The Cowboys had a chance to leave Rio de Janeiro with a statement win over the Ravens, but the finish turned into a mess. Dallas was at the goal line at Maracan Stadium before a string of questionable play calls forced the team to settle for a field goal. Then came the next blow: the Cowboys kicked the ball out of bounds on the ensuing kickoff.
From there, Lamar Jackson made sure Baltimore seized control. With seven seconds left and the ball at the 35-yard line, the former NFL MVP ripped a pass down the middle of the field, taking advantage of Dallas’ thin secondary and setting up the game-winning field goal. After that, the long flight home felt a lot longer.
Jerry Jones didn’t dodge the issue Tuesday morning during his weekly spot on 105.3 The Fan. Asked about the Cowboys’ clock management and the explanation Brian Schottenheimer gave for the Dak Prescott throwaway on third down, Jones made his stance clear.
“There’s no explanation that you’re satisfied with. None," Jones said.
"Let’s be sure that we all understand that. [The coaching staff] doesn’t have one that they’re satisfied with.
There’s an evaluation of how to not make the same mistakes again, which is what you should be doing.”
Schottenheimer has already owned the mistake on the third-down sequence, when Prescott threw the ball away instead of finding George Pickens on the front pylon. Prescott also said the team should have had a better plan and leaned on the run while they were that close to the end zone.
Now Dallas gets a chance to respond quickly, with a Week 4 road game against the winless Houston Texans coming up after a week of preparation. The Cowboys will try to shake off the heartbreak from Maracana Stadium and show they can bounce back.
Kickoff between the Cowboys and Texans at NRG Stadium on Sunday, October 4, is set for 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX. Joe Davis will handle play-by-play, Greg Olsen will be the analyst, and Pam Oliver will report from the sideline.
In Other News...
Cowboys Safety Crisis May Force A Move Faster Than Expected
Early in the 2026 season, the Cowboys are already dealing with a thin safety room after injuries have hit Malik Hooker, P.J. Locke and Jalen Thompson. The result is a depth chart that suddenly looks vulnerable, and it has pushed Dallas toward evaluating outside help before the problem gets any worse.
Several names are already in the mix as the team weighs its next step, including Caleb Ransaw, Cole Wisniewski, Donovan McMillon and free agent Donovan Wilson. However the Cowboys choose to patch the spot, the urgency is real, because safety is one of the few areas where an early-season injury pileup can force a move faster than a team planned. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Rookie Defender Made A Strong Case In Brazil
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There were encouraging flashes in the groups performance, and at least one of those rookies made a strong case with the kind of play that tends to catch coaches attention quickly. Still, the outing also showed the usual rookie growing pains, with each player leaving Brazil having given Dallas reasons to feel better about the future and reasons to keep coaching the details moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Just Got A Much Better Week 5 Break
Baker Mayfields thumb injury has suddenly changed the look of the Cowboys Week 5 trip, and in a schedule that already had some tricky edges, Dallas now appears set to catch a break at quarterback. With Mayfield expected to miss at least three weeks, the matchup is likely to shift toward rookie Jalon Daniels making his first NFL start, a far different assignment for a defense that had been preparing for a proven veteran.
For Dallas, the timing matters because the next stretch already includes games against the Texans and Buccaneers, so any easing of the early pressure is welcome. A first-time starter can still make life interesting, but the Cowboys will go into this one with a better sense that the job just got a little less daunting than it looked before Mayfield went down. [Read more 🡒]