned yet another stop for the Cowboys defense.
Unfortunately the Cowboys were not able to do much with the ball after Baltimore punted it away. They had to punt it back themselves and the Ravens took over with just under six minutes left in the game.
This was easily a more successful drive for Baltimore than the one before it.
It looked like the Cowboys might pull it off again, though. They certainly sold out to do so in terms of burning resources like timeouts. But the Ravens found the endzone by way of a Lamar Jackson touchdown to Matthew Hibner. They took the lead back 31-28 and left Dallas with 1:30 to work with and a timeout in terms of leftover assets.
The Cowboys took over for the biggest drive of their season to date, needing only a field goal to at least tie the game and potentially send it to overtime. They were in field goal range rather quickly and looked to be wanting to end things on their terms in regulation.
They got very close. About as close as you can get, actually. Up against the goal line though, just about, Luke Schoonmaker committed a false start which made things a little bit more dicey. The Cowboys wound up settling for a Brandon Aubrey field goal that tied things up at 31-31 with just 7 seconds left.
This game required more.
…or so we thought.
The Cowboys clearly relaxed as they assumed the Ravens were content to go to overtime, too. With 7 seconds left though, Lamar Jackson found Zay Flowers for a 27-yard gain and called timeout with a single second left. Everyone was bewildered. Clearly the Cowboys were not expecting that.
Ravens kicker Tyler Loop drained a 56-yard field goal to win it 34-31.
Unbelievable.
