With seven seconds left in the fourth quarter, no one could have predicted the Baltimore Ravens would win on a Tyler Loop 56-yard field goal, beating the Dallas Cowboys 34-31 in Week 3 action from Brazil.
Baltimore finished the game getting outgained by the Cowboys on offense, 415-378. Time of possession was also even, but Dallas had one turnover, and the Ravens got the ball last.
Dallas’s mental mistakes at the end of the game also helped the Ravens. Dak Prescott‘s incompletion on third-and-goal to George Pickens on the final drive led to a Cowboys field goal. What happened on the next play, though, could be the sole reason Baltimore won.
Cowboys’ Mistake Helped Baltimore Ravens Win in Week 3
After the game, Ravens head coach Jesse Minter was asked about the final drive and having just seven seconds left. Minter pointed out that something the Cowboys did actually helped them more than anything.
“Honestly, anything less than seven seconds, it would have been really hard to do the play that we did. We may have even just ran the clock out. But [with] seven seconds left, and with the touchback rules, they decided to kick a touchback [and] gave us the ball on the 35 [-yard line]. We really only needed 18-plus yards to get to our end-of-game type of range. And [it was] just an unbelievable play by Lamar [Jackson] and Zay [Flowers], heads up on the time. You practice those moments, and you wait for them to come up, it came up today, and we were ready.”
Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey made the mistake of kicking it to the back of the end zone, which kept the clock from running. Jackson then completed a pass to Flowers to get the Ravens into Cowboys territory and in field goal range for Loop. It was Jackson’s awareness of the end of the game to call the timeout that played a role in the win as well.
Ravens Are Grateful for Cowboys’ Massive Mistake at the End of the Game
Baltimore escaped Brazil with the win. While they may have been lucky, they also did everything right at the end. From Jackson’s pass to Flowers to Jackson calling a timeout, they took advantage of the Cowboys completely collapsing at the end.
It was far from a perfect game for the Ravens, but it was an important win. That victory puts them at 2-1 entering Week 4.
Next up for the Ravens is the winless Tennessee Titans. That should be an easy win for a team with so much momentum.
Baltimore should be thanking the Cowboys for their late-game mistakes, which helped them win. Because of that, the season looks very different for the Ravens.
Jesse Minter Confessed What Cowboys Did to Assist Ravens in Improbable Win