Where's Rio Rank On All-Time Cowboys Heartbreakers List? Whitt's End

There have been larger leads. There have been bigger stakes.

But rarely in the 67-season history of the Dallas Cowboys has there been a more epic, excruciating regular-season loss than Sunday in Brazil.

In the wake of the 34-31 loss that ended with the Baltimore Ravens’ 56-yard field goal as time expired, all across DFW dogs may have felt the wrath of shoes. And inside Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium, Brian Schottenheimer angrily dismissed his headset and his coveted colored pens from under his visor.

Said the head coach afterward, “This one stings.”

We’re talking about America’s Team, which has its share of highs via five Super Bowls. But also a litany of lows

The Cowboys have been on the wrong side of “The Catch”, a walk-off field goal in Super Bowl V, a bobbled hold in a Wild Card loss, a last-second touchdown in the “Ice Bowl”, an interception in the end zone of a four-point playoff loss as the NFC’s No. 1 seed, a potential game-winning catch overturned into one of the NFL’s most infamous incompletions, and a quarterback spike that was a nanosecond too late in a home playoff loss.

But as far as regular-season pain, this one will leave a mark. A look the Cowboys’ 13 most gut-wrenching, come-from-ahead losses in the regular season:

13. 2008: Ravens 33, at Cowboys 24 - Needing a win to clinch the playoffs in its final game at Texas Stadium, Dallas mounts a fourth-quarter comeback but loses by allowing jaw-dropping touchdown runs of 77 and 82 yards in the final four minutes.

12. 1991: at Oilers 26, Cowboys 23 - A rare Emmitt Smith fumble at Houston’s 18-yard line in overtime sets up the Oilers’ winning drive at the Astrodome.

11. 2005: Washington 14, at Cowboys 13 - Ruining the Ring-of-Honor tri-induction of Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Smith at Texas Stadium, Redskins’ receiver Santana Moss erases Dallas’ 13-0 lead with touchdown catches of 39 and 70 yards in the final four minutes.

10. 2022: at Packers 31, Cowboys 28 - Green Bay scores the game’s final 17 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, including the game-winning field goal after coach Mike McCarthy bypasses a 52-yard field goal attempt for a failed 4th-and-3.

9. 2026: Ravens 34, Cowboys 31 (Brazil) - Poised to rally for a win with 1st-and-goal at Baltimore’s 2-yard line with 28 seconds remaining, Dallas instead settles for a game-tying field goal and then surrenders a 27-yard completion that sets up the Ravens’ dramatic walk-off winner.

8. 2022: at Jaguars 40, Cowboys 34 - Dallas squanders a 27-10 lead, gets yanked into overtime by a 48-yard field goal on the final play of regulation, then loses when receiver Noah Brown drops, bobbles and volleyballs a Dak Prescott pass into a Pick Six by Jacksonville linebacker Rayshawn Jenkins.

7. 2013: Packers 37, at Cowboys 36 - After building a 23-point halftime lead, Cowboys run the ball only eight times in second half and lose when two of Tony Romo’s final three passes are intercepted.

6. 2011: at Cardinals 19, Cowboys 13 - Dan Bailey makes an apparent game-winning field goal from 49 yards on the game’s final play, only to learn coach Jason Garrett called a timeout to ensure a “smooth operation” on the kick. Bailey’s ensuing attempt dies left and short to force overtime, in which Arizona’s LaRod Stephens-Howling takes a screen pass to the house from 52 yards.

5. 1965: at Washington 34, Cowboys 31 - A 21-0 lead on Thanksgiving in D.C. dissolves as Redskins’ quarterback Sonny Jurgenson throws for three touchdowns and runs for another and Danny Villanueva’s potential game-tying field goal is blocked on the final play.

4. 2024: Bengals 27, at Cowboys 20 - Channeling you-know-who (see No. 1) on a surreal Monday night, Amani Oruwariye inexplicably attempts to recover a blocked punt with two minutes remaining in a tie game. Cincinnati recovers his fumble and scores the game-winning touchdown three plays later.

3. 2011: Lions 34, at Cowboys 30 - Dallas endures its biggest blown lead ever - 27-3 - as Romo throws two third-quarter Pick Sixes and Calvin Johnson catches a clinching touchdown with 1:39 remaining.

2. 1996: Colts 25, at Cowboys 24 - Entering as 10-point favorites, the defending Super Bowl champs surrender a 21-3 lead and lose when Jim Harbaugh throws two late touchdowns and kicker Chris Boniol’s 57-yard field goal bounces off the crossbar as time expires.

1. 1993: Dolphins 16, at Cowboys 14 - An ice storm on Thanksgiving wasn’t the strangest, saddest sight at Texas Stadium. Two infamous words: Leon. Lett.