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This content was machine-translated from the French version.
Locked up until the final second in a Maracanã transformed into an NFL showcase, Baltimore defeated Dallas 34-31 thanks to a 56-yard field goal by Tyler Loop at the buzzer. The first major regular-season event played in Rio offered exactly what the league hoped to sell to the Brazilian audience: stars, points, suspense, and an ending tense enough to make everyone forget the time difference.
A Finale That Changes Everything
Dallas had managed to tie the game at 31-31 in the final seconds on a short kick by Brandon Aubrey, after spending much of the game chasing.
The score already tells part of the story, but not its rhythm. Dallas had managed to tie the game at 31-31 in the final seconds on a short kick by Brandon Aubrey, after spending much of the game chasing. In many games, that sequence opens the door to overtime. Here, it mainly left Baltimore enough room to prepare one final possession, move at the right pace, and entrust the ball—and then the game—to its kicker.
Loop did not need an ordinary kick. From 56 yards out, in a stadium discovering the NFL in a regular-season setting, the margin for error was slim. His attempt went through, and the Ravens left Brazil with a 34-31 victory that carries more weight than a simple September record. Baltimore moves to 2-1, Dallas falls to 1-2, and the psychological gap between the two locker rooms can be measured in one kick.
Lamar, CeeDee and a High-Volume Night
Baltimore was not defined solely by its kicker. Lamar Jackson once again gave the game that sense of constant danger, capable of accelerating a drive with his arm or with a run that breaks a defense’s angle. The Ravens also found enough variety to answer Dallas’s strong stretches, even when the game began to resemble an exchange of blows rather than a controlled contest.
For the Cowboys, CeeDee Lamb delivered a star performance with 112 receiving yards. Dak Prescott notably found Jake Ferguson for a 19-yard touchdown that brought Dallas back to 24-19, before the ending became a matter of management, nerves, and seconds. The Cowboys were not blown out; they even had the resources to come back. That is precisely what makes the defeat more bitter.
Rio Got Its Showcase, the NFL Got Its Image
The setting mattered almost as much as the result. The Maracanã, temple of Brazilian soccer, hosted an American football game with everything the NFL likes to show when it exports its product: an identifiable stadium, popular franchises, a close matchup, and images easy to sell again. In that respect, the evening was a success.
Sportingly, Baltimore leaves with a victory that somewhat quiets the questions from the start of the season, even though its defense once again conceded enough to leave plenty of work on the table. Dallas, meanwhile, will have to digest an ending played out to the millimeter. Losing abroad on such a long kick does not destroy a season, but it leaves a small red mark on the schedule: that of a game the Cowboys had managed to bring level without being able to win.