Brandon Aubrey's 23-yard field goal tied the Baltimore Ravens at 31 with seven seconds left at Maracana Stadium. The next decision, not the next completion, decided Week 3.
Dallas chose a touchback. Under the NFL's kickoff rules that place a touchback at the 35-yard line, the Ravens needed roughly 20 to 25 yards for a realistic field-goal try. Lamar Jackson hit Zay Flowers for 27 yards, called timeout with one second left, and Tyler Loop drilled a 56-yard winner for a 34-31 Baltimore victory, the Associated Press and CBS Sports reported.
The Cowboys fell to 1-2. Baltimore moved to 2-1 in front of an announced crowd of 72,792.
Why the touchback mattered more than the return risk
CBS Sports' John Breech framed the choice as a clock problem first. Kick into the landing zone and seconds come off whether the returner is tackled or the play is whistled dead. Boom it through the end zone and the clock never moves. With seven seconds remaining, the second option hands the opponent a clean one-play script.
Ravens coach Jesse Minter said after the game that the touchback rule to the 35 was huge and that Baltimore felt it needed one play that could take about six seconds once it knew the yards required, CBS Sports reported.
In a separate set of comments reported by A to Z Sports, Minter said anything less than seven seconds would have made that play hard and that Baltimore might have run the clock out instead.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer explained the plan differently. "At the end of the day, we just felt like, hey, let's boom it through," Schottenheimer said, per A to Z Sports. "Let's put them out there, make them throw the ball short and we'll be fine. Play for overtime. That's what the plan was."
The caution had a recent tape trail. Aubrey had two kickoffs out of bounds earlier in the game, both placing Baltimore at its 40, CBS Sports listed. On the four kicks that stayed in play before the final one, the Ravens started at their 23, 21, 16 and 20.
The worst-case out-of-bounds result was five yards worse than a touchback. The best-case landing-zone result was several seconds off a clock that never got that chance.
The timeout that gifted the seven
The kickoff was not the only late-clock hinge.
CBS Sports noted that Dallas called timeout with 14 seconds left after a short second-down scramble by Dak Prescott. An incomplete pass on third down left 10 seconds. Aubrey's field goal then burned three more, leaving seven for Baltimore.
