ARLINGTON, Texas– What a wild game this turned out to be. For three quarters, the Cowboys looked like no match for the Ravens, who built a 22-point lead.
But the Cowboys rallied, using big plays, an onside kick and an improved defense. However, it wasn't enough in the end as the Ravens prevailed for a 28-25 win.
Let's check out seven plays that might have made the difference in this game.
Opening the game – Let's just go with the coin toss. Not only did the Cowboys win the toss and elect to get the "freakin" ball, according to captain Israel Mukuamu, but they didn't do anything with it. Taking the ball was supposed to generate some early offense for the Cowboys to establish a lead. But it led to a punt, and the Ravens marched down the field and scored with ease. To make it worse, coming out of the third quarter, the Ravens did the same and scored on the first possession of the third quarter.
Tyler Smith's holding call – The Cowboys had a little momentum heading into the second quarter with a first down on the Ravens' 9-yard line. But on first-and-goal, Tyler Smith was flagged for holding in the pocket, pushing the ball back to the 19. Always an uphill battle to score, the Cowboys at least got a pass completed to CeeDee Lamb, but he was stripped of the ball and the Ravens recovered at the 9. Without the holding call, it's probably four-down territory to try and cut into the Ravens' 14-3 lead.
Prescott misses Elliott in the flat – For the second straight game, Dak Prescott missed running back Ezekiel Elliott for a pass out to the right side. On third-and-7 at the Cowboys' 34-yard line just before the half, Prescott rushed a throw to Elliott, who couldn't get his body turned around to make the catch. That forced the Cowboys to punt to the Ravens, who took the drive at their own 12 and went 88 yards in eight plays – never getting to third down – to score and make it 21-3.
Offsetting penalties negates P.I. – Just before the half, the Cowboys trailed, 21-3, and were looking for a field-goal attempt. But Prescott went to the end zone for Lamb, who was grabbed twice and then tackled for a pass-interference penalty. However, a holding call on Tyler Guyton back by the quarterback negated the P.I. call as offsetting penalties. Instead of the Cowboys possibly having the ball inside the Ravens' 5 with six seconds left, they were left for a 51-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey. Down 21-6 at the half could've been 21-10 without that penalty.
Jackson breaks free for 16 – By this point, the game was close to being out of hand. The Ravens were starting the third quarter with a drive, and the Cowboys desperately needed a stop. They got a holding call on Baltimore that pushed the Ravens back to first-and-20 at the Dallas 42, but a 16-yard run by Lamar Jackson put them back in business. That allowed the Ravens to run on second down, and Derrick Henry broke off a 26-yard touchdown for a 28-6 lead.
Two-point decision? – It's easy to focus on the hindsight, but when the Cowboys scored their first touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 28-12, Mike McCarthy elected to go for a two-point conversion to trim the lead to 14. At the time, it seemed like a harmless decision. But after the incomplete throw to the end zone, the Cowboys then went for the onside kick and recovered it. The offense promptly drove the field again and scored, also going for two to cut the game to eight points. Another missed try kept the score at a 10-point deficit, 28-18. If the Cowboys had simply kicked the extra points, they would've been down 28-20 when they got the ball back, assuming the Ravens had played their offensive possession the same way. Again, easy to second-guess now, but you wonder what that scenario might have looked like.
Flowers with the sideline grab – The Cowboys forced a third-and-long and actually had Jackson putting the ball in the air. But his pass to Zay Flowers was hauled in for a first-down grab with 2:28 to play. If the Cowboys had made that stop, they would've had the ball back before the two-minute warning, with a timeout. Not only would they have been in good position to get in field-goal range for Aubrey, but perhaps better than that.
