Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens at Maracanã Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
RIO DE JANEIRO — The final one minute and 30 seconds against the Ravens on Sunday started off with promise for the Cowboys but ended in disaster.
Let’s explore the final offensive drive of the Cowboys’ 34-31 loss at Maracanã Stadium.
The start
Dak Prescott opened the drive with a 13-yard pass to Ryan Flournoy. He was pushed out of bounds, setting up a first down at the Cowboys’ 48. Prescott next threw a low pass that was incomplete.
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But on second down, receiver CeeDee Lamb snagged a 14-yard pass and after getting pushed out of bounds, the clock stopped with 1:20 to go. Flournoy made a clutch catch on the first down near the sidelines for a 9-yard gain and the Cowboys were in field goal range at the Ravens’ 38.
After Prescott scrambled for seven yards, the Ravens called a timeout with 28 seconds left. It seemed as if too much time was allowed to erase from Flournoy’s catch with 69 seconds to play to when Prescott picked up a first down.
“We thought we were going to score the touchdown and move the ball really well down there,” coach Brian Schottenheimer said.
The penalties
After the timeout, Prescott threw a deep pass to the front part of the end zone to Lamb, who was tangled up with cornerback Nate Wiggins. Lamb pulled Wiggins down to the ground, which drew a defensive pass interference penalty. The penalty cost the Ravens 20 yards and put the ball at the 2. As the officials were spotting the ball, Wiggins and Lamb yelled at each other.
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On first and goal from the 2, Prescott threw an incomplete pass to Pickens on a fade route. On second and goal from the 2, Schottenheimer said the Cowboys got a look they wanted from the Ravens’ defense. He called for a bootleg with Prescott, but tight end Luke Schoonmaker was called for a false start, costing the Cowboys five yards.
“I wish I would’ve had run on there because it would’ve walked in,” Schottenheimer said. “But that was the plan. We wanted to get down there. They played a real heavy front. They put in six big guys along the edge and we liked some of the matchups that we had on the outside with our guys.”
The ending
So now with second and goal from the 7, Prescott faced pressure and avoided a sack but was taken down at the Ravens’ 5. Schottenheimer called the Cowboys’ last timeout with 14 seconds left. The timeout appeared to confuse Prescott on the field as he gave a puzzled look.
“After the scramble, try to make something, we call a timeout and we’re out of timeouts,” Prescott said. “We’re forced to, excuse me, put ourselves in a position that we just got to execute that last play.”
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Faced with a third-and-5, Prescott sent a pass toward Pickens. But instead of sending the ball toward the front of the pylon where Pickens created some space, he threw the ball away.
“Open, yeah, it probably was,” Prescott said of Pickens. “I probably should have just sat on it a little bit longer, sat on my back foot and just put it on the front pylon.”
Schottenheimer said in those situations, he’d rather have Prescott throw a ball away.
The incompletion forced Schottenheimer to attempt a game-tying 23-yard field goal, which was made by Brandon Aubrey.
Prescott sat on the bench with a disgusted look on his face as he looked at a tablet.
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The Cowboys averaged 4.9 yards per carry on Sunday, and when faced with a chance to run the ball to take a late lead, they didn’t.
Aubrey then kicked the ball out of the end zone for a touchback. A 27-yard pass from Lamar Jackson to Zay Flowers set up the game-winning 56-yard field goal as time expired, sending Dallas to a 34-31 defeat and a 1-2 record heading into a Week 4 game at Houston.