Cowboys will reportedly play Ravens in NFL's first Rio de Janeiro game during 2026 season
· Yahoo Sports
The NFL has planted roots in Brazil, where it held Week 1 games each of the past two seasons. Both of those were played at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo.
The league will be putting on at least three regular-season games in Rio de Janeiro over the next five years. It announced in February that the Dallas Cowboys will get the ball rolling. Now, close to two months later, more details about that matchup are coming out.
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The Cowboys, who haven’t played an international game since 2014, will face the Baltimore Ravens in Rio, according to multile reports.
The Baltimore Banner, which broke the news, also reported Wednesday that the game will take place during Week 3 of the 2026 season, although The Baltimore Sun didn’t pinpoint when exactly the game will kick off in its report.
It will be played in the Maracanã Stadium, which famously hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup final.
The NFL stated in February that there are more than 36 million NFL fans in Brazil. Their home country was the site of season-opening thrillers in both 2024 and 2025. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 6, 2024, and the Los Angeles Chargers bested the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 5, 2025. Those games were each decided by one score.
Cowboys-Ravens will serve as one of the league’s record nine international games next season. In Week 1, the NFL will launch its first-ever regular-season game in Melbourne, Australia. The San Francisco 49ers will take on the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, Sept. 10, at approximately 8:35 p.m. ET.
A day earlier, the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will kick off the season in a rare Wednesday night league opener.
The Cowboys last went overseas to play an NFL game 12 years ago. Back then, they squared off against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
The Ravens have also played in London: first in 2017 versus the Jaguars and then in 2023 against the Tennessee Titans.
Dallas and Baltimore, and their well-known franchise quarterbacks — Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson — will reportedly be on display in Rio in 2026.