Coaching mistakes in the final seconds cost the Cowboys against the Ravens

The Dallas Cowboys made two wrong decisions in the final 10 seconds that cost them an opportunity to go to overtime against the Baltimore Ravens and led to a loss in regulation.

First, a special teams blunder. Second, a defensive lapse.

After Brandon Aubrey kicked a 23-yard field goal to tie the score at 31 with seven seconds remaining, the Cowboys chose to kick the ball out of the end zone for the first time in the game. The touchback didn’t run any time off the clock. Lamar Jackson then completed a 27-yard pass to Zay Flowers that set up Tyler Loop’s 56-yard field goal that gave Baltimore a 34-31 victory in Brazil on Sunday.

If Aubrey kicked the ball in the landing zone, at least a few seconds would’ve run off the clock. But Dallas didn’t want to risk a return for a touchdown and opted for the touchback that gave the Ravens the ball at their 35.

“We felt like, let’s boom it through, put them out there, make them throw the ball short and we’ll be fine,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “Play for overtime. That’s what the plan was.”

It backfired because the defense got beat.

Rookie defensive coordinator Christian Parker inexplicably chose to play man-to-man coverage instead of a deep zone. Flowers won his one-on-one and Jackson fired a perfect strike down the middle for the completion with one second remaining.

Former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, an analyst on NBC, criticized the decision to play man coverage during halftime of the Rams-Broncos game.

“I’m really surprised they’re playing man-to-man in this sequence,” Tomlin said. “Most people in these circumstances are going to play what we describe as an umbrella zone.”

The two mistakes at the end ruined an impressive comeback by Dak Prescott and the offense. The Cowboys trailed 24-13 in the third quarter before Prescott led a pair of touchdown drives. But the offense also failed in a clutch spot.

After Jackson and the Ravens took the lead, Dallas had a chance to reclaim it. The Cowboys had a first down at Baltimore’s 2 with 23 seconds to go but failed to score a touchdown.

Prescott threw an incompletion on first down. He scrambled five yards back to the 2 after a false start penalty on second down. Another incomplete pass forced the Cowboys to settle for a field goal.

The Ravens took advantage.

It was one of 12 games that were decided by one score, a record for most such games in a week.

Here are other takeaways from Week 3:

Bo Nix saved Davis Webb’s playcalling duties in the second half, leading the Broncos to a 30-26 comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Nix, with help from defensive penalties on the Rams, engineered the go-ahead drive in the final minutes, scoring on a one-yard leap with 48 seconds remaining.

Webb, who is Denver’s offensive coordinator, is in his first season calling plays instead of coach Sean Payton. He may have lost those responsibilities if the Broncos didn’t get the offense going after getting shut out in the first half.

Klint Kubiak and Kirk Cousins have led the Raiders to three straight wins to open the season after Las Vegas won just three games in 2025.

Cousins led a 35-27 comeback win in New Orleans and now has nine touchdown passes in three games. The Raiders don’t have any reason to rush rookie No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza into the starting lineup with Cousins racking up the wins.

It’s hard to believe Drake Maye finished runner-up to Matthew Stafford for the NFL MVP award last season.

Maye’s regression has been dramatic. He now has just one touchdown pass and six interceptions in three games for the Patriots (1-2). He threw 31 TD passes and eight picks last season.

Maye’s troubles began in the playoffs, even though New England reached the Super Bowl. He had eight turnovers (four picks, four fumbles) and was sacked 21 times in four games.

That’s carried over into the first three games, a concerning trend for the Patriots.

Backup quarterback Marcus Mariota led the Commanders to a stunning 33-31 victory over the Seahawks, snapping Seattle’s franchise-record 12-game winning streak.

Filling in for Jayden Daniels, Mariota tossed three TD passes and didn’t commit any turnovers against the “Dark Side” defense.

Another poor performance by Houston’s offense in a 19-17 loss to the Colts has the Texans off to an 0-3 start for the second straight season. There’s little reason to believe they could go 12-2 the rest of the way again.

C.J. Stroud was inconsistent and the offense managed just 223 yards against a defense that came in giving up the most in the NFL.

Houston hosts Dallas (1-2) in the battle of Texas next week. The Cowboys will be coming off a long trip to Brazil so that should benefit the Texans.

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