Ravens’ first-year head coach inadvertently schools Cowboys’ Brian Schottenheimer with postgame comments in Rio
The Dallas Cowboys lost a gutwrenching one in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. And a lot of it was on this Brian Schottenheimer that is being overlooked.
Rio de Janeiro got a heck of a football game as the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens battled it out in a 34-31 showdown. But quite frankly, it wasn’t a good trip for head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
Schottenheimer’s decision-making late in the game is being put to question by fans and media members alike. Rightfully so. The Cowboys head coach controversially “instructed “overcoached” quarterback Dak Prescott to throw it away on third and goal. Moments earlier, he called timeout with 14 seconds on the clock even though the Cowboys needed much less than that. Not to mention, other playcalling woes throughout the game like a head-scratching shovel pass and deviating from the run after Javonte Williams picked up 44 yards in the opening drive.
And when listening to Ravens head coach Jesse Minter, another mistake from Schottenheimer toward the end of the game becomes evident.
The Cowboys messed up the final kickoff
I’ve seen many posts on social media telling a similar story: After the Cowboys game-tying field goal, they ran to the bathroom or for some snacks to be ready for overtime football. Only to find out the game was over.
So how the heck did the Ravnes manage to kick a game-winning field goal with seven seconds on the clock? Kicker Tyler Loop certainly deserves credit for nailing a 56-yard kick but the disaster began with the Cowboys’ decision to aim for a touchback. Just ask Ravens HC Jesse Minter.
“Honestly, anything less than seven seconds, it would have been really hard to do the play that we did,” Minter explained. “We may have even just ran the clock out. But [with] seven seconds left, and with the touchback rules, they decided to kick a touchback [and] gave us the ball on the 35 [-yard line]. We really only needed 18-plus yards to get to our end-of-game type of range.”
Minter admitted his players made a clutch play and added they practice for those moments. But hearing a first-year head coach inadvertently explainw what was so wrong about the Cowboys’ decision-making under Schottenheimer is a tough pill to swallow.
Not that Minter meant to take a shot at the Cowboys HC, but he’s essentially saying they were planning to run the clock out until Dallas made its mistake.
“The touchback rule is huge — it’s at the 35-yard line,” Minter added. “So, we felt the same way with their kicker. When they get the ball on the 35, they’re 15 yards from being in field goal range. We felt like, again, [with] one play that could take six seconds, we kind of know the time that that route takes and the yards that we needed. [It was] great execution by our guys, and [they] came through.”
So why did the Cowboys kick a touchback?
It’s weird to type this out but… because they didn’t trust Aubrey.
The Cowboys All-Pro kicker landed on my winners and losers list because he was called for two fouls for kicking it out of bounds. Something was off with his placekicking at Maracanã Stadium.
“At the end of the day, we just felt like, hey, let’s boom it through,” Schottenheimer said. “Let’s put them out there, make them throw the ball short and we’ll be fine. Play for overtime. That’s what the plan was.”
But come on. It was worth the risk. Worst case scenario you kick it out of bounds and it’s a five-yard difference. If you instead force a return you have a shot at stopping them inside their thirty. Which the Cowboys did four times in the game! It’s not like Aubrey sent every ball out of bounds.
Unfortunately, the Ravens were happy to learn that was the plan. Now the Cowboys are 1-2 and desperate to find answers on defense. But on Sunday, even with 34 points against, coaching left a more bitter taste in the mouths of fans than defense.
