Brian Schottenheimer explains time management and game management issues at the end of a loss

The Cowboys had the Ravens on the right. Down three, the Cowboys reached the Baltimore 2 thanks to a questionable pass interference penalty with 23 seconds left. Dallas even had one last timeout in its pocket.

The Cowboys ended up scoring a game-tying field goal, then lost in regulation.

“Yeah, we thought we were going to score a touchdown,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “We thought we were going to score a touchdown and move the ball well there. We have to find a way to hit it. I have to call better plays to get it in.”

Time management and game management issues cost the Cowboys the 34-31 loss, which was decided by Tyler Loop’s field goal on the final play.

Prescott threw an incomplete fade to George Pickens on first down from the 2 before tight end Luke Schoonmaker was called for a false start.

“This can’t happen,” Schottenheimer said. “Schoony knows that. At the end of the day, we were out there. I liked the call we had. But you’re setting us back. It really hurts, because there were a few things that we had that we felt really good about out there.

“No one coached or played a perfect game tonight, and unfortunately it was an important play in the game, as were some of the mistakes I made.”

On second down from the Baltimore 7, Dak Prescott ran 2 yards and the Cowboys called a timeout with 14 seconds remaining. That left the Ravens with too much time, because on third-and-goal from the 5, Prescott hurriedly threw the ball away.

Schottenheimer took responsibility for the third down.

“We requested a quick withdrawal,” Schottenheimer said. “I probably overcoached Dak on that one, because we had the points. And I probably overcoached him on that one, because he had to go – with time, no downtime – he had to go to GP (Pickens) or (Prescott had to) throw him away. . . . It’s my fault. I overcoached him.”

Pickens did indeed return to the pylon and was open for what likely would have been the game-winning touchdown. Prescott confirmed he was throwing it away and said he would like it back.

“I probably should have sat on it a little longer. I sank onto my back foot and just laid it on the front pylon,” Prescott said. “It certainly should have.”

Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey kicked a 23-yard field goal with seven seconds left to tie the game, and the Cowboys continued to trip over their own feet. They had Aubrey take the kickoff in the end zone, wasting no time and allowing the Ravens to start at their 35.

Aubrey had thrown two kickoffs out of bounds earlier in the game, allowing the Ravens to start at their own 40-yard line.

“We thought let’s pass them, put them out there, make them throw the ball short, and we’ll be fine,” Schottenheimer said. “Play for overtime. That’s what the plan was.”

Instead, the Cowboys played man defense instead of an umbrella defense, a decision that NBC analyst Mike Tomlin called “careless.” Lamar Jackson completed a 27-yard pass to Zay Flowers at midfield to the Dallas 38 and called a timeout with one second remaining, allowing Loop to end the game.

“I liked the (defensive) call,” Schottenheimer said. “We wanted to stay sticky. But at the end of the day, they ran two entries. That’s actually a play we run quite a bit. The bottom line is you have to make the ball go to first, not to the layup that they hit to Zay Flowers. That’s where we have to be better.”

The Cowboys had a 77.5 percent chance of winning with 20 seconds remaining, according to ESPN analytics. They lost anyway, and they only have themselves to blame.