The NFL holds its first-ever regular-season game in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, September 27, 2026, as the Dallas Cowboys face the Baltimore Ravens at Maracanã Stadium. Concerns over the stadium’s grass pitch and player safety prompted last-minute turf repairs and reinforced stitching by league crews.
Ahead of Sunday’s 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff, the playing surface at Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Maracanã Stadium has drawn intense scrutiny from fans, players, and the league alike. While the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens prepare for a high-stakes Week 3 matchup, the condition of the grass has dominated pre-game conversations.
As you can see, the conditions are less than ideal.
Just Unacceptable Nfl Fans React To Field Concerns Before
The field may not be ready. Not that it matters. A close-up image of the playing surface has emerged, as posted by 105.3 The Fan.
Maracan Turf Degraded by Heavy Soccer Schedule and Weather
The pitch’s poor shape stems from heavy wear and tear. Local club Flamengo players have raised concerns about the condition of the field in the past. The union’s experts are worried about loose turf leading to too much slipping. Concerns are about the turf’s traction and stability, which made the NFL reinforce its stitching.
Maracana workers were using mows and scissors, big and small, to perfect the turf for the game.
Frustration over the field condition extended to local soccer players. Meanwhile, viral close-up videos shared on social media by 105.3 The Fan exposed visible synthetic turf stitching woven into patchy real grass, prompting one on-site observer to describe the pitch with blunt candor.
looks like dog shit.
A source on the scene, via Pro Football Talk
Cowboys-Ravens Maracana Stadium Field Concerns Reignite With Viral Close-Up
League Officials Insist the Field Is Ready for Play
“We have an independent inspector that comes in, walks with myself, walks with a member of the NFLPA,” Pappas said, via Pro Football Talk. “They were here yesterday. Performed that test. Things check out. We’ve made additional improvements to the field that we think were helpful.”
Nick Pappas, NFL Field Director
“A lot of our mandatory practices, our standards and centric around health and safety, as they should be, right?” Pappas told reporters on Saturday. “We always want to put in some sort of standards that we can measure and enforce from a safety and compliance perspective. This field meets that.”
“However, we also want to make sure that our athletes can go out and perform as well as they want to perform. That’s the goal for our athletes, for the game, for the fans who watch it in stadium and on TV. For us, athlete performance is important, and I believe we’ll have that opportunity on Sunday where they’ll be able to go out and perform.”
Nick Pappas, NFL Field Director
Players like Dak Prescott will be the ones who go out on the playing surface and…
The stadium’s grass has been affected by large amounts of rain in the area. A few Cowboys players took the field Saturday in seven-studded cleats, while others were barefoot.
Players Focus on the Game Amid International Expansion Milestones
Sunday’s Cowboys-Ravens matchup carries plenty of history. The game marks the NFL’s first-ever regular-season contest in Rio de Janeiro. Maracanã Stadium has spent the past week preparing for its moment on an American football stage. Dallas and Baltimore both enter at 1-1.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has already needled Dallas over its “America’s Team” nickname ahead of kickoff. He joked that Sunday’s game will technically be played in a different country entirely. That storyline became old once close-up video of the playing surface started making the rounds. The clip shows torn-up, discolored patches scattered across parts of the field. Visible seams run through sections where the turf appears to be splitting apart underfoot.
“Keep taking games out of the country @NFL. I won’t be watching our games being played outside our country!! Looks like I might be seeing some injury highlights from this mess though!!!”
one fan wrote in response to the footage.
As it stands, the Cowboys and Ravens will face off as planned on Sunday afternoon. On Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET, millions will see how it looks. More importantly for the NFL, it will be the third straight year with a game in Brazil. Which is important to the league’s effort to attract more global fans. Regardless of how the field looks, or how it plays.
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