The NFL’s latest Brazil stop is not just another international showcase. When the Ravens and Cowboys meet on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET, they will do it in Rio de Janeiro, making this the league’s first-ever game in the city and a notable shift from the previous two Brazil trips to São Paulo. The venue matters here, too: the Maracanã is one of the world’s most iconic stadiums, with a capacity of just over 73,000, and it gives this matchup a stage that feels bigger than a standard September opener.
That is fitting, because both teams arrive with more than curiosity attached to them. The Ravens and Cowboys are being treated like playoff, division and even Super Bowl contenders, which means the result in Rio will be read as more than a novelty. It will also be viewed through the lens of what these teams have already shown. Baltimore beat Indianapolis on the road in Week 1, then blew a second-half lead at home against the Saints in Week 2. Dallas, meanwhile, was beaten by the Giants in Week 1 before crushing the Commanders in Week 2. So this is not only about the setting. It is also about which version of each team shows up when the spotlight travels south.
Why this matchup still feels familiar
There is, of course, some history here. Two years ago, Derrick Henry rolled over Dallas for 174 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns, while Lamar Jackson added 87 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. Those numbers are hard to forget because they capture the kind of stress Baltimore can place on a defense when the ground game and quarterback run game are both working. That history does not decide Sunday’s game, but it does add a useful frame: Dallas has already seen what a Baltimore-led rushing attack can look like when it gains control.
The present version of the Ravens has already shown enough to justify concern from opposing defenses. Baltimore is coming off a season in which it ranked 29th in yards allowed per game at 391.5 and 30th in rushing yards allowed per game at 173.5, while also allowing a 68.0% third-down conversion rate. Those figures help explain why games can stay open longer than they should. At their best, the Ravens can still overwhelm you offensively. At their worst, they leave a door open.
That tension is what makes Cowboys Vs Ravens such a compelling international game. Dallas has to deal with the possibility that Baltimore’s offense can hit in waves, especially if Derrick Henry again becomes the kind of volume runner who can tilt the script. But Baltimore also has to handle a Cowboys team that, at least in Week 2, showed it can turn a game into a rout when it gets rolling. In other words, the travel does not make the matchup smaller. It makes the stakes clearer.
A new Brazil chapter
The NFL’s move from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro gives this third straight season in Brazil a different feel. The Maracanã has hosted World Cups and the 2016 Summer Olympics, so the setting already carries the weight of major sporting history. Now it gets an NFL regular-season game. For the league, that is a meaningful next step. For the Ravens and Cowboys, it is a chance to turn an overseas assignment into something that says more about where each team stands than about where it is playing.
And that may be the most interesting part. The first game in Rio de Janeiro is an event on its own, but it will still be judged like an ordinary NFL test: who handles the pressure, who controls the line of scrimmage, and who leaves Brazil looking more like a contender than a traveler.
