Cowboys Recap & Takeaways: Dallas Finds Brutal New Way to Lose vs. Ravens

Everyone spent the week wondering whether the field at Maracanã Stadium would hold up for the NFL's first game in Rio de Janeiro.

The Dallas Cowboys found an entirely different way to lose their footing.

Dallas bullied Derrick Henry, stopped Baltimore on fourth down three times, erased an 11-point deficit and drove 96 yards for a fourth-quarter lead.

Dak Prescott even answered Baltimore's go-ahead touchdown with 10 seconds left, seemingly doing enough to force overtime after a game Dallas spent refusing to die.

Seven seconds later, Lamar Jackson gave Tyler Loop a chance from 56 yards ...

In what our Mike Fisher is labeling a "choke job'' (see the above video) ... Ballgame.

Baltimore 34, Dallas 31.

Dallas spent the opening quarter doing almost everything nobody expected.

After forcing a three-and-out, the Cowboys ran directly at Baltimore. Javonte Williams ripped off gains of eight, 17 and eight yards as Dallas consistently moved the Ravens backward before the drive stalled near the goal line and Brandon Aubrey settled for a 28-yard field goal.

Then the defense ... went to work?

Von Miller stopped Henry on a checkdown. Jaishawn Barham stuffed him on the ground.

Fourth-and-one?

Caleb Downs and the Dallas defense stopped Henry cold.

That wasn't supposed to be the part of the game Dallas controlled. Yet through the opening quarter, the Cowboys were dictating both sides of the line of scrimmage.

Prescott immediately capitalized, finding KaVontae Turpin on third down before Williams punched in a two-yard touchdown.

10-0.

Baltimore finally answered late, with Jackson breaking loose for 21 yards before Henry finished the drive from four yards out.

1. Wait ... Dallas owns the trenches? - Everything Dallas was supposed to struggle with suddenly became its biggest strength. Williams was running through Baltimore, while Henry repeatedly found nowhere to go.

2. Caleb Downs. Wow - Fourth-and-one. Derrick Henry. The rookie and the rest of the defense sent him backward. For a defense asking young players to grow up fast, that was about as loud of a statement as Downs could make.

3. Javonte is rolling - Dallas wasn't surviving with the run game. It was dictating things against Baltimore's front, and Williams looked decisive every time he had a crease.

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Then the flags started flying.

DaRon Bland was called for 19-yard pass interference before Markquese Bell was hit for 49 more, putting Baltimore at the Dallas 3. Henry scored on the next snap.

That was the beginning of Dallas helping Baltimore find an offense that hadn't exactly overwhelmed the Cowboys on its own.

Dallas had its own chance to answer, but Williams fumbled on fourth-and-one and recovered short of the marker.

Baltimore added a field goal before Tyler Goodson provided an unexpected spark late, helping Dallas move into range for Aubrey's 38-yarder.

17-13 Baltimore.

The strangest part was that Dallas still looked like the more physical team. The Cowboys just kept giving away the margins they had worked so hard to create.

1. Flags changed everything - Dallas committed 68 penalty yards before halftime. Baltimore didn't need that kind of help, especially with Henry struggling to consistently create much on the ground.

2. Kyle Hamilton is everywhere - Dallas ran effectively against almost everyone. Hamilton kept finding the football anyway, whether around the line of scrimmage or closing on throws.

3. Who knew about Goodson? - Three first-half carries. Twenty-three yards. Dallas suddenly had another back worth watching, and his burst gave the offense something different late in the half.

Brian Schottenheimer said at halftime that Dallas had made adjustments.

For a moment, they appeared to work.

Prescott converted fourth down to CeeDee Lamb before Jake Ferguson fumbled in Baltimore territory, wiping away another promising possession.

The defense responded. Quinnen Williams dumped Henry for a five-yard loss, and Alijah Clark broke up third down to force a punt.

Then Aubrey's 59-yarder was blocked.

Another chance gone.

Baltimore finally punished Dallas, marching for a touchdown and stretching the lead to 24-13. The Cowboys had controlled too much of the game to suddenly be down 11, yet there they were.

Prescott answered.

He found George Pickens for 19 yards while absorbing a hit before connecting with Ferguson for a 19-yard touchdown. Lamb converted the two-point try.

24-21.

Dallas had spent most of the afternoon creating problems for itself. Prescott kept preventing those problems from becoming fatal.

1. Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes - A fumble and blocked field goal erased two chances for Dallas to flip the game. Against Baltimore, leaving that many possessions unfinished was always going to hurt.

2. Alijah Clark ... hello - Injuries forced him into action, and the young corner immediately made a third-down play. Dallas needed depth players to survive a physical game, and Clark gave them something.

3. Dak kept them alive - Down 11 with the game threatening to get away, Prescott delivered. He wasn't getting much help from Dallas' mistakes, but he kept answering anyway.

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Baltimore appeared ready to bury Dallas.

Instead, Henry was stopped inches short of a touchdown before Barham dropped him for a three-yard loss on fourth down.

Again, Dallas had survived.

Then came the drive of the game.

Prescott uncorked a gorgeous 49-yard ball to Lamb, found Brevyn Spann-Ford for 19 and later hit Pickens for 16. Dallas went 96 yards on a Baltimore defense that knew exactly what was coming and still couldn't stop it.

Turpin finished the drive on a nine-yard end-around.

28-24.

Baltimore went back to Henry on fourth down later in the quarter.

Dallas stopped him again.

At that point, the Cowboys had survived the penalties, the fumble, the blocked kick and an 11-point deficit. They had the ball with a four-point lead and a chance to finally finish the game themselves.

Three-and-out.

Gross.

Jackson marched Baltimore right back downfield. Bell committed pass interference near the goal line, then rookie tight end Matt Hibner slipped wide open for the go-ahead touchdown with exactly 1:30 remaining.

31-28.

Prescott answered again.

He dropped a ridiculous sideline throw to Ryan Flournoy while taking a hit, pushed Dallas into scoring range and handed the game back to Aubrey.

Aubrey tied it from 23 with 10 seconds remaining.

Overtime?

Of course ... not.

Jackson found Zay Flowers for 26 yards. Baltimore called timeout.

Loop from 56.

Good.

Of course. 

1. Dak gave them every chance - Prescott's 49-yarder to Lamb sparked the 96-yard comeback drive, then he answered again when Baltimore retook the lead. Dallas asked him to save the game twice in the final quarter. He nearly did.

2. Barham is ridiculous - Baltimore kept putting the ball in Henry's hands in the biggest moments, and Dallas kept meeting him. Barham was at the center of another enormous defensive stand in a game where the rookie linebacker kept showing up when the Cowboys needed him most.

3. Cowboys love losing in funny ways - Dallas had the ball with a four-point lead, went three-and-out, lost the lead, tied it with 10 seconds left ... and somehow still lost in regulation. There are normal losses. This was not one of them.

Dallas falls to 1-2 and heads to Houston next Sunday.

For days, the field was supposed to be the concern in Rio. By the time Loop's kick sailed through, nobody was talking about the grass.

Dallas had controlled Henry, won plenty of the game's most physical snaps and dragged itself back from nearly every mistake it made. That should've been enough.

Instead, the Cowboys found a much more familiar problem.

Themselves.