The Baltimore Ravens somehow escaped from Rio de Janeiro with a win over the Dallas Cowboys, after Tyler Loop nailed a 56-yard field goal as time expired.
The NFL’s first ever game in the Brazilian city turned into a thriller that looked as though it would end in a Dallas win, only for a huge twist in the final seconds.
With the score tied at 31-31, Baltimore got the ball back with just seven seconds on the clock and the game seemed destined to head to overtime.
Lamar Jackson had other ideas though, sealing a huge first down with a 27-yard pass to Zay Flowers, before calling a timeout with one second left on the clock – teeing up Loop for a long field goal attempt.
Loop then sparked bedlam as he made the attempt from 56 yards, sealing a 34-31 win and talking Baltimore to 2-1 on the year.
Dallas, meanwhile, moves to 1-2 and now faces a 10-hour flight back to the US reflecting on the devastating finale of a game they came so close to winning.
Tyler Loop celebrates with his teammates after sealing a wild walkoff win for the Ravens
Loop pulled out the Cristiano Ronaldo ‘siuu’ celebration, much to the delight of the fans
There were 72,792 fans in the Maracana for the NFL’s third game in Brazil and first in the city of Rio de Janeiro, engaging in a back-and-forth contest that featured plenty of big plays.
Baltimore’s Derrick Henry was the star of the show for much of the contest, as he ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
The Ravens were in control with a 24-13 lead in the third quarter, but the Cowboys weren’t done. Jake Ferguson atoned for a previous turnover when Prescott found him for a 19-yard touchdown. Dallas added a 2-point conversion on a nice catch by CeeDee Lamb, cutting the deficit to 24-21.
Baltimore appeared it was about to go up by 10 a few minutes later, but Henry was stuffed in the backfield on fourth-and-inches at the goal line when rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham sliced through the offensive line and made the tackle.
It was the NFL’s first ever game in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro and fans flocked south
Dallas kept the momentum in its favor with a 96-yard touchdown drive that included a 49-yard pass to Lamb. KaVontae Turpin had a 9-yard TD run to give the Cowboys a 28-24 lead with just under 10 minutes left.
The Ravens’ defense came up big in the third quarter, forcing a Cowboys turnover when Ferguson fumbled a shovel pass from Prescott. Dallas tried for a 59-yard field goal later in the third, but Keondre Jackson blocked Aubrey’s kick to preserve the Ravens’ 17-13 lead and regain possession at mid field.
Jackson hit Chris Moore for a 4-yard touchdown four plays later and a 24-13 lead.
The Ravens recovered from a rough start, scoring 17 straight points to take a 17-13 lead into halftime.
Henry had a 5-yard run early in the second quarter to move into ninth place on the NFL’s career rushing list, passing Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, who had 13,259.
Dallas Cowboys mascot ‘Rowdy’ poses with fans at the Maracana, most famous for soccer
If the five-time Pro Bowl selection continues at his current pace, he could also pass Jerome Bettis (13,662), LaDainian Tomlinson (13,684) and even Curtis Martin (14,101) this season.
After concerns about the playing surface this week, the grass field at the Maracana appeared to hold up pretty well.
The NFL has been playing in Brazil since 2024, but the two previous games were at the 48,000-seat NeoQuimica Arena in Sao Paulo.
In the first year of the Brazil game, its turf was also criticized and forced players of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers to change their cleats to stop slipping.
