Zay Flowers was the question all week. He had a bad hamstring, barely practiced, and the Ravens' own site talked about a pitch count. He was active, and he made the play that won it: a 27-yard catch from Jackson after Aubrey's kick, with Jackson calling timeout with 1 second left. Mark Andrews had a rougher day. He hurt his hand, went to the locker room and came back after halftime. Baltimore played the whole game without Ronnie Stanley at left tackle and still put up 34.
The Dallas secondary the preview worried about got thinner as the game went on. Jalen Thompson was ruled out for the rest of the game with a hamstring injury. Markquese Bell, who was starting only because P.J. Locke went to IR, left with dehydration before he returned. With Malik Hooker and Cobie Durant already inactive, the Cowboys finished with whoever they had left in the back end, and the scoreboard showed it.
Look at the line score and you'll see a game that never settled. Dallas came out faster and took a 10-7 first quarter. Baltimore put up 10 in the 2nd while holding the Cowboys to a field goal, so the Ravens led 17-13 at the half. The Cowboys scored 8 in the 3rd, a touchdown plus a 2-point try, to keep it at one score. The 4th quarter was 10 apiece, ending with Aubrey's field goal that tied it at 31 with 7 seconds left. Most people in the stadium were thinking overtime. Jackson wasn't.
Prescott gave Dallas a real chance. The Cowboys scored 31 with a banged-up defense and tied the game with almost no time left, and they still lost. Every time the Dallas offense drew even, the defense couldn't get a stop. Over the last 2 quarters, Baltimore scored on nearly every good possession against a secondary running out of healthy bodies. The Polymarket chat drew about 15 times a typical NFL room this season, and this finish was worth watching.
In Baltimore, this cleans up the collapse against New Orleans. Last week the Ravens gave away a 4th-quarter lead. This week they got one back in the last 7 seconds on a banged-up receiver and a long kick. Dallas has more to worry about. The offense looked like the one that beat Washington, but a defense that can't hold a tie with 7 seconds left will be the story until it gets healthy.