RIO DE JANEIRO — Caleb Downs wore cleats with seven studs Sunday at Maracanã Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys lost 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL’s first game in Rio de Janeiro.
The grass passed NFL and NFL Players Association thresholds on Saturday, and the Cowboys brought seven-stud cleats among their options. The first two NFL games in Brazil were played at the 48,000-seat Neo Química Arena in São Paulo.
The surface was good at the start, according to Downs, the Cowboys’ first-round rookie safety.
“I wore seven studs. So at the beginning of the game it was good, but at the end of the game it was pretty much just dirt out there,” Downs said. “But I can’t make mistakes. I mean, I can’t make excuses about it, so we still got to go out and do our jobs.”
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer remembered one slip, by KaVontae Turpin on a third-down comeback route in the fourth quarter. The team had told players the surface might be slick.
“We came here yesterday, guys, and we looked around and we educated our guys that it might be a little bit of a slick surface. It’s a little different than what we play on, in the soccer pitch,” Schottenheimer said. “But I thought the league did a nice job of making it to where it held up okay. And I didn’t think it really had much to do with the outcome of the game. I just think it was two good football teams battling and it came down to them making a play and ending the game.”
Caleb Downs Stops Derrick Henry On Fourth-And-1
Downs made 3 tackles. The first came on Baltimore’s second possession, when he stopped Derrick Henry for no gain on fourth-and-1 at the Baltimore 30. Dallas scored a touchdown five plays later for a 10-0 lead. He also tackled Lamar Jackson at the end of a 12-yard run in the third quarter.
Dallas did a lot of good things on defense, in Downs’ view, and has a lot to clean up.
“I think we did a lot of good things, but we also have a lot of things to clean up,” Downs said. “That’s the way that we’re always going to look at it in terms of improvement, in terms of trying to get better.”
Downs has said there is more to learn from a loss than from a win. Sunday’s lesson was the same as always.
“Just, the same thing as always in football. No matter what happens, it’s about execution,” Downs explained. “And whoever executes more during the game and executes later in the game is going to win.”
Caleb Downs On Zay Flowers’ Catch Before Tyler Loop’s 56-Yard Winner
After Brandon Aubrey tied the game with 7 seconds left, Jackson hit Zay Flowers for 27 yards to the Dallas 38. Tyler Loop made a 56-yarder as time expired. Flowers ran a dig on the play.
“Ran a 25-, 26-yard dig and caught the ball. That’s what it is,” Downs said.
Dallas had just tied the game when Baltimore walked off with the kick. Downs is learning that is the NFL.
“I’m learning that’s what the NFL is. So turn of events and then just, as I said, execution,” Downs said. “So we’ve got to make our plays.”
Downs thanked God for bringing him to Maracanã.
“A lot of history. Great to be here,” Downs said. “Just the places that God brings you is kind of unimaginable just with the game of football. So I give him all the glory for it and just thankful to be in the situation he put me in.”
The Cowboys fell to 1-2 and play at the Houston Texans on Sunday, Oct. 4, then host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday, Oct. 8.
“Once we get on the plane, this game is over. It doesn’t really matter anymore,” Downs said. “We’re going to watch the film when we get back and learn from it and then move on to the next one. That’s how football is, and that’s what we have to do.”
