Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said the offense was responsible for Sunday’s 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens after a game the Cowboys controlled for long stretches but could not finish.
The defeat dropped Dallas to 1-2 in Week 3. Baltimore improved to 2-1 when Tyler Loop made a 56-yard field goal as time expired in the first NFL regular-season game played in Rio de Janeiro.
Dallas had tied the score at 31-31 with seven seconds left on Brandon Aubrey’s 23-yard field goal. Lamar Jackson then hit Zay Flowers for 27 yards, called timeout with one second remaining, and Loop converted from 56 yards in front of an announced crowd of 72,792 at Maracana Stadium.
Prescott was visibly angry at the postgame podium. He rejected any suggestion that the defense should carry the loss after giving up the late completion that set up the winning kick.
“Frustrated as hell. Embarrassed,” he said. “We don’t call us the best offense, Gotti, and get down to the 1-yard line and don’t put it in. It just sucks. Not a lot of words or a full explanation of it. Defense shouldn’t have even been in that position. Those guys over there are saying ‘It’s on us.’ Absolutely not. We gotta put the game away.”
The Cowboys outgained the Ravens 415-378 and picked up 27 first downs. They moved the ball at will for much of the afternoon but were undone by penalties, a turnover and two failed trips inside the 2-yard line.
Dallas rushed for 148 yards, its first 100-yard rushing performance of the season. Javonte Williams carried 19 times for 98 yards and scored on a two-yard run in the first quarter that helped the Cowboys take a 10-0 lead.
George Pickens caught seven passes for 82 yards. CeeDee Lamb had seven receptions for 112 yards. Prescott completed 25 of 40 passes for 276 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. He was sacked once.
Mistakes arrived at the worst times. A penalty on tackle Terence Steele wiped out a long completion to Pickens. A field-goal attempt was blocked. Tight end Jake Ferguson fumbled on a shovel pass.
The Cowboys reached inside Baltimore’s 2-yard line on their opening drive and again on their final possession. Both series ended in field goals rather than touchdowns. After a pass-interference call put Dallas at the two with 28 seconds left, an incomplete pass and a false-start penalty forced Aubrey’s tying kick from 23 yards.
Baltimore running back Derrick Henry rushed 26 times for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson completed 15 of 20 passes for 186 yards and two scores and added 50 rushing yards. The Ravens totaled 192 yards on the ground.
Baltimore led 24-13 late in the third quarter. Prescott answered with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Ferguson and a nine-yard scoring run by KaVontae Turpin that put Dallas ahead 28-24. The Cowboys later stuffed Henry on fourth-and-1 from the 1-yard line, but they could not close the game.
Time of possession was nearly even, with Dallas holding the ball 30 minutes, 38 seconds. The Cowboys ran 71 plays to Baltimore’s 58.
Prescott was asked about the 10-hour flight back to Dallas.
“I’m sure when we land I’ll be just as pissed. This one hurts,” he said
Dallas now sits third in the NFC East behind the 2-0 Philadelphia Eagles and the 2-1 New York Giants.
