Dak Prescott, Brian Schottenheimer explain QB's critical third-down throwaway vs. Ravens when George Pickens was open in the end zone

For a collapse of that proportion, mistakes have to be made by multiple parties in terms of decision-making and execution. One of the most glaring mistakes took place on third-and-goal at the Baltimore 5-yard line with 14 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Cowboys were trailing, 31-28. They were in chip-shot field-goal range, but out of timeouts. They needed to make a passing effort into the end zone that mitigated the risk of coming up short of the goal line and allowing the game clock to run out.

This is what they came up with. Quarterback Dak Prescott took a shotgun snap and looked to his right. He almost immediately sailed the ball out of bounds with no chance of anybody on either team catching it.

Dak throws it away when George Pickens had the separation for a TD. pic.twitter.com/JyP9dMytvN

— Henry McKenna (@henrycmckenna) September 27, 2026

Cowboys receiver George Pickens, meanwhile, had gained separation near the front pylon and was open for a potential touchdown pass. Precott didn’t appear in the moment to even consider throwing it where Pickens could catch it.

The rest of the game was history. The Cowboys kicked a field goal to tie the game with seven seconds remaining, seemingly ensuring overtime. But the Ravens got into field goal range with a 27-yard laser from Lamar Jackson to Zay Flowers, and Baltimore called a timeout with one second remaining.

RAVENS GET INTO FIELD GOAL RANGE AND CALL TIME OUT pic.twitter.com/sU81LU7IZH

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 27, 2026

Tyler Loop then kicked a 56-yard field goal as time expired to secure a 34-31 Ravens win and one of the wildest finishes of this or any NFL season.

TYLER LOOP WINS IT FOR THE RAVENS pic.twitter.com/fqMQ09xGYI

— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

Brian Schottenheimer explains third-down play

After the game, Prescott and Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer both addressed the critical third-down play. They both confirmed that Prescott was throwing the ball away.

Here’s Schottenheimer’s explanation in his postgame news conference:

“We called a quick out, ” Schottenheimer. “I probably over-coached Dak on that one. Because we had the points. I probably over-coached him on that.

“Because — with the time, no timeouts, it had to go to GP or throw it away.”

Schottenheimer was then asked to confirm if Prescott’s throw was, indeed, a throwaway.

“Yes he was throwing it away,” Schottenheimer said. “That’s on me. I over-coached him.”

REUTERS / REUTERS

So, per Schottenheimer, Pickens was the intended and only target on the play. But it sounds like Prescott was instructed to throw the ball away if Pickens wasn’t open.

The problem here, of course, is that Pickens was open and Prescott still threw it away.

Dak prescott’s explanation

Prescott also confirmed to reporters that he intended to throw the ball away.

“I was throwing it away,” he said.

Prescott was then asked about Schottenheimer’s comments that Schottenheimer had coached him to throw it away. He declined to go into detail. The wound of the loss was too fresh.

“I don’t want to get into it right now,” Prescott answered. “Maybe in the week. Still fresh — I’m still upset, don’t want to get into it.”

Prescott did acknowledge that he probably should have given Pickens a chance to make a play.

“I probably should have just sat on it a little bit longer, sank on my back foot and just put it on that front pylon,” Prescott said.

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p style=”text-align:left”>So the why of the reasoning for throwing it away and not giving Pickens a chance at a touchdown still isn’t clear. Maybe once the Cowboys are further removed the chaos of Sunday’s finish, the key players will feel better about shedding some more insight.