The Dallas Cowboys lost to the Baltimore Ravens by the slimmest of margins on Sunday, 31-29, when Dan Bailey's 51-yard field goal attempt went just wide as the final seconds ticked off in regulation. The Cowboys played well overall in the loss in one of the harshest environments in football, but it was the team's mistakes that once again were being discussed following the loss.

KD Drummond of Blogging The Boys recounts the frustrating end to a fairly well-played football game:

The Cowboys were staring at the surreal with 31 seconds remaining when the Ravens were called for defensive pass interference down the right sideline on Kevin Ogletree, placing Dallas in long field goal range. 26 seconds remained. A first down short pass to Dez Bryant earned a horrible spot by the refs, and while he argued for position the rest of the club seemed completely lost in the element. 20 seconds remained, along with a timeout, but the Cowboys had nothing.

They could have spiked the ball with 15 seconds left and tried to get closer. A riskier option, but still better than doing nothing, they could have called the timeout and thrown to the sidelines. Anything would have been a better option then simply running the clock down to six seconds and calling a timeout for a 51-yard attempt.

Tony Romo was 25-of-36 for 261 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while the Cowboys offense put up 481 yards of total offense and 30 first downs in 40 minutes of ball possession. It was a tremendous offensive performance that came just short of greatness that will be remembered for a very critical mistake when it mattered most.

The Cowboys go on the road to face the Carolina Panthers next Sunday, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. ET.