The NFL season is a long one. Every team is going to suffer at least one soul-crushing loss along the way. Sometimes, the opponent simply executes better. Other times, it comes down to which team has the ball last. And every so often, a team gets outcoached when it matters most.
The Dallas Cowboys got outcoached in their 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
In a game full of head-scratching moments, Dak Prescott throwing the ball away on 3rd-and-goal with a chance to win the game was easily the most confounding.
Unfortunately, Brian Schottenheimer revealed postgame that the plan was for Prescott to get the ball out of harm's way (h/t Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News).
Brian Schottenheimer said on Dak Prescott third down pass to George Pickens he was throwing it away. Schotty said Pickens was open but Prescott is taught to throw it away.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) September 28, 2026
Brian Schottenheimer should be coaching for his job the rest of the season
You really have to see it to believe it.
Unless Schotty was covering for the worst throw of Prescott's career, the Cowboys' head coach was too scared to go for the jugular. He opted to kick a field goal and settle for overtime. With a self-proclaimed elite offense. Down five or six defensive backs. Against a two-time MVP quarterback in Lamar Jackson.
Maddening doesn't even begin to describe it. And as much as it pains us to admit it, Schottenheimer is officially on the hot seat.
To be clear, there are differing definitions of "hot seat." We are not saying that Schottenheimer could be fired if Dallas loses to the 0-3 Texans next week. It's only Week 3, and the Cowboys may very well have won the game if they were able to get it to overtime.
It's hard to envision Jerry Jones moving on from Brian Schottenheimer in-season. But is he coaching for his job over the remaining 14 games? Absolutely.
Sunday was too much of a disaster. From start to finish, there were a host of play calls and decisions from the Cowboys' head coach that cost his team.
On Dallas' first possession, Schottenheimer went away from the run on the one-yard line after Javonte Williams bulldozed the offense into the red zone. He totaled 36 yards rushing on the drive. The Ravens knew it was coming and couldn't do a thing about it.
Rather than stay committed to the run, Schottenheimer dialed up a second-down pass that fell incomplete before Dak Prescott got sacked on another pass on third down. The offense settled for a field goal on a drive that felt destined for seven points. In a game that was lost 34-31.
How about the shovel pass on 1st-and-10 to Jake Ferguson? The refs deemed it a lost fumble recovered by Baltimore. Ferguson has to be better in that situation, but why is Schotty even calling that?
Ferguson has been a YAC dud for over a season now, and other facets of the offense were working. It was a bad decision in the moment and in hindsight.
Schottenheimer needs to grow up in multiple areas
Taking a step away from play-calling, Schottenheimer's late-game awareness reared its ugly head when he had Brandon Aubrey kick the ball out of the end zone with seven seconds left in regulation. A squib quick to drain (maybe) the rest of the clock was the obvious call.
The Ravens took advantage, completing a long pass on first down before trotting out Tyler Loop for the game-winning 56-yard field goal.
That decision alone is its own story, but that's what Schottenheimer gets for playing it safe from the five-yard line with a chance to kill the game.
Dak Prescott was on yet another heater, and Schottenheimer effectively took the ball out of his hands. Prescott had just led the offense on a 97-yard touchdown drive earlier in the quarter to regain the lead.
The Cowboys need Schotteheimer to get better as a play-caller and as a head coach. There were multiple instances when his players didn't execute, but coaching is the reason Dallas isn't 2-1 right now.
Schottenheimer officially has 14 more games to prove he's the right guy for the job.
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