The Ravens left Rio de Janeiro with a 34-31 win over the Cowboys, but it was the celebration after Tyler Loop’s walk-off kick that took over the internet.
Baltimore and Dallas made history Sunday at the Maracanã, the first NFL game ever played in the iconic stadium. Loop ended it with a 56-yard field goal as time expired, and the Ravens immediately poured toward the sideline in a burst of pure relief and energy. Right there in front of a soccer-hungry crowd, the whole team broke into Cristiano Ronaldo’s trademark “Siuuu” celebration.
The reaction fit the moment. The crowd, packed with soccer fans on home turf, roared along with Baltimore as the kick landed and the celebration took off. Former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho later posted that it was one of the coolest moments he’s seen in sports lately, and he called the stadium’s response “cold.”
The scene spread fast online, but so did the pushback. Fans quickly pointed out a major mix-up: Cristiano Ronaldo is Portuguese, not Brazilian. Brazil has its own famous Ronaldo, the striker who starred for the national team long before Cristiano made the “Siuuu” celebration famous.
That didn’t stop the jokes and corrections from piling up in the replies.
“The only reason the crowd did the chant is cuz they know Cristiano. The reason the dumb*** Ravens did that is cuz THEY thought Cristiano played for Brazil,” one fan wrote.
“Bro, that Ronaldo is not Brazilian,” another said.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is Portuguese. The celebration is not Brazilian,” a third pointed out.
“Too bad Ronaldo isn’t from Brazil,” a fourth added.
“Wrong Ronaldo,” someone else chimed in.
Even with the confusion, the moment gave the Ravens’ trip to Brazil a signature highlight. Baltimore also got a big day from Derrick Henry, who passed Eric Dickerson to move into ninth place on the NFL’s all-time rushing yards list and scored two rushing touchdowns. Zay Flowers added five catches for 84 yards, helping keep Dallas’s defense busy throughout the afternoon.
The game came amid plenty of attention on the Maracanã’s playing surface, which had drawn scrutiny before kickoff. Soccer players had voiced real safety concerns about the turf just days before the NFL arrived. Lamar Jackson had also dismissed any talk of the Cowboys having a hometown edge as “America’s Team” before the trip.
In the end, none of that changed the finish. Loop’s kick gave Baltimore a dramatic win on foreign soil, improved the Ravens to 2-1, and sent them home with momentum. The Cowboys fell to 1-2 and head back to Dallas looking to reset.
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