- May 21, 2026
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The Cowboys are flying to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, tonight, arriving Friday morning for their Sunday game against the Ravens. Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer is confident his team will arrive well-rested.
Schottenheimer said the Cowboys planned their trip around letting the team sleep on the 10-hour flight to be ready for a normal Friday practice.
"Most of the guys have lay-down seats. It's a big, big plane. It's important. We've talked a lot about it. We're gonna get on the plane, take off 7:30, 8 o'clock, which is already 10 o'clock Rio time. We're going to fly through the night. We've thought of everything. our team: The compression pants and shirts you wear. It's going to be a dark plane. We'll feed them a little bit, but we need them to rest. And then when we get there we're going to get them moving pretty quick and get out to a meting, and then a practice, and try to get them acclimated as best we can."
There's been a lot of talk that the playing surface at Rio's Maracanã Stadium isn't suitable to the demands of an NFL game, but Schottenheimer said the team is no more concerned about that than in any outdoor game.
"That's every week," Schottenheimer said. "That's one of the benefits of playing in the dome, you don't have much to worry about — maybe the majestic lights that show up from time to time. But when you're playing outdoors, you've always got to be ready to adjust. You've got to be ready for, is it raining, is the surface, is it windy? All of those things are on our gameday checklist."
International travel has been closely scrutinized this season, especially after the Rams defied the typical travel plans by arriving in Australia only a day before kickoff — and then played poorly in their loss to the 49ers. The Ravens and Cowboys are both flying to Brazil tonight, and from all indications neither team thinks travel will make a big difference to the result of the game.
Schottenheimer said the Cowboys planned their trip around letting the team sleep on the 10-hour flight to be ready for a normal Friday practice.
"Most of the guys have lay-down seats. It's a big, big plane. It's important. We've talked a lot about it. We're gonna get on the plane, take off 7:30, 8 o'clock, which is already 10 o'clock Rio time. We're going to fly through the night. We've thought of everything. our team: The compression pants and shirts you wear. It's going to be a dark plane. We'll feed them a little bit, but we need them to rest. And then when we get there we're going to get them moving pretty quick and get out to a meting, and then a practice, and try to get them acclimated as best we can."
There's been a lot of talk that the playing surface at Rio's Maracanã Stadium isn't suitable to the demands of an NFL game, but Schottenheimer said the team is no more concerned about that than in any outdoor game.
"That's every week," Schottenheimer said. "That's one of the benefits of playing in the dome, you don't have much to worry about — maybe the majestic lights that show up from time to time. But when you're playing outdoors, you've always got to be ready to adjust. You've got to be ready for, is it raining, is the surface, is it windy? All of those things are on our gameday checklist."
International travel has been closely scrutinized this season, especially after the Rams defied the typical travel plans by arriving in Australia only a day before kickoff — and then played poorly in their loss to the 49ers. The Ravens and Cowboys are both flying to Brazil tonight, and from all indications neither team thinks travel will make a big difference to the result of the game.