With Week 3 on the horizon, attention is turned to the playing surface in Rio with the Ravens and Cowboys preparing to travel south.
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is among the many who rallied around the idea of installing real grass over artificial turf at stadiums hosting the FIFA World Cup.
He hopes one day all NFL stadiums would abide by similar standards, but currently the league's playing surfaces are split between real grass and artificial turf (such as in AT&T Stadium), the latter of which - logically - is thought to put players at greater risk of injury.
Real grass, even indoors? It's doable. But it's expensive.
So NFL owners keep pretending there is "no evidence'' that it's safer than "grass'' made out of plastic.
Lamb's Cowboys are preparing for their first international game in over a decade this week. It will be played at one of the most storied football (er, soccer) stadiums in the world: Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
But this isn't the same grass folks were championing over the summer.
The Cowboys, the "home team," will play the Baltimore Ravens at 3:25 p.m. CT on Sunday, Sept. 27.
In recent weeks, professional soccer players have expressed their displeasure with the Maracanã's playing surface, with some saying it is obviously subpar.
"There’s no need to talk about the field, everyone can see it," said the goalie for Flamengo, the club that plays its home games at the site. "The way we play, it’s unbelievable to have a field like this.
"Both penalty areas are terrible … If you look, there are bumps everywhere."
Fresh off his Cowboys' 37-20 win over the rival Washington Commanders, owner Jerry Jones was pressed about whether he had heard the complaints and the buzz surrounding the upcoming game. Jones dismissed the topic, saying he hadn't heard anything before the Sunday afternoon game and didn't learn any more after.
According to the Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys will travel south on Friday and be able to see the field in person on Saturday for walkthroughs.
"We’ll look at that and I know it’s the utmost concern to the league and the teams playing down there," Jones said. "We’ll obviously stay informed as we look to it and it's front of mind now that we’ve gotten past the Washington Commanders.”
Monday, NFL Field Director Nick Pappas didn't seem worried.
"I don’t have any suspicions that we won’t be playing football on Sunday," Pappas said to The News.
Frankly, though, if you thought for a second that the money-driven NFL was ever going to do anything but plow forward with its plan to play at this site, on this field, on this date?
You don't understand the NFL.
So ... "terrible'' and "bumpy'' be damned.
As for comments from other athletes, Pappas clarifies how the field's specifications will be unique to American football by kickoff this weekend.
"Yeah, I mean, obviously we’re looking for sometimes two different things based on our specific needs from our sports," Pappas said. "So for our perspective, the field is going to be prepared for NFL and we don’t have any concerns about the softness or hardness as it sits today. Again, maybe some of those feedback from the soccer athletes, not quite aligning with what we need from a football perspective."
Soccer clubs are currently in the midst of an "international break," where players are encouraged to travel back to their home countries and work out with their national teams. With a break in competition, Pappas said the league has been paying extra close attention to the field ahead of Ravens-Cowboys.
"We’ve been making frequent visits all month," Pappas said. "And we’ve had staff here since the middle of last week that reports directly to me. So I’m in [Rio] now as well obviously and we’ll be here through the rest of the game. So we’ve had a close eye and close attention on the field and everything going on."
Baltimore versus Dallas will be the NFL's first-ever game in Rio and the third ever in Brazil. ... and maybe by Sunday it will feature a safe surface on which to play it.
