Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens delivered one of the most remarkable last-second victories in recent NFL history Sunday, thanks to a late fourth-quarter decision made by the Dallas Cowboys.
In a thrilling 34-31 win in Rio de Janeiro, Jackson was able to set up the winning field goal because the Cowboys chose to send the kickoff into the end zone, which ran no time off the clock. After the touchback gave the ball to the Ravens at their 35-yard line with seven seconds remaining, Jackson completed a 27-yard pass to wide receiver Zay Flowers. Tyler Loop then drilled a 56-yard field goal with no time remaining, redemption for the second-year kicker after his miss in last season's finale ended Baltimore's season.
It marked the latest start to a game-winning drive off a kickoff since 1978 (including playoffs), according to ESPN Research.
"Honestly, anything less than seven seconds, it would have been really hard to do the play that we did," Ravens coach Jesse Minter said. "We may have even just ran the clock out. But [with] seven seconds left ... they decided to kick a touchback [and] gave us the ball on the 35.
"You practice those moments, and you wait for them to come up. It came up today, and we were ready."
Dallas tied the game at 31 with seven seconds remaining after it got to within 2 yards of the end zone but had to settle for a Brandon Aubrey 23-yard field goal.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said the decision to go for the touchback on the ensuing kickoff was made partially because Aubrey had two kickoffs that went out of bounds earlier and led to Baltimore drives starting at the 40.
"At the end of the day, we just felt like, 'Hey, let's boom it through. Let's put them out there, make them throw the ball short and we'll be fine. Play for overtime,'" Schottenheimer said. "And that's what the plan was."
But Jackson had other plans, producing his first winning drive that started with less than one minute remaining in the fourth quarter. He called it a "get-down, timeout" situation, which is a scenario the Ravens had been practicing since training camp but not this past week.
Jackson completed a 27-yard pass -- his second-longest completion of the game -- to Flowers over the middle and called timeout immediately to stop the clock with one second left.
"Zay ran a great route and I just had to deliver the baby," said Jackson, who was 6-of-7 for 72 yards in the fourth quarter. "He caught it, and as soon as he got down, I said, 'Please see me [call a timeout], ref,' and he did."
Schottenheimer said he liked the call on that play from defensive coordinator Christian Parker because the Cowboys wanted to stay "sticky." They were playing with a banged-up secondary with Reddy Steward playing in the slot after injuries to Jalen Thompson. Caelen Carson was in the game at cornerback with Shavon Revel out with an injured knee.
"It was a man-to-man, robber look that we had where we were playing soft and kind of force the ball to go to the underneath on the in cut, not the deep on behind," Schottenheimer said.
Loop's first career winning field goal was also a moment of redemption for him. His 44-yard, last-second miss in last season's finale against the Steelers kept Baltimore out of the playoffs.
After the kick Sunday, Jackson told Loop, "Your legacy starts now."
Loop celebrated by running into the end zone and striking Cristiano Ronaldo's "Siu" signature move. Loop's teammates then lifted him on their shoulders.
"We've talked a lot this season about being the best when your best is needed," Loop said. "And there's been a lot of adversity, been a lot of stuff that's happened between the end of last season and now. And it's been a pleasure to have teammates like these guys and the rest of the locker room kind of stand behind me and support me."
ESPN's Todd Archer contributed to this report