Two weeks after Melbourne opens the season in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time, the International Series heads to South America for only its second-ever game there: the Dallas Cowboys face the Baltimore Ravens at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil's first taste of the NFL came in São Paulo in 2024 — this is the country's second city and second team pairing, and arguably an even bigger draw.
Why this matchup, why the Maracanã
The Maracanã is one of the most famous stadiums on earth, the site of two World Cup finals and an Olympic opening ceremony, and it gives the league a genuinely massive stage to work with. Pairing it with the Cowboys is no accident either — Dallas is consistently the NFL's most globally recognizable franchise, and Brazil already has one of the largest and loudest international NFL fan communities, built up for years through broadcast and streaming access long before a game ever came to them.
The matchup on paper
For the Cowboys, it's Dak Prescott at quarterback, throwing to CeeDee Lamb and free-agent addition George Pickens, with Javonte Williams and rookie Jaydon Blue sharing carries in the backfield and Jake Ferguson at tight end. The Ravens counter with one of the league's most explosive offenses built around Lamar Jackson, workhorse back Derrick Henry, and a receiving corps led by Zay Flowers and future Hall of Famer DeAndre Hopkins, with Mark Andrews still a matchup problem at tight end. On paper this is one of the most talent-dense rosters the series has put in front of a debut-adjacent crowd.
What to watch for
- The atmosphere. São Paulo's 2024 game was one of the loudest in International Series history; expect Rio, with an even more storied stadium, to try to match or beat it.
- Two ball-carrier headliners. Derrick Henry against a Cowboys front seven, in a building with a reputation for a fast, worn pitch, is a genuine early-season storyline on its own.
- Early-season form. As the second game of the year for both teams, this is still very much a get-a-read-on-them game rather than a settled form line — expect rotation and gameplan tweaks still being worked out.
Get the kickoff time in your own time zone and everything else you need on the Rio de Janeiro city guide, and lock in your score and first-TD-scorer picks before kickoff.