Brian Schottenheimer’s night turned into a case study in hesitation, and the Cowboys paid for it in a 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
The biggest moment came with Dallas in position to win. Dak Prescott threw the ball away on 3rd-and-goal, and Schottenheimer later made clear that was the intent.
Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reported the postgame explanation: “Brian Schottenheimer said on Dak Prescott third down pass to George Pickens he was throwing it away. Schotty said Pickens was open but Prescott is taught to throw it away.”
That admission hung over everything that followed. Dallas had a self-described elite offense, was facing a Ravens defense missing five or six defensive backs, and had Lamar Jackson on the other side. Instead of pressing for the touchdown, the Cowboys settled for a field goal and tried to extend the game.
It wasn’t just the final sequence, either. The Cowboys opened the game with a drive that looked built to punch the ball in, especially after Javonte Williams helped drive the offense to the one-yard line.
Dallas ran for 36 yards on that possession, and the Ravens were getting pushed around. Then Schottenheimer pivoted away from the ground game, called a second-down pass that fell incomplete, and watched Prescott get sacked on third down.
The result was three points on a drive that felt like it should have ended with seven.
There was also the shovel pass to Jake Ferguson on 1st-and-10, a play that ended with the officials ruling it a lost fumble recovered by Baltimore. Ferguson has to be better in that moment, but the call itself was a head-scratcher, especially with other parts of the offense working.
Schottenheimer’s caution showed up again at the end of regulation. With seven seconds left, he had Brandon Aubrey kick the ball out of the end zone instead of using a squib kick to try to bleed off more time. Baltimore got the ball back, hit a long pass on first down, and then Tyler Loop drilled a 56-yard field goal to win it.
That sequence stung even more because Prescott had just carried Dallas on a 97-yard touchdown drive earlier in the quarter to put the Cowboys back in front. In a game where the quarterback was rolling, Schottenheimer kept choosing the safe route.
It’s only Week 3, and it’s hard to picture Jerry Jones making an in-season change. But after a loss packed with questionable calls, poor game management, and a final decision that left points on the table, Schottenheimer is coaching with real pressure now. Dallas may not be talking about a firing today, but he’s absolutely coaching for his job over the remaining 14 games.
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