Because Roger Goodell Is Obsessed With International Games The Cowboys And Ravens Are Playing A Game In Rio de Janeiro On Sunday And Oh Man The Field Does Not Look Great

Yikes. 

Roger Goodell and the NFL are hell-bent on jamming international football down our throats, whether we asked for it or not.  

Even if it means playing on what looks like a terrible surface. 

The Cowboys and Ravens are scheduled to play a game at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday afternoon in that 4 PM late window. It's the NFL's first game in Rio, and it's a big game. And a big international deal, I guess. 

But like so many other international games over the years, we have a legit question about the surface. 

It's rained for almost a week in Rio, and the field concerns have been loud. Look at this report from ESPN

The Maracana's turf has been a concern for almost two weeks due to its poor shape amid a long season in Brazilian soccer. Local clubs, Flamengo and Fluminense, play there at least once a week.

Maracana workers were using mows and scissors, big and small, to perfect the turf for the game.

On Friday, the executive director of the NFL Players Association said both the NFL and the players' union have had experts monitoring the field conditions for Sunday's game. The union's experts are worried about loose turf leading to too much slipping.

Mike Florio reported late Saturday, "As one source on the scene has put it, with a poetic flair, the field “looks like dog shit.” 

Yeah, we have eyes, we can tell. 

They are doing whatever they can to try and make the field playable. That includes using something called a GrassMaster Stitch Machine. 

I have rented plenty of dethatchers and aerators in my day, but I have never rented one of these for my lawn. 

NFL Field Director, UMass alum and New England native Nick Pappas gave the field a thumbs up on Saturday, saying it passed all the tests and that there's "no need to worry." 

Okay. Sure. Not blaming Nick. Because you know how there would be REALLY no need to worry? PLAY THIS GAME IN DALLAS. And not be forced to use scissors, paint, and some machine called the GrassMaster Stitch Machine in the hours before a real NFL game to make sure the field is safe. 

Look at that. 

This 2026 NFL season features a record-breaking nine international games. They try to play on these soccer fields, and it leads to real issues. Remember in 2018 when the Rams / Chiefs game was pulled from Estadio Azteca six days out and moved to the LA Coliseum? Von Miller called the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium field he played on in 2023 one of the worst playing surfaces of his career. It seems to happen at least once a season during an international game. 

At this point, the game seems very likely to be played, even with these pictures and video. The league is just gambling here, hoping no one gets hurt. Why? For a 4:25 game in Rio? 

For many reasons, I have been against exporting NFL games to international sites for years. Player safety is one of those. 

Based on these pictures and video, you'd have to be a moron not to worry about that in this game.