Cowboys head to Rio with Lamar Jackson and Ravens awaiting Sunday

The Cowboys are scheduled to leave for Rio de Janeiro on Thursday night with a different test awaiting them Sunday: Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in the NFL's first regular-season game in the city. Dallas and Baltimore are both 1-1, and the league's game announcement sets kickoff for 4:25 p.m. Eastern at Maracanã Stadium. CBS and Paramount+ will carry the game in the United States.

Dallas defensive tackle Quinnen Williams described the trip as a focused business assignment in the Cowboys' Thursday report. The team expects a roughly 10-hour flight. Williams has played in three international games in London, but Rio will be new to both clubs. Dallas' practical work is to get its normal preparation done around the travel and to decide on cleats after inspecting the field, rather than assume travel or turf will determine the game.

The matchup on the ground is more concrete. The Cowboys' Week 3 overview credits Jackson with 74 rushing yards through two games and a league-leading 10.0 yards per pass attempt. Williams and the Dallas front need to account for both threats. Baltimore, meanwhile, has its own personnel questions: receiver Zay Flowers missed Week 2 with a hamstring injury, and tackle Ronnie Stanley left that game with a toe issue. Neither player's Sunday status should be inferred from an earlier-week report.

Dallas' offense enters after scoring 37 points against Washington, but its rushing production remains a separate concern; our run-game report covers the first two games in detail. The Rio preview has a different question: can Dallas protect its injured secondary against Jackson while keeping enough control of possessions to avoid making every drive a passing chase? The Cowboys' roster and final injury report will sharpen that answer before kickoff.

The Ravens said NFL field officials had no current concerns about Maracanã as of Monday and that their own travel plan called for a Thursday flight. That is a readiness update, not a guarantee about Sunday conditions. Both teams will still make game-day choices after seeing the surface and their available players.