Plenty of Ravens fans probably felt a sense of dread as they watched the Dallas Cowboys drive down the field with Baltimore clinging to a three-point lead late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game in Rio de Janeiro.
If so, they weren't alone. General Manager Eric DeCosta had the same feeling.
"There was a family of 12 sitting next to me, a Brazilian family," DeCosta shared on "The Ryan Ripken Show." "And with a minute and 20 seconds to go, the father looked over at me, tapped me on the shoulder, and said, 'Believe.' And I said, 'Believe?' And he said, 'Believe.' And I said, 'Are you a Ravens fan?' He goes, 'Yes.' And he goes, 'We got this.'
"I didn't really necessarily feel that."
When the Ravens defense limited the Cowboys to a game-tying field goal despite Dallas having first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, DeCosta started to believe. His belief grew stronger when the Cowboys kicked the ball into the end zone for a touchback, giving the Ravens the ball at their own 35-yard-line with seven seconds remaining.
"I can't believe they didn't kick the ball in bounds," DeCosta said. "I said, 'We have enough time
to run a play. If we complete a pass, we have a chance. We have a chance to at least try a kick. Worst case is we're going to overtime, but let's be aggressive.'"
What happened after that – Lamar Jackson completing a 27-yard pass to Zay Flowers and calling timeout with one second on the clock to set up Tyler Loop's game-winning 56-yard field goal – will forever be part of Ravens lore.
That it was the first game-winning kick of Loop's career – and his first attempt at one since his Pittsburgh miss that decided the AFC North last season – made the moment all the more monumental.
"Somebody that had to overcome a challenge like Tyler did last year, missing the kick and being scrutinized, and even this year having somebody come in and kick with them on the practice squad … It's a bottom-line business, but when you've been able to overcome something like that, I think it really has a chance to harden you and toughen you and make you your very best," DeCosta said.
The Ravens improved to 2-1 with the victory, but given how close this game and the Week 2 loss to the New Orleans Saints was, they could just as easily be 3-0 or 1-2.
"It's never quite as bad as you think and it's never quite as good as you think, especially early in the year," DeCosta said. "Keeping kind of a level-headed perspective on that. And then I think just self-evaluation, being honest with yourself, being honest with your players and your coaches and looking at where we have to improve. And I think with us, there's a lot of areas where we can get better. We're aware of that, and I think our coaches are doing a great job of being transparent and working with our players.
"We are not the team we want to be just yet. We're happy to be 2-1, but we're not thrilled to be 2-1. We want to be 3-0. We want to be 3-1 this week. A lot of things we can improve on. … I'm confident we can get there."
Ravens Work Out Two Centers and a Guard
With all three of their centers sidelined with long-term injuries, the Ravens worked out free agent centers Graham Glasgow and Kingsley Eguakun, as well as guard Kyle Hergel, on Tuesday, per the NFL transactions wire.
Glasgow, 34, is the most experienced. He's played both center and guard and made 136 career starts over 10 seasons with the Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos.
"He made 14 starts for Detroit last season and would give Baltimore a veteran who can step into the lineup immediately," Ravens Wire’s Glenn Erby wrote.
Eguakun, 25, started two games at center for the Lions last season. Hergel, 26, appeared in eight games with the New Orleans Saints in 2024. He spent time on the Chicago Bears' practice squad in 2025 and this season before being released last week.
Another potential addition for the Ravens could be veteran guard Kevin Zeitler, who played in Baltimore from 2021-23. Zeitler worked out for the Green Bay Packers on Tuesday.
Head Coach Jesse Minter said rookie guard Vega Ioane will be prepared to start at center when the Ravens host the Tennessee Titans this Sunday. The first-round pick took over at center in the final minutes of the fourth quarter on Sunday after centers Jovaughn Gywn and Ethan Pocic had both left the game with injuries.
Two Unsung Heroes in Ravens' Win in Rio
Jackson, Flowers, and Loop were the biggest heroes in the Ravens' thrilling win in Rio, but there were unsung heroes as well.
Ravens on SI’s Josh Reed identified several of them. Here's a look at two:
OLB Tavius Robinson
"While the fourth-year pro didn't extend his consecutive games with a sack streak [to five], he still managed to come up with a clutch, drive-ending stop for the third week in a row. In the second quarter, he set the edge against the run on the fourth-and-short, [and] four-time Pro Bowl inside linebacker Roquan Smith stopped the running back in his tracks. … Robinson finished with two total tackles, including a solo, a quarterback hit, and a pass breakup."
OT Carson Vinson
"With two-time Pro Bowl veteran left tackle Ronnie Stanley out with a toe injury, the Ravens called upon the second-year pro to step up and be responsible for protecting Jackson's blindside in his first career start. … According to Pro Football Focus, he didn't allow a single pressure on 22 true pass-blocking snaps, earning him a respectable overall grade of 63.4."
