Baltimore needed seven seconds to turn a tied game into a victory. A Lamar Jackson pass, a timeout and Tyler Loop's 56-yard field goal gave the Ravens a 34-31 win over the Dallas Cowboys at the Maracanã on Sunday, leaving Rio de Janeiro's first NFL game with a finish worthy of its setting.
The decisive kick was the final act of a much less tidy Baltimore performance. The Ravens had recovered from 10-0 down, built an 11-point advantage and then surrendered it. Dallas reached the closing seconds with a chance to score the winning touchdown, only to finish that possession with three points. Baltimore found just enough time to answer.
The result takes the Ravens to 2-1 and leaves the Cowboys at 1-2. For Dallas, the immediate question is how an attack that gained 415 yards failed to convert its last goal-line opportunity. For Baltimore, the win brings relief without removing the defensive problems that made it so difficult.
How seven seconds became a winning kick
Brandon Aubrey's 23-yard field goal levelled the scores at 31 with seven seconds remaining. His subsequent kickoff went through the end zone for a touchback, giving Baltimore possession at its own 35-yard line with the clock unchanged and a timeout available.
Jackson found Zay Flowers for 27 yards through the middle, moving the ball to the Dallas 38. Baltimore stopped the clock with one second left. Loop then made the 56-yard attempt to settle the game in regulation.
The pass and the timeout deserve space alongside the kick. A completion alone would not have been sufficient if Baltimore could not stop the clock. Equally, a shorter gain would have left Loop with a more demanding attempt. The sequence depended on distance, timing and execution working together.
| Closing event | Score | Why it mattered |
|---|---|---|
| Jackson finds Matt Hibner for a touchdown; extra point follows | Baltimore 31-28 | Dallas must score on its next possession |
| Aubrey kicks from 23 yards | 31-31 | Seven seconds remain in regulation |
| Jackson completes 27 yards to Flowers | 31-31 | Baltimore reaches the Dallas 38 and calls timeout |
| Loop kicks from 56 yards | Baltimore 34-31 | The game ends without overtime |
Readers following the final possession should distinguish a tied score from an overtime game. The NFL overtime rules never came into operation here because Baltimore scored before regulation expired.
Dallas had the chance to finish it
A pass-interference penalty against Nate Wiggins had taken the Cowboys to Baltimore's 2-yard line on their final drive. That was a position from which a touchdown, rather than a field goal, would have changed the demand on Jackson's last possession.
Dak Prescott's first pass fell incomplete. A false start by tight end Luke Schoonmaker then pushed Dallas back five yards. Prescott scrambled for two before another incomplete pass left Aubrey to bring the teams level.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer subsequently accepted responsibility for over-coaching the final passing situation, explaining that the instruction prioritised a throw to George Pickens or throwing the ball away. That explanation matters because it identifies a decision under clock pressure, rather than treating the result as a mysterious collapse.
There is no certainty that a different call would have produced a touchdown. The narrower conclusion is that Dallas's penalty reduced its options near the goal line, and its remaining plays did not recover the lost opportunity.
The earlier swings still count
The last kick can obscure how often both sides had already changed the direction of the contest. Dallas began with ten unanswered points. Baltimore led 17-13 at half-time and extended the advantage to 24-13 after a blocked Aubrey field-goal attempt helped create another scoring opportunity.
The Cowboys responded. After stopping Baltimore close to the goal line in the fourth quarter, they drove 96 yards and took a 28-24 lead through KaVontae Turpin's nine-yard touchdown run. Jackson's two-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Hibner later put the Ravens back in front.
That sequence gives useful context to the margin. This was neither uninterrupted Baltimore control nor a Dallas comeback completed too early. Each team created a route to victory and then allowed the other back into the game.
What the numbers explain
Jackson completed 15 of 20 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He also ran for 50 yards. Derrick Henry contributed 89 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Flowers caught five passes for 84 yards.
Prescott finished with 276 passing yards and a touchdown. CeeDee Lamb supplied 112 receiving yards, and Javonte Williams ran for 98. Dallas's 415 total yards exceeded Baltimore's 378 by 37, but total yardage does not assign extra value to the moments when a possession ends close to the goal line.
The figures therefore support two observations at once: Dallas moved the ball effectively, and Baltimore made the final scoring opportunity count. Treating either observation as the whole story would miss the other. The Ravens' own post-match assessment also acknowledged missed tackles and a defence that still needs improvement.
A result, not a forecast
Rio adds another distinctive setting to the NFL's international programme after the 49ers' victory in Melbourne earlier this month. The attraction of those occasions should not replace assessment of what the teams actually did on the field.
Baltimore's next scheduled opponent is Tennessee. The Ravens can take a win home while still reviewing the chances they allowed Dallas. The Cowboys have productive attacking numbers to build on and specific late-game decisions to examine. Further coverage sits in the US Sports hub.
Neither a dramatic winning kick nor a painful defeat establishes betting value in the next fixture. This report offers no selection or odds recommendation. Betting is for adults aged 18 and over; set affordable limits, never chase losses and use BetOwl's responsible gambling guidance if you choose to bet.