BALTIMORE — After catching a touchdown pass with 32 seconds remaining, Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant couldn’t come down with a two-point conversion catch that would have sent Sunday’s game to overtime.
Instead, the Cowboys left M&T Bank Stadium with a 31-29 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Both the 4-yard touchdown and two-point-conversion try came on the same play call, a back-shoulder fade from Romo to Bryant. Bryant came down with the first one but couldn’t snag what appeared to be a catchable pass.
However, the Cowboys (2-3) still had hope after recovering the ensuing onside kick. They set up a 51-yard attempt from Dan Bailey that just missed wide left.
A 1-yard Ray Rice touchdown with 4:41 remaining in the fourth quarter helped give Baltimore (5-1) some breathing room before the Cowboys’ late surge.
Rice ran for 63 yards and two touchdowns. He also had one reception for 43 yards. It marked Rice’s 37th game where he totaled more than 100 yards from scrimmage.
Before Rice’s touchdown, Baltimore held just a 24-23 lead after Bailey knocked in a 34-yard field goal. The Ravens then used up three minutes, 41 seconds before Rice’s score put them up by eight.
The Ravens opened the game with a 14-play drive that went 60 yards and lasted 7:10. They got as far as the 19-yard line but settled for a 38-yard field goal from rookie Justin Tucker that put them up 3-0 early.
Dallas responded with a touchdown on its first drive of the game, relying heavily on the running game. Of the eight plays on the Cowboys’ first series, five were runs, capped with a Felix Jones 21-yard rush.
The Ravens’ run defense had a tough time defending the run for the second week in a row. Baltimore surrendered 227 rushing yards to Dallas, including 93 yards to DeMarco Murray and 92 yards to Jones.
However, Murray sustained a foot injury in the first half and did not return. Jones briefly left the game with an undisclosed injury in the second half but was able to return. Still, the Cowboys had success running the ball against Baltimore with third- and fourth-stringers Phillip Tanner and Lance Dunbar.
Baltimore made up for the lackluster rush defense with its offense and special teams play. With 1:05 left in the first half, receiver Torrey Smith caught a 19-yard touchdown that helped put Baltimore up 17-10. In the third quarter, receiver Jacoby Jones tied an NFL record with a 108-yard kickoff return touchdown that put the Ravens up 24-13.
The Cowboys scored the game’s next 10 points, with Bryant recording his first touchdown of the season on a 7-yard reception late in the third quarter.
Though the Ravens got the win, they lost cornerback Lardarius Webb for the contest with what was initially believed to be a sprained knee. Webb injured the knee in the first quarter while defending Bryant on the right sideline.
NOTES: Out of Rice’s 37 games with 100 total yards, he’s had 35 since 2009. No other NFL player has accumulated as many 100-yard rushing games in that span. … Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata sprained his knee but returned to the game and recorded one sack. … Cowboys linebacker Anthony Spencer was inactive due to a shoulder injury. … The Cowboys were averaging just over 67 rushing yards per game entering Sunday.