Cowboys look to corral Ravens’ Lamar Jackson in Rio as questions about field conditions persist

Kenny Clark is headed back to Brazil, where his Dallas Cowboys face Baltimore two years after the defensive tackle played for the Green Bay Packers on a “mushy” field.

This year, it’s the first regular-season game in Rio de Janeiro matching 1-1 teams on Sunday. In 2024, it was a season opener and another NFL first in Sao Paulo, where the Packers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 34-29.

Clark is trying not to correlate the two.

“Regardless, we’re going out there to play a game on Sunday,” Clark said. “That would be crazy for me to be up here complaining about it. I’m ready to play.”

Whatever the conditions, the Cowboys will be chasing the NFL’s most dangerous mobile quarterback in Lamar Jackson after struggling to contain Jaxson Dart of the New York Giants and Washington’s Jayden Daniels in the first two games of the season.

Jackson was getting the same questions about conditions at Maracana Stadium — and showing even less concern than Clark.

“I am locked in,” Jackson said. “I cannot focus on how the grass would be.”

There won’t be nearly as much chatter about the long flight to Rio as there was for this year’s first international game in Melbourne, Australia. That was a season opener as well, and San Francisco beat the Rams 27-7 after the 49ers gave themselves a week to adjust while Los Angeles arrived less than two days before kickoff.

In this case, both teams were planning to take 10-hour flights that left Thursday evening and arrived in Rio on Friday morning. Both teams played the previous Sunday, and both will be back on the field next Sunday, Oct. 4.

“Try to walk around as much as possible, but at the same time sleep as much as possible,” Jackson said. “It is a 10-hour flight, right? Five and five — try to balance it out.”

Need to know

Baltimore (1-1) at Dallas (1-1).

When/where to watch: Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT, CBS.

Latest odds: Ravens by 3 1/2.

Against the spread: Ravens 1-1; Cowboys 1-1.

Last week: Ravens lost to Saints 24-17; Cowboys beat Commanders 37-20.

Last meeting: Ravens beat Cowboys, 28-25, on Sept. 22, 2024, in Arlington, Texas.

Series record: Ravens lead 6-1.

Matchup to watch

Jackson and RB Derrick Henry vs. the Dallas front seven. While the Cowboys did a better job pressuring Daniels — and Marcus Mariota after Daniels’ elbow injury — than they did Dart in the opener, they couldn’t get either Washington quarterback on the ground. Dallas is also allowing an average of 4.5 yards per carry in the traditional running game through two weeks. Without further improvement by the Cowboys under young first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker, Jackson and Henry might run wild.

Stats and stuff

— The Cowboys gave up a home game for their first international appearance in 12 years. It’s the first regular-season game in Rio, but the third consecutive season for a game in Brazil. Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena hosted a game each of the past two years. Both of Baltimore’s previous international games were in London, most recently in 2023.

— It appears Dallas will be without S Malik Hooker (forearm) and LB DeMarvion Overshown (hamstring) for a second consecutive game. The same could be true for Ravens WR Zay Flowers, who injured a hamstring in the opener. Baltimore LT Ronnie Stanley exited with a toe injury last week and didn’t return.

— The Cowboys had the worst third-down defense in the NFL last season and are trending that way again. They have allowed a league-worst 68% conversion rate through two weeks. In the opener against the Giants, Dallas had just two second-half possessions because the defense couldn’t get off the field. New York scored the first two times it had the ball after the break and ran out the clock on the third possession.

— QB Dak Prescott plays his first game since completing his takeover as the Cowboys’ career passing leader. The last number he needed was touchdowns, and his fourth against the Commanders gave him 249, one more than Tony Romo. Prescott entered the week tied for the early NFL lead in TD passes with six.

— The Ravens are 25-4 in Jackson’s starts against the NFC, including 14-1 on the road. He was 12 of 15 passing for 182 yards and a touchdown and ran for 87 yards and another score in the Dallas meeting two years ago.

— Henry has an NFL-record 26 games with at least 100 yards and multiple touchdowns rushing. One of those was against the Cowboys two years ago. He had 151 yards and two scores.

— Cowboys WR George Pickens will see a familiar opponent from his days with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s looking for his first big game in 2026 following the trade last year that led to his breakout season with Dallas.

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