NFL field director Nick Pappas said Monday there are "no concerns right now" about field conditions in Rio de Janeiro for Sunday's game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens. Both teams are scheduled to fly in Thursday night and practice in Brazil on Friday, in what is the NFL's third game in Brazil and its first in Rio.
NFL field director Pappas says no concerns about Rio pitch before Cowboys-Ravens game
NFL field director Nick Pappas said Monday there are "no concerns right now" about field conditions in Rio de Janeiro for Sunday's game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens. Both teams are scheduled to fly in Thursday night and practice in Brazil on Friday, in what is the NFL's third game in Brazil and its first in Rio.
Pappas told ESPN that managing a grass surface in use midseason is a matter of monitoring, having a plan in place and reacting to whatever comes. He said Rio has seen "a significant amount of rainfall, a record kind of rainfall over the last six weeks," which he said poses challenges from a management perspective but is "nothing that we're not capable of managing or prepared to take." Asked whether there had been any talk of moving the game, Pappas said, "No, that's not a conversation."
Questions about the playing surface at Rio's Maracanã Stadium began last week when professional soccer players complained about their home stadium's grass. Flamengo Football Club goalkeeper Agustín Rossi said, according to AtoZ Sports, "It's unbelievable that we're playing on a field like this," adding that there are "bumps everywhere." Rossi said an NFL game would still be played there during the international break and that he hoped the field would be in better shape afterward.
Baltimore coach Jesse Minter said the matter "is really in the league's hands," and that the team has been in contact with the league, which has people on site and feels good about it. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer spoke after Dallas' 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday, saying, "I trust that the league's going to make the right decision and they'll get the field up to standard."
The NFL's first game in South America, in 2024, saw a number of Eagles and Packers players lose their footing, which they later attributed to the slick surface at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo. In 2018, the league moved the Chiefs-Rams game from Mexico City to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum because of poor field conditions at Estadio Azteca.
- The source does not give a calendar date for the Sunday game, identifying it only by the day of the week.
- The source does not state what inspections, repairs or other work the NFL or stadium officials have carried out on the Maracanã pitch.
- The source does not state whether any Cowboys or Ravens players have themselves raised concerns about the field.
- The source does not state whether the Maracanã's operator, Flamengo Football Club or Brazilian organizers have responded to the complaints about the grass.
- The source does not state who recorded the rainfall total for Rio or how it was measured.
- The source does not state the kickoff time, attendance or any contingency plan should the field be judged unfit.