The Cowboys left Week 3 with one of those losses that sticks to your ribs. A last-second field goal did the damage for Baltimore, but the bigger frustration for Dallas was simpler: this was a game it had every chance to win and somehow still let slip away.
That reality shows up all over the report card, and it starts with the coaching staff. Brian Schottenheimer’s group did not come out of this one looking good, and Christian Parker’s defense was every bit as rough. The grades across the board were ugly, and the staff ended up right in the middle of a long list of failing marks.
Dak Prescott’s stat line looks respectable enough - 25 completions on 40 attempts for 276 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions - but the passing game disappeared for long stretches. The low point came late, with a fourth-quarter goal-line sequence that ended in a puzzling throwaway and left Dallas empty-handed when it needed points most.
The run game, at least, gave Dallas something to build on. Javonte Williams turned in his best performance of the year with 19 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown, averaging more than five yards a pop after sitting well below that mark in the previous two games. The blocking finally created some room, which made the late-game decision-making look even worse in hindsight.
CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens were productive together, combining for 14 catches and 194 yards, though neither reached the end zone. Pickens, in particular, delivered his best game of the 2026 season. Even so, both receivers could have done more if the offense hadn’t gone nearly silent for more than two quarters.
Tight end Jake Ferguson scored, but he also coughed up a costly fumble in the third quarter. Luke Schoonmaker’s false start was another crushing mistake, and Prescott said the penalty limited what Dallas could do in that situation.
Schottenheimer didn’t sugarcoat it either: “It can't happen,” Schottenheimer said. “Schoony knows that at the end of the time.
At the end of the day, we're down there low. I liked the call that we had, but you move us back, it definitely hurts because there's a couple of things that we had that we felt really good about down there low.”
Up front, Dallas showed its best run-blocking of the season so far, but protection issues still hung around. The line allowed 12 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, with T.J.
Bass giving up five and Tyler Guyton three. Prescott wasn’t sacked, but he was under heat more than Dallas wanted.
Terence Steele also had a rough night, wiping out a 23-yard Pickens catch with a hold and factoring into the blocked field goal.
Baltimore, meanwhile, ran the ball all over the Cowboys. The Ravens piled up 192 rushing yards and two touchdowns while averaging more than five yards per carry.
Dallas got some interior resistance from Otito Ogbonnia, Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams, who combined for six pressures, but none of it turned into sacks. Ogbonnia had the best showing of that trio with two pressures and five run stops.
The edge rush was even quieter. Dallas got just five pressures from the edge group, with Von Miller leading the way with three, and still no sacks.
Donovan Ezeiruaku remains the only edge rusher on the roster with a sack this season, and he has just 0.5. That group continues to come up short.
At linebacker, Jaishawn Barham stood out again with two huge run stops on Derrick Henry, including one on a goal-line stand. Beyond that, though, the unit couldn’t slow Baltimore’s ground attack.
Dee Winters continued to struggle, finishing with the second-worst PFF defensive and coverage grades on the team. Once DeMarvion Overshown is healthy, Barham looks like the clear choice to start alongside him.
Lamar Jackson didn’t need to carry the Ravens with his arm, but when he did throw, he was efficient, completing 75% of his passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns. Reddy Steward also had a costly miss, allowing Zay Flowers to break free for the big reception that helped Baltimore get into field-goal range for Tyler Loop’s game-winner.
Dallas’ secondary was dealing with injuries, which forced Alijah Clark and Markquese Bell into heavier roles, and that makes it tougher to pin everything on the back end. Still, Clark made a key pass breakup that helped force a second-half three-and-out, and Downs added a strong run stop on Henry while finishing with the sixth-best defensive grade and second-best coverage grade on the team.
Special teams had its own problems. Brandon Aubrey kicked two kickoffs out of bounds, and the touchback on the final kickoff gave Baltimore excellent field position.
Dallas also had a breakdown on a field-goal attempt that led to a block and cost the Cowboys three points. Aubrey did make three field goals, but all of them came from chip-shot range, with his longest at 38 yards.
When the dust settled, the verdict was harsh and straightforward: this was a failure on both sides of the ball for the Cowboys’ coaching staff. Schottenheimer’s play-calling was especially poor at the end, and Parker’s defense continues to look like one of the worst units in the league.
Dallas doesn’t just have a talent issue in a few spots. It has a coaching problem, too.
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