Cowboys facing unprecedented NFL travel scenario for Week 3 game vs. Ravens in Brazil

No NFL team has ever been asked to do what the Cowboys and Ravens are doing this week

Sep 24, 2026 at 1:46 pm ET • 5 min read

When the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens head to Brazil this week, both teams will be dealing with a travel situation that no other NFL team has ever had to face. The NFL has essentially turned the Cowboys and Ravens into guinea pigs this week. 

For the Cowboys, they'll be the first team in NFL history to fly at least 5,000 miles for a game and not get a bye the following week. The flight from Dallas to Rio de Janeiro will cover roughly 5,220 miles, meaning the Cowboys will cover nearly 10,500 miles round trip. As for the Ravens, they'll be covering 4,781 miles on the flight from Baltimore to Rio. Baltimore also won't be getting a bye in Week 4. 

Every other NFL team that has ever covered that kind of distance during the season has always gotten an extended break before their next game. For instance, the Rams flew 5,456 miles to London for a Week 7 game against the Jaguars last season, but they got a bye in Week 8. 

The Rams and 49ers made NFL history when both teams flew more than 7,800 miles to Australia for their Week 1 game in Melbourne, but they got 10 days of rest before their next game (the Rams actually got 11 days since they didn't play until Monday night in Week 2). 

The NFL has held two prior games in Brazil, but both of those games were played in Week 1, so the teams involved got extra rest heading into Week 2. That won't be the case for Baltimore and Dallas. 

How travel could impact both teams

After playing in Rio, the Cowboys and Ravens won't be getting a break because both teams are scheduled to play in Week 4. The Cowboys will hit the road to face the Texans, while the Ravens will host the Titans. 

The game in Rio will be kicking off at 5:25 p.m. local time (Rio is one hour ahead of Eastern Time), which means both teams likely won't be on a flight back to the United States until after midnight. The flight from Rio to Dallas is more than 10 hours, so the Cowboys might not be back in Dallas until nearly noon on Monday. 

Before this week, the farthest any team had traveled without getting a bye came last year when the Broncos made a 4,670-mile trip to London in Week 6 to face the Jets before flying home to face the Giants in Week 7. 

Here's how those games turned out: 

• Week 6 (in London): Broncos 13-11 over Jets. The Broncos offense had their worst game of the season. 
• Week 7 (in Denver): Broncos 33-32 over Giants. The Broncos looked like they were suffering from jet lag for most of the game. They fell behind 26-8 going into the fourth quarter before rallying for a win. 

The Broncos won both games, but they went 0-2 against the spread (They were favored by seven over the Jets and by 7.5 over the Giants). 

The 2021 Dolphins are the only other team that traveled at least 4,400 miles for a game without getting a bye the following week, and here's how their two games played out: 

• Week 6 (in London): Jaguars 23-20 over Dolphins
• Week 7 (in Miami): Falcons 30-28 over Dolphins

The Dolphins had the same exact issue as the Broncos in their first game back. They trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter (27-14) before eventually making it a game. In fact, it was downright ugly for both teams. With 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins trailed 27-14 while the Broncos trailed 26-8. This means they got outscored a combined 53-22 for the first 49 minutes of each game. 

Overall, the Dolphins and Broncos combined to go 2-2, but 0-3-1 against the spread, so you might not want to bet on the Cowboys and Ravens in Week 4. 

Ravens' and Cowboys' travel plans for Rio

After what happened to the Rams in Australia, fans seem more fascinated by the travel plans their favorite team puts together for international games and how it might impact them. 

For the game in Rio, the Cowboys and Ravens are doing the same thing. Both teams will leave their home airport on Thursday night and will be arriving in Rio on Friday morning. The Cowboys will have to deal with a two-hour time change while the Ravens will have to deal with a one-hour change, so that likely won't have a huge impact on either team. 

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer seems happy with the travel itinerary that his team has created. 

"We're going to fly through the night," Schottenheimer said, via PFT. "We've thought of everything. Our team, the compression pants and shirts you wear. It's going to be a dark plane. We'll feed them a little bit, but we need them to rest. And then when we get there, we're going to get them moving pretty quick and get out to a meeting, and then a practice, and try to get them acclimated as best we can."

Not to be outdone, Kyle Hamilton likes the travel plan that the Ravens have created for the trip to Rio. 

"I think the staff — credit to everybody involved — has a great plan in place for us when we get down there, and [we are] going to try to take advantage of the travel in a way that it is not hindering us coming into Sunday," Hamilton said this week, via the team's official website. 

For Week 3, Hamilton doesn't think either team will have an advantage, at least from a traveling standpoint. 

"Both sides are dealing with it, so there are really no excuses to be made, but I think we have a good plan in place and good organization when we get down there," Hamilton said. 

The first game after Brazil is when this brutal travel schedule might eventually take its toll. So, it will be very interesting to see how the Cowboys and Ravens play in Week 4 after being hit with one of the most unprecedented travel scenarios in NFL history. 

Watch the Ravens take on the Cowboys on Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS (Stream on Paramount+)