Loop's Game-Winner Seals Crucial Ravens Victory Over Cowboys in Brazil

Two-hundred and sixty-six days earlier, Lamar Jackson pulled off late-game heroics, and Tyler Loop missed right. The Steelers went to the playoffs. The Ravens went home. Jackson, freezing and disbelieving, exited quietly.

"We did all that to come up short," Jackson said, trying to hide his true emotions with a smile. "Devastating. Furious.

"... I thought we had it in the bag. I don't know what else we can do."

All they could do was keep coming back, keep working, keep putting themselves in winning positions and hope those devastating losses would become elating wins.

Sunday, that was the case. Jackson delivered a 27-yard dime to Zay Flowers with one second left, and Loop nailed a 56-yarder to beat the Cowboys 34-31 in steamy Rio de Janeiro. Cue a team-wide celebration, Ravens players streaming across the famed Maracanã Stadium to lift their kicker on their shoulders, Jackson screaming "Let's go!" the entire way.

> TYLER LOOP WINS IT FOR THE RAVENS pic.twitter.com/fqMQ09xGYI — NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

Since 2022, the Ravens have lost 10 games in which they led by eight or more points in the second half, most in the NFL . In several key junctures, his game looked like it would be the 11th -- and second in as many weeks.

Crucial failure to convert late? Check. After the Cowboys cut Baltimore's lead to three, the Ravens embarked on a long drive, only for Derrick Henry to get stuffed on fourth-and-goal from the Dallas 1-yard line.

Defensive lapse? Check. After that stop, the Cowboys went 96 yards in seven plays, with CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott igniting the drive with a 49-yard connection and KaVontae Turpin finishing it with a 9-yard touchdown.

Offense stalling out? Check. The Ravens, now trailing afterleading by as much as 11, went three and out. The script was writing itself: The Ravens were going to let another game slip. NFL ON CBS color commentator JJ Watt even said Ravens defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver told him the Ravens' late-game losses were their "boogeyman."

Jackson late-game heroics? Check. He scrambled 17 yards on the opening play of the drive, later converted a third-and -10 to Mark Andrews and found Flowers for 14 yards to move the chains on two separate occasions. Jackson then found rookie Matthew Hibner for a touchdown.

> Matt Hibner puts the Ravens ahead in Rio! @NFLBrasil @BALvsDAL on CBS/Paramount+ Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/HgjuOg3Kgu — NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

Defensive meltdown ... again? Check. The Cowboys moved right down the field, helped by missed tackles aplenty. Controversial call? Check. Nate Wiggins got flagged for pass interference on a play Lamb seemingly interfered with Wiggins' chance to intercept the ball. Last week, the Ravens lost when the referees ruled Tyler Shough 's carry  broke the plane on fourth-and-goal , even though video evidence suggested it might not have.

This time, at least, the Ravens' defense had a chance to respond, and it did. Wiggins broke up a pass for George Pickens , and Baltimore limited the damage to a field goal.

"Major credit to those guys straining all the way to the end," Jesse Minter said of his defense.

Minter has stressed "Being the best when our best is required" ever since he arrived this offseason. That he got the Ravens' very best in all three phases isn't a coincidence. After the goal-line stand, the Ravens got the ball at the 35-yard line thanks to an ill-advised  Cowboys touchback . Seven seconds left. Minter said if it had been six seconds, they might have just kneeled and gone to overtime.

> LAMAR TO FLOWERS WITH 1 SECOND LEFT @BALvsDAL on CBS/Paramount+ Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/waTW7TbhSQ — NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

But seven was enough, and, as Jackson explained, the Ravens had drilled the "get down, timeout situation" over and over again in training camp. Seemingly everyone clad in Ravens gear -- on the field, on the sideline, in the stands -- signaled for timeout as soon as Flowers went down. The umpire put one second back on the clock. Loop delivered.

It's the quickest game-winning drive (after a kickoff) on record, per ESPN Research .

The box score numbers won't do Jackson enough credit. He threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns, didn't have a turnover and ran for another 50 yards. They're good numbers on the surface, but they're excellent numbers considering the situations in which they came. Only Brock Purdy had a higher expected points added per dropback in Week 3.

On the final two possessions, Jackson was 5-for-6 for 67 yards and a score passing with 17 yards on the ground: huge play after huge play when the Ravens needed it most.

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"I think that's a huge step for our guys," Minter said.

He also described the win as "baby steps." It can be both. This win can be a baby step -- one win in a 17-game season -- and a huge step in terms of winning a game like this, of potentially putting the boogeyman in the past.

It's not the best nor the biggest regular-season win the Ravens have had recently, but it's arguably the most important for so many reasons: overcoming adversity, coming up clutch, being their best when their best was required. It's a win that means more than the tally in the win column.

After the game, Jackson told Loop 'Your legacy starts now,'" a fitting message for a player whose legacy had been late-game failure.

Perhaps Baltimore's legacy of winning these games -- games that have so often been devastating, franchise-defining losses -- starts now, too.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ravens-exorcise-demons-beat-cowboys-in-brazil/)._