Schottenheimer 'aligned' with Jones, vows 'I'll be better' after Rio gaffes

• 

  Todd ArcherSep 29, 2026, 06:53 PM ET

  Close

  Todd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010.

FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones did not mask disappointment with the decisions made in the final 28 seconds of Sunday's loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL's first game in Rio de Janeiro.

Jones and coach Brian Schottenheimer went through the end-of-game decisions, from the playcalling after the Cowboys faced first-and-goal from the 2, to Dak Prescott's third-down throwaway that led to a tying field goal, to how the subsequent kickoff and seven seconds were handled, allowing the Ravens to kick a game-winning field goal with a second to play.

"There is no explanation you're satisfied with. None," Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday morning. "Let's be sure that we all understand that. [The coaches] don't have one that they're satisfied with. ... But there's an evaluation of how not to make the same mistakes again. You can't get that back. [There's] no way to get it back. What you can do is use it ... to get better. That's what's being done."

Schottenheimer accepted responsibility both with Jones and publicly in his first comments after the team's return from Brazil.

"I'm man enough to take mistakes. I make a lot of mistakes. I'm certainly not perfect," Schottenheimer said. "And I know one thing, Jerry and I had a very good conversation about it. I explained it. He understands. He understands that there was a mistake that was made and he was terrific. Great, sound advice. I value him. He's been around the game a long time, just like I have, and he's seen a lot of stuff.

"And so to me, that shows that he and I are aligned very closely. This will make me better. I'll be better. And again, I'm looking forward to lining up and playing this week against the Texans."

Schottenheimer added, "I hurt our chance to win that game and I'll be better. And I'm better than that. I'm better than I performed in the last 28 seconds."

After the game, Schottenheimer said he "overcoached," Prescott on the third-down pass to George Pickens that was a throwaway.

"I trust Dak Prescott completely, so it was the word that I chose, which I'm not going to give away," Schottenheimer said. "The words that we say have meaning, and when I said the word, it put him into a mindset that he doesn't play with. He doesn't play that way. He doesn't play the game that way. And so that's what I would change."

After Brandon Aubrey tied the game, the decision was for him to kick the ball through the end zone for a touchback. The Ravens took over at the 35 and Lamar Jackson hit Zay Flowers with a 27-yard completion to set up the 56-yard kick from Tyler Loop with one second remaining.

In retrospect, Aubrey's kickoff should have been short to burn time off the clock.

He said his emotions of the third-down call impacted the kickoff decision, adding that the communication between special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen and game management coordinator Ryan Feder was not good enough either.

"My dad had a rule -- one play at a time," he said, referring to former NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer. "He talked a lot about it, because it happened to him. He made a decision on a play, it didn't go good, he was pissed off about it and it affected another decision. I think that's kind of what happened to me. So I'll take accountability for it. It's football and life, it's what happens."

As he did after the game, Schottenheimer did not express regret over defensive coordinator Christian Parker's call that allowed the completion to Flowers.

"I think the coverage was OK," he 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 underneath guy, not the deep one."

Schottenheimer has been a head coach for just 20 games, although he is in his 25th year in the NFL. Parker, 34, is a first-time coordinator. So far, the defense has not performed consistently, but Jones remains confident in what can transpire this season.

Injuries have hit the defense with safety Jalen Thompson (hamstring) likely headed to injured reserve/designated to return. Schottenheimer said defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard could miss a couple of weeks with a calf strain. The Cowboys could see safety Malik Hooker (forearm) and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown return this week against Houston, but the team did work out five players, including former Cowboys safety Juanyeh Thomas and Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt.

The Cowboys' next three opponents -- the Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers -- have one win combined this season. The New York Giants lost quarterback Jaxson Dart for the season with a knee injury, and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is out with an elbow injury suffered against Dallas.

"We are very much in the hunt, and I say that principally based upon the way I feel about our team, as much or more than what's happening with the other teams," Jones told The Fan on Tuesday. "Philadelphia has things that they want to work on just as the Giants do, just as we do. It makes you see how health is a factor. Availability is a factor. And we're just getting started."