As we inch closer to the NFL draft, some good things are starting to be released about the 2026 Dallas Cowboys season.
One of those is knowing that they will be playing a football game out of the country again this year and it will take place in Brazil against the Baltimore Ravens.
This game will be played in week 3 of the regular season, and I am not a fan of teams playing these games when they are not coming off a bye week, it is just so annoying for all of them to leave the country and then come back and either have to hit the road for an away game or get a late prep on a home game.
This will be considered a ‘home’ game for the Cowboys meaning they will lose a game at AT&T stadium this year.
Get your passports ready
Teams going out of the country to play a football game and then having to come all the way back for a game either at home or on the road the following week is so draining for those guys and players have even talked about that as of late.
The NFL is starting to have games in just about every country they can. NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell has even talked about trying to get a team full-time, maybe in Mexico, but I’m not sure that is a great idea.
It would make travel and other things awful for the league.
Over The Years
The Dallas Cowboys have played one regular-season game outside the United States, a 31-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London on November 9, 2014.
They are scheduled to play their second regular-season international game in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2026. Including preseason, they have played abroad roughly 10 times, including games in Mexico, Japan, and Canada.
1986 was the first time the Cowboys ever left the country to play a football game.
In a preseason game at Wembley Stadium, the Cowboys fell to the Chicago Bears 17-6. It was the very first of the NFL’s “American Bowl” series that held games outside of the U.S. from 1986 to 2005 in hopes of promoting the sport to an international audience.
In 1992, they played in Tokyo, and then Japan in 1993, followed by Mexico City in 1994, Toronto in 1995, Monterrey in 1996 and Mexico City in 1998.
They would again play Mexico City in 2001 and, after losing nine straight games outside of the country, they finally won, beating the Raiders 21-6. Now remember, the NFL did not start regular season games outside of the United States until 2005. So all of these games were just preseason.
After that, the Cowboys as mentioned above did not play another game out of the country until the regular season game in 2014, which they won as noted above.
1-0 in the games that matter, though, that is the important part, but this game in week three against the Ravens is just a bit too early for my liking. It’s fresh into the season and guys are going to still be getting back used to the travel and the grind of the year and then have to leave the country for a game that should be until the bye weeks start.
Either way, it doesn’t matter what I think, because the NFL does care or take thoughts from anyone not in the main office, so we will have to hope that the Dallas Cowboys can win maybe the first or second game of the season before they head out there.
This game in week three is the only date that we have thus far. There is no idea who they will play on opening weekend or week two before they head to Brazil.
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