Inside the astonishing final 28 seconds of the Ravens’ win over the Cowboys

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RIO DE JANEIRO — The final 28 seconds of the Ravens’ 34-31 win over the Dallas Cowboys was a master class in perseverance and efficiency.

The rest of the game? Those 59 minutes and 32 seconds were a much different story — but the end is what counted.

It began when Jesse Minter called a timeout to stop the clock at 28 seconds, his team leading by three. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott kept changing the play and letting time run with the ball at Baltimore’s 22-yard line, so Minter signaled to an official.

Out of the timeout, Prescott threw to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb near the front corner of the end zone. Cornerback Nate Wiggins got a hand on the ball but was called for pass interference. The replay showed Lamb hooking Wiggins’ arm for what could have been offensive pass interference, but the call went the other way — and it moved the Cowboys’ win probability to 77.5%.

Wiggins was seen jawing with Cowboys players but said he did not let the play bother him.

“You just got to bounce back, bounce back next play,” Wiggins said. “I knew they was gonna come back at me next play after the PI, so I knew I had to come back and show the world, ‘It’s me.’”

He was right: Prescott threw toward wide receiver George Pickens with Wiggins in coverage on the next play. The ball sailed high.

On the sidelines, rookie guard-turned-center Vega Ioane watched intently. He was comforted by the fact that none of the veterans near him seemed nervous.

A false start pushed the Cowboys back to the 7. Then Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith locked up Prescott on a scramble attempt. A Cowboys injury stopped the clock, meaning the Ravens could save their final timeout.

Another incompletion to Pickens forced the Cowboys to kick a game-tying field goal. Their win probability fell to 41.5%.

The ensuing kickoff went into the end zone, which prevented a return but did not run clock the way a squib kick would have.

It seems the Cowboys expected the Ravens to ease the game into overtime. Instead, they pounced.

“We were flipping through a bunch of different ... end-of-game [calls], like Hail Marys, depending on where we got the ball,” running back Justice Hill said. “Once they kicked it out the end zone, I was like, ‘Wow, we’ve actually got some time. They left it in play.’”

The Ravens took over at their own 35-yard line with seven seconds left.

“It was a ‘get-down, timeout’ situation,” quarterback Lamar Jackson said. “It is something we have been practicing since camp. We were practicing it almost every day after camp, probably mixing [it] in practice sometimes. We were surprised because we did not go over that all week. We were not expecting to be in a situation like that, but Coach [offensive coordinator Declan Doyle] called the play.”

Ioane, the right guard, had to snap the ball because starting center Jovaughn Gwyn and backup Ethan Pocic were both out of the game. Ioane spent all of 17 snaps at center at Penn State.

Luckily, the Ravens had prepared him — sort of.

“A couple weeks ago, our assistant [offensive line] coach came up to me and just said, ‘Get some snaps, just in case,’” Ioane said. “You never know what can happen. ... Unfortunate how it happened, but just got to step up, be ready for the moment.”

On the sidelines, Smith was also preparing for the worst, telling his teammates to be ready to take the field for overtime.

“I’m over there talking to the [defensive backs], like, ‘Hey, we need each other right here throughout overtime,’” Smith said. “... And I’m talking to Kyle [Hamilton] about going out for the coin toss.”

But Ioane snapped the ball to Jackson, and in front of the Maracaña Stadium crowd, Jackson performed the magic that has endeared him to Brazilians.

“Mr. Houdini made the play,” Smith said.

He dropped back and threw a pass that traveled 36.4 yards in 1.6 seconds, according to Next Gen Stats. Jackson said the timing on it was perfect, from the offensive line to the route wide receiver Zay Flowers ran.

“I just had to deliver the baby,” he said.

Flowers caught the pass.

“I was telling Zay, I’m like, ‘Bro, what did you do?’” wide receiver Rashod Bateman said. “I don’t even know how bro got open. I don’t even know how they allowed that.”

Cornerback Marlon Humphrey was wondering the same thing.

“It’s crazy,” Humphrey said. “I was obviously excited about that play, and then I was like, ‘What coverage were they in?’”

But precious seconds were wasted as Flowers came back down to the ground. Refs near the ball signaled the quarter was over.

Jackson, though, had been watching for the exact moment Flowers’ knee hit the grass to call timeout — and the crew determined he had successfully called for one with a second left.

The Ravens now had the ball at the Dallas 38-yard line, setting up a 56-yard field goal for kicker Tyler Loop, whose rookie season infamously ended with a missed field goal in Pittsburgh that cost the Ravens a spot in the playoffs.

Still, All-Pro running back Derrick Henry had no doubts as he settled in on the sideline to watch Loop try to win the game.

“I knew he was ready for a moment like that, and he delivered,” Henry said. “... I wasn’t even doubting. I knew he was ready.”

Jackson felt the same way: “I was sitting on the sideline like, ‘Your legacy starts now.’”

After the ball went through the uprights — completing what was, per ESPN research, the quickest game-winning drive in NFL history — Loop showed incredible speed by sprinting away from his teammates and down the field.

Humphrey said no one could catch Loop; in fact, he was worried he might pull a hamstring trying to.

Loop angled toward the corner and hit Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic “SIU!” celebration.

Brazilian fans realized what he was doing and delivered the traditional cheer to accompany the jump just as Loop landed — a perfect ending to the boisterous first NFL game in Rio.