It wouldn't be an NFL trip to Brazil without a little controversy on the field – literally.
The league's continued international push resumes in Week 3 when the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens meet in Rio de Janeiro. This time, it's concerns about the field that are stealing headlines ahead of the contest. Notably, those concerns aren't shared by the Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones.
He spoke about the Cowboys trip to Brazil during an appearance with "Shan and RJ" on 105.3 The Fan on Sept. 22.
"I’m comfortable that the field will be ready for us," Jones said, noting that the area has seen a lot of rain recently. "It’s realistic that we can have a good game on the field."
Jones said that the league has moved games in the past because of field issues,
saying the teams wouldn't be going down there if the conditions weren't good. The NFL famously moved a matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams in 2018 from Mexico City to Los Angeles because of poor field conditions.
That won't be necessary this time around as Jones explained that the team has sent staff to the site on two different occasions to evaluate everything from the facilities to the field. As far as the rainy conditions go, the owner simply expressed, "that's football."
“I had always thought that football was subject to the elements," Jones said. "That still doesn’t diminish the need to, in advance, feel good about the field and feel that it’s a safe place to play. There may be some slipping, I played a lot of games in the rain and in the mud.
"That's part of our game.”
And that wasn't the only part of the game he was good with. When asked about his feelings with the international game, Jones said he was "good with it" and that this was the Cowboys' "time to go," according to the NFL schedule that determines when teams play internationally.
He did make a request, however.
Jones expressed a preference for the Cowboys to play in Mexico, if given the choice for future international games.
"We have a presence there and our cheerleaders even have tryouts in Mexico," Jones said. "Given the complete choice, Mexico is where we'd like to play games."
That is a choice that the Cowboys won't have this season, but that doesn't mean Jones won't be heading to Brazil without some items on his checklist.
"I have an interest in a lot of automobile dealerships in Sao Paulo as well as Rio," Jones said. "I have an associate that I've been partners with for 30 years. We're the largest dealers in Brazil. So, I got a lot of good friends I'll be saying hello to down there."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jerry Jones 'comfortable' with field conditions in Brazil for Cowboys-Ravens
