Cowboys facing unprecedented NFL travel scenario for Week 3 game vs. Ravens in Brazil — SkimNews
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- Dallas Cowboys will fly ~5,220 miles to Rio de Janeiro for their Week 3 game against the Baltimore Ravens — making them the first NFL team to travel 5,000+ miles for a regular game and not receive a bye the following week, with a ~10,500-mile round trip.
- Baltimore Ravens will fly 4,781 miles and also play in Week 4 (hosting the Titans), meaning both teams face back-to-back games after one of the longest travel demands in NFL history.
- The NFL previously sent the Rams 5,456 miles to London (Week 7, 2024) and both the Rams and 49ers 7,800+ miles to Australia (Week 1), but those teams received byes or extended rest afterward.
- The 2024 Broncos and 2021 Dolphins are the only prior teams to travel 4,400+ miles without a bye; both went a combined 2-2 straight up but 0-3-1 against the spread, with each team trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter of their first game back.
- Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said his team will fly overnight Thursday with darkened cabins and compression gear, while Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said both teams face the same conditions and there are "no excuses to be made."
- The Week 3 kickoff is set for 5:25 p.m. Rio time (one hour ahead of ET), meaning neither team will likely board a return flight until after midnight; the Cowboys may not touch down in Dallas until nearly noon Monday.
Why it matters: Historical precedent shows the two prior teams in this exact scenario (2024 Broncos, 2021 Dolphins) went a combined 0-3-1 ATS and trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter of their first game back — suggesting bettors eyeing the Cowboys-Texans and Ravens-Titans Week 4 matchups have a clear data-driven angle, while Dallas and Baltimore fans should expect fatigue to be a real second-order factor.
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