The Ravens left Rio de Janeiro with a 34-31 win over Dallas, and the finish told the whole story. Baltimore made the biggest plays when the game tightened, with Tyler Loop drilling the game-winner after nearly nine months of waiting for that moment.
Loop’s kick capped a night that also belonged to Zay Flowers. Baltimore took some heat for giving Flowers only 21 snaps after his hamstring issue, but he answered with impact anyway: 10 catches for 234 yards and a touchdown on the season in just 41 snaps. His 27-yard grab set up the winning field goal, and Lamar Jackson put it on him with a dart that traveled 36.4 yards in 1.6 seconds.
That final strike will be the image people remember, but Jackson had already jolted the offense earlier with his legs. His 21-yard designed run on the third drive woke up an attack that had looked stuck in neutral. It was the kind of reminder that trying to take Jackson’s running away only makes life easier for the defense.
The Ravens’ defense, though, has work to do. The Cowboys were always going to get theirs, but the last 19 minutes were rough, and tackling was a major issue.
Jesse Minter put it plainly: “Tackling is an art, and it requires a high, high level of detail. I’d say we’re not detailed enough in tackling right now.”
Short-yardage was another sore spot. Baltimore wasn’t just failing in those situations - it was failing badly enough to make you wonder why there wasn’t more of a sneak or tush push look instead of handing the ball to Derrick Henry several yards behind the line.
The offensive line didn’t help, either. The group wasn’t generating enough push and lost its top two centers to long-term injuries. Rookie Vega Ioane handled the move to center well enough, but that creates a new question at right guard.
Nnamdi Madubuike logged 47 snaps, which lines up with what Baltimore should expect from him most weeks. Minter said he expects him to “get better and better and better as we go.”
Special teams also gave Baltimore a lift after being a problem a week ago. The unit kept KaVontae Turpin from flipping the game as a return threat by forcing touchbacks, Keondre Jackson blocked a Brandon Aubrey field goal, and Loop’s 56-yarder showed up as a counterpunch rather than a liability.
Dallas also handed Baltimore a little validation late. The Cowboys kicked a touchback with seven seconds left, which lined up with Minter’s decision from last week to try to cover a kickoff late in the first half against New Orleans when 24 seconds and three timeouts remained. Dallas only needed to avoid a return touchdown, and the clock would have run out.
By the end, the Ravens had every reason to stay aggressive. Dallas was down to a practice-squad cornerback, Reddy Steward, on Flowers for the last throw, and Baltimore made sure that mismatch mattered.
In Other News...
Ravens Win Still Has Cowboys Answering For That Final Sequence
Even after the Ravens walked out with the win, the final sequence kept drawing attention in Dallas. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said mistakes were made and insisted the team has to learn from them, while quarterback Dak Prescott was left to reflect on not connecting with an open receiver on the games last play. It was the kind of ending that lingers long after the final whistle, especially when a game turns on the smallest details.
Brian Schottenheimer backed the decision to throw the ball away on that snap, but the broader debate around the finish still hangs over the Cowboys. For Baltimore, it means a victory that should have been a clean postgame story instead came with an extra layer of scrutiny, because the opponents reaction only sharpened the spotlight on how the game closed. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Suddenly Have A Marlon Humphrey Concern They Can't Ignore
Through three weeks of the 2026 season, Marlon Humphrey has become one of the more uncomfortable storylines for Baltimores defense. The veteran corner has long been a stabilizing presence in the secondary, but his early work in coverage has looked uncharacteristically shaky, and the numbers are hard to ignore as the Ravens sort through what has been a more uneven start on the back end.
The latest reminder came against the Cowboys in Week 3, when Humphrey was targeted often and gave up six catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. For a player who has built his reputation on slowing down opposing passing games, the bigger concern is the trend line: 15 completions allowed, 215 yards surrendered and a passer rating against that has already climbed past his previous career low point. Baltimore does not need this to become a lingering issue, but it is clearly one the Ravens have to keep watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Pass Rush Problem Is Putting Jesse Minter On The Spot
The first three weeks have already put Baltimores pass rush under a bright light, and not in a flattering way. Even with the Ravens investing in players like Trey Hendrickson and getting Nnamdi Madubuike back, the defense has struggled to consistently heat up opposing quarterbacks, and the late-game numbers have been especially hard to ignore. When the fourth quarter arrives, the pressure simply has not shown up often enough, and that has helped turn leads into uneasy finishes.
Jesse Minter is trying to sort through it in real time. The rookie head coach has leaned into more blitzing and other adjustments as he looks for a better formula, but the issue appears bigger than a few play calls. The roster still has to prove it can affect the pocket at a higher level, and until it does, Baltimores defense is going to keep living with the same uncomfortable questions. [Read more 🡒]