Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop made a 56-yard field goal as time expired Sunday, Sept. 27, beating the Dallas Cowboys 34-31 in Rio de Janeiro and rewriting his rookie-season ending, according to the Ravens’ game recap.
“God’s been so faithful to me to just help me grow mentally, grow spiritually,” Loop told a Ravens interviewer after the win. The kick was the headline, but his account of what happened between two high-pressure moments carried the deeper story.
The Cowboys had tied the score at 31 on Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey’s field goal. A touchback gave Baltimore seven seconds, enough for Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson to find Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers for 27 yards and call timeout with one second left.
Loop’s attempt slipped inside the left upright at Maracanã Stadium. Teammates chased him across the field, and Jackson caught up for an embrace; his teammates later hoisted him onto their shoulders, per WBAL.
That scene came after a painful January finish. Loop missed a potential winning 44-yarder wide right in a 26-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, eliminating Baltimore from the playoffs. This time, the second-year kicker had to make a longer kick with the game on the line.
In January, after missing the kick, he spoke about reading Romans 8 and trusting God while facing disappointment. Sunday’s story is not that his beliefs began with a winning kick: it is that he spoke about faith on both sides of the scoreboard.
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“It has been a lot of reflection on my side from a spiritual standpoint of — man, football is a gift, it is meant to be enjoyed — and God has grown that a lot in me,” Loop said after the game. He also thanked the teammates who stood behind him through the months between the two kicks.
Loop did not describe the night as a solo rescue. In the team’s short on-field interview, he credited the long snapper, the punter and the blockers with doing their jobs so he could do his. He spoke about the fellowship that comes from knowing teammates will have his back and that he will try to have theirs.
His explanation reached into the team’s chapel life, too. He said the Ravens discuss being of one accord and return to a Scriptural image of a three-strand cord; for Loop, the image fit a locker room that had supported him when a kick went wrong.
“In our chapel services, that is what we talk about — the strand of three is not quickly broken,” he said, connecting that image to players celebrating one another and having each other’s backs.
Ravens head coach Jesse Minter said the team believed Loop had been kicking well in training camp despite some preseason misses. Minter described a player who stuck to his process and kept a positive mindset. Jackson also spoke about prayer while watching the attempt.
“I prayed to Jesus; I prayed to God,” the quarterback said, adding that he had encouraged Loop about the chance to begin a new legacy in Brazil.
The Ravens left Brazil with a win and a moment Loop will remember. They also left with the same lesson he had been practicing after a loss: lean on the people beside you, do the work in front of you and hold onto faith when the result is still unknown.
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