Dallas Cowboys

As the Cowboys head into a Week 4 matchup with the Texans, they find themselves under .500 due to a last-second loss to the Ravens in Rio.

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Tyler Loop’s walk-off field goal in Week 3 beat Dallas, which gave Baltimore the ball back with seven seconds remaining. Over the past week, the Cowboys have taken plenty of heat for their clock management.

At one point, head coach Brian Schottenheimer reportedly spoke to his players, acknowledging his own fault in the loss.

Here’s what’s known about Schottenheimer’s apology to Cowboys players for how the team handled the end of the Week 3 Ravens loss.

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Brian Schottenheimer takes accountability for Cowboys’ error in Rio loss

In the final minutes of Cowboys vs. Ravens, Dallas had an easy chance to tie the game, if not win. With 23 seconds remaining and trailing 31-28, the Cowboys had 1st & Goal, able to tie with an easy field goal, if not go into the end zone for the win. Time, of course, was also a factor, looking to leave little time for the Ravens to answer.

The next four Cowboys plays went:

• Incompletion (20 seconds remaining afterward)
• False start
• 2-yard scramble from Dak Prescott (14 seconds remaining afterward, final timeout)
• Incompletion (7 seconds remaining afterward)
• Field goal

Brandon Aubrey’s kick tied the game at 31 for the Cowboys, but the time remaining meant they would have to kick off to the Ravens. Miraculously, after a touchback on the kickoff that took no time off the clock, Baltimore advanced the ball enough to call a timeout, then win the game.

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According to ESPN, Schottenheimer, who admitted that he «overcoached» his quarterback, instructed Prescott to throw the ball away at the end of the game on the Cowboys’ final play before their own field goal. He had the option to go through his progressions to guarantee an incomplete pass, or take one read and throw the ball away if a receiver wasn’t open.

Ultimately, Dallas left too much time on the clock to play it safe, and Schottenheimer addressed the team last week to take accountability.

#Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer on Sunday’s ending vs. the #Ravens: «I didn’t do very good in the last 28 seconds. … I felt like I overcoached Dak on 3rd down. … I’ll take accountability for it. I hurt our chances to win that game. I’ll be better. And I’m better than that.» https://t.co/3B1DaWa9f8

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 29, 2026

The head coach told his players that «if a coach is going to hold players accountable, he must apply the same standard to himself,» per ESPN, and Cowboys players «responded in a positive way.»

«I make a lot of mistakes,» Schottenheimer told reporters after the game. «I’m certainly not perfect. … I hurt our chance to win that game, and I’ll be better.»

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