October 14, 2012|By Jeff Zrebiec | The Baltimore Sun
“Honestly, in practice, we had one that hit the same way so I already had a vision,” Jones said. “So when I caught it, I found Anthony Allen, and he said, ‘Follow me.’ He was my eyes, he led me to daylight. That thing spread like the Red Sea.”
While Jones’ return created some separation, it did not put the Cowboys away. Romo (25 of 36 for 261 yards, two touchdowns and one interception) led an 80-yard drive that ended with a 7-yard touchdown catch to Bryant, cutting the Ravens’ lead to 24-20. The drive featured runs on nine of 14 plays.
The Cowboys continued to gash the Ravens’ run defense on their first possession of the fourth quarter, running on six of eight plays to set up Bailey’s 34-yard field goal that cut the Ravens’ lead to 24-23.
“I’m the one who’s going to give it to you straight. For us, we have to get better,” said safety Bernard Pollard. “On the defensive side of the ball, we missed tackles, starting with me. … Our team is very talented, our defense is very talented, but missed assignments and missed tackles are putting us in the position where it’s a dogfight every game.”
In five of the Ravens’ six games, the outcome was still undecided on the final drive. After Rice’s 1-yard touchdown run made it an 8-point game, the Cowboys had a 4th-and-10, a 3rd-and-27, and another 4th-and-10 and prolonged the ensuing drive long enough to for Romo to hit Bryant from 4 yards out for a touchdown. When Bryant couldn’t hang onto the potential game-tying, two-point conversion attempt with 36 seconds to go, it appeared that the Ravens would hang on.
However, Bailey’s onside kick rolled through the hands and legs of Ayanbadejo and was recovered by Andre Holmes. A pass interference call on Brown put the ball down to the Ravens’ 34, but Cowboys managed just one more yard before calling on Bailey. His kick looked good for a while before veering wide left.
“The fans certainly got their money’s worth today,” said Ravens center Matt Birk. “It’s never over until it’s over. We understand that.”
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