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Dallas Cowboys try to explain botched final 30 seconds

The Dallas Cowboys have tried to explain the late-game miscues that led to a missed 51-yard field goal and a two-point loss to the Baltimore Ravens

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The Cowboys had 26 seconds and a timeout to move the ball and give kicker Dan Bailey a shorter attempt. The offense ran just one play, a 1-yard pass to Dez Bryant, and was forced to call a time out with six seconds left. Confusion ruled.

"This is not an excuse. It's not an explanation. But crowd noise can be a factor in that," coach Jason Garrett said, the Associated Press reported. "It starts with me."

Actually, it starts with everyone hustling back to the line of scrimmage and getting set. Receivers Miles Austin and Kevin Ogletree jogged back after vertical routes and Bryant talked to the officials about a better spot. Ogletree said both he and Austin "feel bad" about the situation.

More than 11 minutes of Garrett's press conference Monday was dedicated to the final 30 seconds in Baltimore.

"We had tried to work on these situations a number of different times with our team (in practice)," Garrett said. "We didn't respond well enough to that situation, getting back quickly enough or using the timeout and changing the circumstances in dealing with that type of situation."

The Cowboys had a golden opportunity to improve to 3-2 despite a rocky start to the season. A victory against the Ravens would have been a quality win. Instead, a routine game situation was botched and 2-3 record leaves them last in the NFC East.

Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.

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