History will be made on Sunday when the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens face off in the league's first ever game in Rio de Janeiro and as much excitement as there is surrounding the game, there are also some concerns swirling. The field conditions are a major subject ahead of the contest, with several soccer players who call Maracaña Stadium home complaining and criticizing the conditions. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has quite a bit at stake in the quality of the field, commented on the conditions on Wednesday.
"I believe the NFL does a great job at having their specialists go out there and look over the fields," Jackson said to the media. "I cannot worry about that. I just have to worry about getting us a dub in Brazil. [As for] the field, we have played on bad fields plenty of times, so I cannot really dwell on that." Lamar Jackson said he’s not concerned about the condition of the field in Rio pic.twitter.com/BNJskW3AeC This week, the stadium released pictures and have said the conditions would improve.
Some reasons they state for the field issues are due to the high number of games, more matches with precipitation close to the game and high temperatures. The NFL is reportedly "aware" of the possible challenges with the field. It appears groundskeepers are working to improve the conditions.
The NFL took is now in charge of the field prep, taking over the stadium management this week. O perfil do Maracanã divulgou imagens do trabalho da Greenleaf para tentar mitigar os problemas do gramado e melhorar as condições para a reta final da temporada. A chuva ontem foi castigando ainda mais o campo, que apresentava falhas durante Flamengo x Corinthians.Na última… pic.twitter.com/7aBcnVcelI This marks the NFL's third game in Brazil, with the others played in São Paulo, a field that was also criticized.
The Ravens and Cowboys have never played in Brazil. The Cowboys have played in one previous international game, coming in 2014 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Ravens have played in two international games before this, both in London, with the most recent one against the Tennessee Titans in 2023 and the first one against the Jaguars in 2017.
Other players and coaches participating in Sunday's game also commented on the situation and the overall feeling is that the NFL will ensure the conditions are safe to play on. "There is a lot of just, 'he said, she said,' kind of thing going on right now, so we will see," Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said. "I know the players are the product in this league.
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