And they are back! A new NFL season has started for the year 2026, and once again, there will be some boneheaded plays that will cost a team a win, either by the players or the coaches. I’m not talking about some regular bad play. Although these players get paid millions and millions of dollars, they are still human and will make some bad plays from time to time. I’ll let the professional media guys tear them a new one. Instead, I’m talking about the ultra boneheaded plays. The ones that are so idiotic that they make one question their own sanity. Ones that make the viewers question whether what they just witnessed actually happened. Ones that actually make one question whether they themselves can become an NFL coach if they were more situationally aware and called the right play instead of whatever was called on the field. And no, I’m not referring to those hindsight plays afterward. I’m talking about the really, and I mean REALLY, stupid plays that should NEVER, EVER happen at this professional level.

On September 27, 2026, the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens traveled to Brazil to play their first-ever game in that country. I think some of the players aren’t big fans of these out-of-country games due to the longer travel time, having to adjust to the different time zone, and maybe just the amount of distractions as well when in a different country. Regardless, both are big-market teams and you just know it would be a good one. The Cowboys aren’t doing so well, especially on their defensive end, but their offense can always be lethal with CeeDee, Pickens, and Dak. The Ravens obviously have Lamar as QB and Henry as the NFL’s most bruising running back. Anyway, the game turned out to be a really good one. There was lots of back-and-forth scoring. It wasn’t until the very last seconds of the fourth quarter that the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff, on the OFFENSIVE, DEFENSIVE AND SPECIAL TEAMS, did something so ridiculous, and I mean absolutely RIDICULOUS, that they literally gave the game away. Like LITERALLY. The absolute idiocy that makes one question whether the staff illegally betted against themselves. 🤣

The Ravens were up a field goal, 31–28. The Cowboys, with just 23 seconds and one timeout remaining, needed only two yards to score a TD on 1st and goal. TWO YARDS. I’m calling a run play here. TWO YARDS. The starting RB had done an okay job up to that point. He’d had a costly fumble earlier but again, these are professionals and if I’m the coach, I have to believe that he will get you those two yards. Hell, even if not the starter, put in the backup RB to get you those two yards. But no, they decided to go instead for a fade to the corner. It was a horrible throw. They were likely going to run it next (one would hope), but there was a false start penalty and they were moved back five yards! So now, they still could have run it, as they still had a timeout remaining, but they chose to throw again. Understandable. However, the QB had to scramble and was tackled. Last timeout used. At this point, it’s still salvageable because with one more down to go, you knew they had to throw it. You knew, as the Ravens defense, that they would bring out one of their best plays in these types of situations near the end zone to get a TD. What ensues is likely going to be one of the biggest blunders of the season because the Cowboys coach literally told his QB to throw it away!

They drew up a play for the WR, but it didn’t seem like they were on the same page, and the QB just threw the ball away. The WR himself didn’t even look like he ran the route with 100% efficiency either because he wasn’t expecting it to actually be thrown to him or he knew that the QB was going to throw it away regardless because it sailed way over his head. This was RIGHT AFTER a timeout! That’s right, folks. The Cowboys head coach, who calls the plays himself on offense, was playing SCARED (or ultra conservative, to put it nicely) and, without even trying, gave up the 3rd down and settled for the game-tying FG instead of going for the win! Looking more closely, the QB could have actually made a throw for the TD because the receiver had some separation from the defender in that short little out route he ran, regardless of the effort that he made but I guess the QB didn’t have the permission to override his coach? The receiver did push off a bit but you never know if the refs will call those penalties or not had he actually you know, caught the ball. At this point, there were only seven seconds left on the clock. The absolutely hilarious thing is that I had learned that the Cowboys labeled themselves GOTI, meaning Greatest Offense There Is. The jokes that are coming out from YouTubers and the media regarding this is just too funny. How can you call your offense the greatest there is and you can’t even get two yards?! How can you label yourselves that when your own coach doesn’t believe in you?!

OK, so the offense messed up. No problem. There are only 7 seconds, right? We’re going to OT for sure. HOWEVER, the kicker on the kickoff kicked the ball OVER the end zone! OVERRRRR! That automatically puts the ball on the 35-yard line with the new kickoff rules! WHY did the special teams coach not tell his kicker to either squib kick it or kick it between the 20 and the start end zone? This would force the Ravens to waste a couple of seconds off the clock. But instead, they now get the ball on the 35-yard line with ZERO seconds wasted. But of course, the Cowboys still believe everything was good because the Ravens still needed about 27–30 yards to get into field goal range for their kicker. With only 7 seconds remaining, surely that’s not going to happen, right? This decision is one of the most baffling to me in this sequence. Understandably, the kicker made a few kickoff mistakes prior to this. However, you are literally counting on the receiving team to either get a big return AND kick the game-winning FG WITH ONLY 7 seconds remaining OR take it all the way to the house for a TD. You are so scared of this happening, a scenario that likely has a very low chance of happening, that you AUTOMATICALLY roll over and decide to just give them the ball at the 35 instead. The special teams coaching staff has absolutely NO TRUST in his special teams to get a stop just like the head coach having no trust in his offense to EITHER run for two yards OR throw for a TD in the redzone on 3rd down. Absolutely mind numbing.

OK, so not only did the offense mess up, but now the special teams messed up as well. Surely their defense won’t give up the yards necessary to put the Ravens within FG range with just 7 seconds, right? RIGHT? Surely the coaches, who also get paid millions of dollars, KNEW where the opposing kicker’s range is, right? Surely they would know to give up the underneath plays and not a big chunk play to a receiver WIDE OPEN in the middle of the field, right? Surely the Cowboy offensive players thought this was going to happen because they were likely already getting ready for OT on the sidelines, right? WRONG! WRONG WRONG WRONG! The Cowboys are starting the season with a pretty bad defense. They got absolutely embarrassed by the Giants in their opener. They couldn’t stop the run, and they just looked lost. Their defensive coordinator is a new addition to the staff this year and is someone who is extremely green, with this year being his first year as a defensive play-caller. Lots and lots of pressure. Suffice it to say, he called a prevent-type defense, which is soft zone coverage, and WHAT DO YOU KNOW, FOLKS…. Lamar threw an absolute dart to his WR, wide open in the middle of the field for 27 yards, and immediately called timeout. You know, the 27 yards they absolutely COULD NOT afford to give up! The Ravens kicker knocked in a 57-yarder and won the game. Absolutely amazing and shocking.

So there we have it. The offense screwed up. The special teams screwed up. And the defense screwed up. The sad thing is that this all happened with only under half a minute left in the game. It literally felt like the entire Cowboys coaching staff let down their players. Not only have they not called the right plays but by doing so, it implies that they have absolutely zero to little trust in their players. I’m not even that big of a NFL fan anymore and even someone like myself could see this. This strange string of sequence is likely to be one of the worst blunders we’ll likely see this entire season from a NFL team. This was such a good game and so it was a huge shame it ended like how it did. Well, at least from a neutral viewer who has no skin in the game. I’m sure the Raven fans would say otherwise. At this early point in the season, it’s obvious the entire Dallas Cowboys coaching staff needs to get their shit together.