RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — The Baltimore Ravens survived a fourth-quarter comeback attempt by the Dallas Cowboys to win 34-31 in Rio, with kicker Tyler Loop drilling a 56-yard field goal as time expired.
The Ravens entered the game at 1-1 after blowing a fourth-quarter lead in their home opener against the New Orleans Saints. A loss would have dropped them to 1-2, adding early-season urgency to the match-up.
Dallas jumped out to a 10-0 lead after linebacker Roquan Smith's sack on third-and-goal kept the Cowboys out of the end zone on their opening drive, forcing a field goal, but a failed fourth-down conversion by Baltimore at its own 30-yard line gave Dallas prime field position. Running back Javonte Williams scored from 2 yards out to cap the Cowboys' next possession.
The Ravens responded with a quick six-play, 60-yard drive capped by a 4-yard Derrick Henry touchdown run. Henry scored again on the next possession, this time from 3 yards out, giving Baltimore a 14-10 lead.
Dallas went for it on fourth-and-1 from its own 40 later in the second quarter, but Williams fumbled on the stop. The Ravens converted the short field into a field goal to lead 17-10, then took a 17-13 advantage into halftime.
In the third quarter, defensive tackle Travis Jones forced a fumble on a Cowboys screen pass and Trent Simpson recovered it. The Ravens' offense went three-and-out on the next drive, but special teams answered when Keondre Jackson blocked a 59-yard Dallas field goal attempt.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson then capped a four-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Chris Moore, faking two hand offs before finding his receiver to push the lead to 24-13.
Dallas cut the deficit to three before the Ravens drove inside the Cowboys' 1-yard line, but Henry was stopped on fourth-and-goal. Dallas capitalized, marching 96 yards for a Kavonte Turpin touchdown run to take a four-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
Baltimore answered with an 11-play, 64-yard drive. Jackson found rookie tight end Matthew Hibner for a 2-yard touchdown, giving the Ravens a three-point lead with a minute and a half remaining.
The Cowboys drove back into field goal range, aided by a controversial pass interference penalty on cornerback Nate Wiggins covering CeeDee Lamb setting Dallas up inside the Ravens' 10. The Cowboys kicked a field goal to tie the game at 31.
With 7 seconds left, Jackson hit Zay Flowers over the middle, and Flowers got down at the Dallas 38-yard line. The Ravens called their final timeout with 1 second on the clock, setting up Loop's game-winning kick.
Head coach Jesse Minter said the play only worked because of the time remaining and Dallas's decision to kick a touchback.
"Honestly, anything less than seven seconds, it would have been really hard to do the play that we did. We may have even just ran the clock out. But [with] seven seconds left, and with the touchback rules, they decided to kick a touchback [and] gave us the ball on the 35 [-yard line]. We really only needed 18-plus yards to get to our end-of-game type of range. Just an unbelievable play by Lamar [Jackson] and Zay [Flowers], heads up on the time. You practice those moments, and you wait for them to come up, it came up today, and we were ready." Minter said.
Loop's kick snuck just inside the left upright for the 34-31 win. The kicker said the moment was the product of perseverance through a difficult stretch.
"There has been a lot of adversity. Been a lot of stuff that has happened between the end of last season and now. If you are on this team, you are capable, and you were chosen to go out and help this team win. To see that come together with our operation and the team and everything was so special." Loop said.
Jackson said he never lost faith heading into the final play.
"The crazy thing about it, I had no doubt in my mind. I prayed to Jesus; I prayed to God. I am like, 'Man, I feel like we already won.' I could not show it, but I am like, I have all my faith in him right now, man. I was saying on the sideline, 'Your legacy [is] starting now,' because I feel like [Tyler Loop] has been facing adversity. I said, 'What a way to start your legacy in Brazil,' and he finished the rest. He did it. Shout out to special teams. Shout out to Loop." Jackson said.
The Ravens improve to 2-1 and return to Baltimore to prepare for next Sunday's home game against the Tennessee Titans.
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