Machota: Cowboys’ Brian Schottenheimer on final 28 seconds vs. Ravens: ‘I hurt our chances to win’

[Cotton]

By Jon Machota
Sept. 29, 2026 Updated 6:33 pm CDT

FRISCO, Texas — Brian Schottenheimer didn’t try to defend some of the questionable decisions he made in the final seconds of the Dallas Cowboys’ 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“I didn’t do very (well) in the last 28 seconds,” Schottenheimer said Tuesday after watching the game over and meeting with the team’s coaching staff and front office. “I hurt our chances to win that game. I’ll be better, and I’m better than that.

“Those things won’t happen again.”

Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone with 28 seconds remaining, giving Dallas first-and-goal from the Ravens’ 2-yard line.

Quarterback Dak Prescott threw an incomplete pass to wide receiver George Pickens on first down. Tight end Luke Schoonmaker had a false start on the following play, moving Dallas back to the 7-yard line. Prescott scrambled for two yards on second down.

The biggest play in question came on the following sequence. Schottenheimer says he “overcoached” Prescott on the play call by saying a word, which he declined to share. That word made Prescott more conservative on third down, throwing the ball away despite Pickens being open at the front of the end zone after Prescott released the pass. Dallas didn’t want to risk a sack and the clock expiring with at least a chance to kick a game-tying field goal.

The Cowboys made the field goal, but they knew they came up short overall. That was an opportunity for their talented offense to win the game.

Schottenheimer was adamant Tuesday that he does not have trust issues with Prescott. After seeing the result of the play, many wondered why the 11-year veteran quarterback didn’t wait longer for the play to develop.

After the game, Prescott didn’t want to get into specifics about what was said before that play.

Schottenheimer isn’t concerned about potential trust issues with the franchise quarterback.

“He’s thrown interceptions before, and I still trust him,” Schottenheimer said. “So, if I make a mistake, I hope he trusts me, because I’ve made a lot of really good decisions, too.”

Another poor decision followed the game-tying 23-yard Brandon Aubrey field goal. Since two of Aubrey’s kickoffs already went out of bounds earlier in the game, Dallas chose to have him kick it out of the back of the end zone, giving the Ravens the ball at the Cowboys’ 35. The problem is it left Baltimore star quarterback Lamar Jackson with 7 seconds to potentially get the Ravens in position to kick a game-winning field goal.

Schottenheimer said his overcoaching of Prescott on third down led to the bad decision on the kickoff.

“My dad had a rule, one play at a time,” he said of former longtime NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer. “He talked a lot about (how), because it happened to him, he (decided) on a play. It didn’t go (well). He was pissed off about it, and it affected another decision. That’s kind of what happened to me. So I’ll take accountability for it.”

Things worsened on Dallas’ final defensive play as its poor coverage allowed Baltimore’s top wide receiver Zay Flowers to get open for a 27-yard reception that set up Tyler Loop’s game-winning 56-yard field goal.

“I think the coverage was OK,” Schottenheimer said. “We played way too tight, and there was an error on that play where we should have made the ball go to the low hole player, the low underneath guy, not the deep one. But (defensive coordinator Christian Parker) and I have talked, and there were some other calls he would’ve liked.”

In the postgame news conference Sunday night, Schottenheimer mentioned that he apologized to the team for the result. At the time, it seemed he was taking blame for the loss because of his decisions in the final minute.

“The reason I apologized to them is because I knew how hard they played,” he clarified Tuesday. “I really did. I mean, I thought they laid it all on the line. It was more when I got a chance to really sit back and kind of look at everything and factor everything in, (that) it really bothered me to (the point) where, ‘You know what? I’m better than that.’

“I should have been better on third down with Dak. I should have been better after we didn’t get in and had to take the field goal. And that’s kind of how I process information.”

 

[Texas Ace]

It wasn't just the final 28 seconds, though.

It was inexplicably abandoning the running game at the 1 yard line on the opening drive.

It's allowing those stupid knuckleball kicks to be called despite seeing it repeatedly cost your team field position.

It's calling a shovel pass on 1st down of a promising drive, to a player who isn't and never has been a weapon whatsoever as a ball carrier no less, which led to a fumble and killed off a promising drive in scoring position.

It's settling for a 59 yard FG on a terrible surface late in the 3rd quarter.

It's continuing with a frustrating trend of being overly conservative at the worst times -- calling a safe and non-effective series of plays on a drive where you're up 28-24 with a chance to go score and ice the game.

And then yeah.... It's also the horrendous final minute of the game which not only consisted of those awful final 3 plays, but also the terrible clock management just a few plays earlier which is what ultimately put offense in a position where they could only run select plays due to time constraints in that final series.

So we're supposed to believe that just because he's sorry and promises to do better that he's just going to go from making all those blunders and getting away from who he naturally is to becoming a tactical and management genius as a HC and playcaller for us?

