The Cowboys made a handful of mistakes over the course of Sunday's game in Rio. Costly penalties, a blocked field goal, a secondary depleted by injury, and more than a few unlucky breaks all contributed to a heartbreaking 34-31 last-second loss to the Ravens.
But in the immediate aftermath, it was difficult for anyone to not look squarely at the offense's final nonsensical play. On 3rd-and-5 from the 5-yard-line with 14 seconds to go and no timeouts, down by three points and having already been backed up from the 2-yard-line, quarterback Dak Prescott hurriedly and inexplicably air-mailed his pass attempt to a sideline crewmember.
Everything that happened next will be hotly debated in Dallas for quite some time. This part, however, is undeniable:
the Cowboys are not sitting at 2-1, and the reason is play-calling.
"We thought we were going to score the touchdown. We moved the ball really well down there. We've got to find a way to punch it in. I've got to call some better plays to get it in," head coach Brian Schottenheimer said Sunday in his postgame press conference from Maracanã Stadium.
That last bewildering play call will haunt the Cowboys for remainder of the 2026 season.
"It had to go to [George Pickens] or throw it away," Schottenehimer said of the last play. "He was throwing it away. That's on me; I overcoached him."
Dak throws it away when George Pickens had the separation for a TD. pic.twitter.com/JyP9dMytvN
— Henry McKenna (@henrycmckenna) September 27, 2026
"Feel bad for the guys. We played hard, we fought back, long trip, had our chances to win, and unfortunately we didn't get it done," the coach continued.
"No one coached or played a perfect game."
Sunday marked Schottenheimer's 20th game as an NFL head coach. While he is liked by players and has made strides in building a positive culture around The Star, his record so far is a very lackluster 8-11-1.
This loss is the most damning yet.
Luke Schoonmaker's false start. Two kickoffs from Brandon Aubrey that rolled out of bounds. A missed O-line assignment that led to a blocked field goal. A play here, a play there. A bad bounce, an unlucky break. Those things are football. A mismanaged end-of-game situation from the head coach, though, demands a different kind of accountability.
Saying he was "frustrated as hell" and "embarrassed," Prescott confirmed that his final and potentially game-winning throw was never meant to be caught.
"I was throwing it away," Prescott told reporters after the game.
Is that what he was instructed to do in that moment?
"I don't want to get into all that, definitely not right now."
That certainly implies that quarterback and coach didn't see eye-to-eye on their strategy in those final seconds. Schottenheimer sounds like he was playing for a tie and overtime far earlier than Prescott was ready to concede the fact.
It's hard to watch the replay and see Pickens seemingly open at the front corner of the end zone. It sure looks like a window Prescott could have hit.
"Yeah, he probably was [open]," a rueful Prescott reflected. "I probably should have just sat on it a little bit longer, sank on my back foot, and just put it on that front pylon. Yeah, should have."
But he didn't. The Cowboys took the field goal with seven seconds left to play. Brandon Aubrey's kickoff sailed through the end zone for a touchback that gave the Ravens great field position and took no time off the clock- which Schottenheimer also appeared to acknowledge as an intentional call- and the Dallas defense played way too soft on Baltimore's 27-yard pass that put them in game-winning field goal range.
"We just got in our own way," Prescott concluded. "That's the only thing that stopped us tonight."
Again, the clear and obvious inference was that Schottenheimer's overconservativeness at the worst moment was the main culprit.
"We lost," Schottenheimer said of his playcalling. "Give it an F."
Don't worry, Coach; most Cowboys fans- and maybe your starting quarterback- already had.
Todd is on X at @ToddBrock24f7. Also, follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Schottenheimer, Prescott explain Cowboys' final bewildering play call: 'Give it an F'
