The Baltimore Ravens will open Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro, making it the first NFL game ever played there and the league’s third in Brazil. The matchup will be staged at Maracaña Stadium, with the Cowboys serving as the home team.
The game is also the first of at least three NFL contests planned for Rio over the next five years, a sign the league is deepening its push beyond the United States. Philadelphia and Green Bay played in São Paulo in 2024, and Kansas City met the Los Angeles Chargers there in 2025.
Lamar Jackson has already sounded intrigued by the idea of the Ravens becoming part of that global footprint. In 2024, he said it was a blessing for people in Brazil to know who he is and added that he had to travel to Brazil one time.
For Baltimore, the trip would add another layer to a franchise that has already played twice in London. The Ravens lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017 and beat the Tennessee Titans in 2023, and last year they were granted marketing rights in the United Kingdom.
The bigger backdrop is the 2026 NFL schedule, which includes a record nine international games across seven countries. The Ravens are also in the middle of a nearly $500 million renovation of M&T Bank Stadium, which makes an overseas home game unlikely, but their away opponents include the Cowboys and the Falcons, both of whom are hosting games abroad.
Ravens executive Sashi Brown did not provide updates this week in Phoenix on whether the team would play an international game, and the full schedule has not yet been announced even though the NFL typically releases it in May. The result is a rare blend of certainty and suspense: Baltimore is headed to Rio, but how far the league intends to keep stretching its map is still unfolding.