Give me a fucking break.

 

[Stars]

It wasn't just the final 28 seconds, though.

It was inexplicably abandoning the running game at the 1 yard line on the opening drive.

It's allowing those stupid knuckleball kicks to be called despite seeing it repeatedly cost your team field position.

It's calling a shovel pass on 1st down of a promising drive, to a player who isn't and never has been a weapon whatsoever as a ball carrier no less, which led to a fumble and killed off a promising drive in scoring position.

It's settling for a 59 yard FG on a terrible surface late in the 3rd quarter.

It's continuing with a frustrating trend of being overly conservative at the worst times -- calling a safe and non-effective series of plays on a drive where you're up 28-24 with a chance to go score and ice the game.

And then yeah.... It's also the horrendous final minute of the game which not only consisted of those awful final 3 plays, but also the terrible clock management just a few plays earlier which is what ultimately put offense in a position where they could only run select plays due to time constraints in that final series.

So we're supposed to believe that just because he's sorry and promises to do better that he's just going to go from making all those blunders and getting away from who he naturally is to becoming a tactical and management genius as a HC and playcaller for us?

Give me a fucking break.

Nailed it. After the week 1 loss to the Giants, I said his play calling was uninspired. I don't think we or the media paid attention to it, because the defense was trying to get off the mat. This was way worse. It was both "cute" and cowardly at times. I'll never understand why it happens, but I've watched 4 decades of football and continually seen coaches go away from what is working before it's been stopped. Why does this happen? The decision to not run the ball at the goal line at the first of the game might have been an even worse decision than the series at the end. Just mindboggling decision making.

Make them stop you if you are having success.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Just saying... Even dummy Broaddus said at least one of those looked like a run and Dak chose to throw it.

 

[Stars]

Just saying... Even dummy Broaddus said at least one of those looked like a run and Dak chose to throw it.

I think there's merit in what they're saying, but I'd counter with there are times when there shouldn't be a tag on a running play at all. Especially at the start of a game.

Sometimes you have to try impose your will on the other team physically, for a lot of reasons. I know I'm referencing hall of famers here, but I highly doubt Troy audibled out of handoffs to Emmitt very often when they were at the 1 yard line.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Just saying... Even dummy Broaddus said at least one of those looked like a run and Dak chose to throw it.

The question, if given a run pass option but you're supposed to pass if the defense does A or run of they do B. Do you blame the QB for passing when he see's A? Or do you blame the coach.

I think that's really the question. Kind of like our last offensive play. Dak followed marching orders and threw the ball away because od coverage. But should Dak have said, no, I'm giving Pickens a chance and had he done that I think there is a good chance he throws a TD to Pickens.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I think there's merit in what they're saying, but I'd counter with there are times when there shouldn't be a tag on a running play at all. Especially at the start of a game.

Sometimes you have to try impose your will on the other team physically, for a lot of reasons. I know I'm referencing hall of famers here, but I highly doubt Troy audibled out of handoffs to Emmitt very often when they were at the 1 yard line.

I totally agree. Schlereth was kind of talking about this on the Fan yesterday, how you have to be able to run the ball when everyone in the stadium knows you want to run it, but these days everyone is obsessed with getting in the perfect play ("premium looks") and taking what the defense gives you.

And I've heard Troy say the same thing, that they ran the ball with 8 in the box all the time. But now most teams just accept that you don't do that.

I think that's been a problem here for a long time.

 

[Texas Ace]

Just saying... Even dummy Broaddus said at least one of those looked like a run and Dak chose to throw it.

The 1st down play was absolutely a run but Dak was wise to check out of that one because Roquan Smith would have blown it up if Williams would have had the ball on a run.

The problem is the call he checked to which was a back corner fade -- something Dak has never been particularly good at throwing.

If he calls the slant instead, it's an easy TD because there was zero help to the inside because the Ravens sold out to stop the run on that play.

 

[Texas Ace]

But I do agree with what you guys are saying -- sometimes you just gotta impose your will and run it anyway which is something we don't do enough of.

But on that particular 1st down, checking out did prove to be the right decision, we just went to the wrong play.

 

[Texas Ace]

Here's the play:



If it's a slant instead of a fade, it's an easy TD.

 

[Stars]

Here's the play:



If it's a slant instead of a fade, it's an easy TD.

Yeah a slant there is still scoring touchdowns. Literally no one there.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Yeah a slant there is still scoring touchdowns. Literally no one there.

So would have a throw to that front pylon we do on these all the time. I just don't understand the throw away at all. Sometimes you just have to look at your elite receiver and go, I'll trust him to be better than the corner opposite him. This was one of those times. But we were just so terrified of a sack or INT because we couldn't risk the precious over time.

Yet the Ravens with 7 seconds left didn't go, man we are so worried about a pick and a return or a sack fumble here. That's the difference, a coach with balls verse a coach with no balls.