RIO DE JANEIRO \u2013 No way, no way on this great green earth, even here way down south of the equator, can a team do so much right, yet do so much wrong.<\/p>\n
Dang, the Cowboys scored 31 points but lost the NFL Rio Game here on Sunday at Maracan\u00e3\u00a0Stadium.<\/p>\n
No way the Cowboys finally got their running game going,\u00a0scoring two touchdowns on the ground and\u00a0rushing for a season-high 148 yards\u00a0behind Javonte Williams’ 98, and\u00a0lost\u00a0the game.<\/p>\n
No way Dak Prescott hooked up with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens a combined 14 times for 194 yards and lost\u00a0the game.<\/p>\n
No way the Cowboys totaled 415 yards\u00a0of offense, like 37 more than their opponent,\u00a0andlost\u00a0the game.<\/p>\n
No way the Cowboys scored points\u00a0on their first two possessions, stretching their streak of scoring on 12 of the last 14 possessions,\u00a0and then\u00a0on\u00a0three of their last four\u00a0in the game,driving\u00a060 yards in nine plays\u00a0on the\u00a0final one\u00a0to kick the game-tying field goal with but 7 seconds\u00a0remaining,\u00a0and lost\u00a0the game with overtime\u00a0seemingly\u00a0poised to begin.<\/p>\n
No way with any measure of common sense,\u00a0with this game having teeter-tottered\u00a0back and forth for those 59 minutes, 53 seconds, did Baltimore complete a 27-yard pass\u00a0to\u00a0wide receiver Zay Flowers\u00a0going to the ground,\u00a0and somehow\u00a0these officials see\u00a0the Ravens’\u00a0sideline feverishly\u00a0signaling for a\u00a0timeout\u00a0within a half second of the\u00a0catch being completed,\u00a0and\u00a0referee John Hussey\u00a0awarded\u00a00:01\u00a0being put\u00a0back on the clock.<\/p>\n
On top of all that, after watching Ravens kicker Tyler Loop\u00a0of Lucas, Texas, having gone to Lovejoy High School,\u00a0struggle during his pregame warmups\u00a0\u2013\u00a0frustrated to the point of taking his helmet off when missing from 45 and then missing\u00a0from 57,\u00a0yet making his second try,\u00a0barely\u00a0\u2013\u00a0kick the game-winning 56-yarder as time expired (we think), and more to my amazement on that\u00a0in a minute.<\/p>\n
And\u00a0just\u00a0like that, Ravens 34, Cowboys 31,\u00a0before a highly entertained\u00a0Maracan\u00e3\u00a0crowd of\u00a072,792\u00a0evenly divided fans, some watching American football\u00a0in person\u00a0for the first time in their lives.<\/p>\n
But let me count the ways\u00a0why\u00a0the now 1-2 Cowboys, landing\u00a0at their DFW charter site right at 8:22\u00a0Monday morning,\u00a0then\u00a0having to clear around 150 people through customs\u00a0before taking the bus ride\u00a0back to The Star,\u00a0meaning most\u00a0likely\u00a0arriving home\u00a0no earlier\u00a0than\u00a010\u00a0a.m.\u00a0and knowing they have a road trip this coming Sunday to Houston for a noon start, shot themselves repeatedly\u00a0in the foot\u00a0\u2013\u00a0no,\u00a0wait, both feet\u00a0\u2013\u00a0to\u00a0allow the Ravens (2-1) to escape Rio with a victory.<\/p>\n
Just can’t,\u00a0let me repeat,\u00a0just can’t\u00a0on\u00a0their\u00a0first possession of the game,\u00a0after the defense hands them the ball following a Ravens three-and-out,\u00a0drive\u00a062 yards into a first-and-goal at the 5-yard line, then\u00a0second and third\u00a0downs\u00a0from the 1,\u00a0and end up kicking a 28-yard\u00a0field goal from the 10.<\/p>\n
Even worse, when trailing 31-28, drive 63 yards\u00a0in\u00a01\u00a0minute\u00a0and\u00a07\u00a0seconds into a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line\u00a0and\u00a0wind up\u00a0kicking a 23-yard\u00a0consolation\u00a0field goal with 7 seconds remaining when you’re\u00a02\u00a0yards away from putting a bow on victory No. 2.<\/p>\n
An egregious transgression against this game of football\u00a0that\u00a0even these Brazilian neophytes to football likely understood\u00a0\u2013 far\u00a0worse than missing a goal kick in that more familiar game of football of theirs.\u00a0Why,\u00a0cleaning up their\u00a0red\u00a0zone woes of last year became a priority in training camp\u00a0after\u00a0only scoring touchdowns at a 56.7 percent rate\u00a0in 2025. And seemingly in the first two games\u00a0this season they were making\u00a0headway, having scored six touchdowns in seven of those possessions.<\/p>\n
Next, and shame on them, a\u00a0screw-up on special teams. And when you have a kicker\u00a0of\u00a0the Pro Bowl caliber of Brandon Aubrey,\u00a0able to\u00a0kick\u00a060-yarders\u00a0like extra points,\u00a0can’t allow\u00a0anunblocked defender\u00a0to\u00a0come lickety-split off the near edge to block his 59-yard attempt.<\/p>\n
Now if you are scoring at home, combine the inability to score touchdowns in those two goal-to-go possessions, leaving four points on the field each time, and then wiping out\u00a0potentially\u00a0three more on the\u00a0blocked\u00a0field goal, that’s\u00a0leaving 11 points on the field. My goodness, they very well should have scored 42 points on what was expected to be a staunch Ravens D.<\/p>\n
No way to become that Greatest Offense\u00a0whatever.<\/p>\n