Cowboys picked to play in NFL’s first game in Rio

The Dallas Cowboys will make history in 2026, playing in the NFL’s first regular-season game in Rio de Janeiro, the league said Thursday.

This will be the third straight year the NFL will have a regular-season game in Brazil; the first two were played in Sao Paulo.

It will be the Cowboys’ first international game as the home team and their first international game overall since 2014, when they beat the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London.

Rams in Melbourne, but Los Angeles opted to protect that game for SoFi Stadium and instead will face the San Francisco 49ers in Australia, as announced earlier Thursday.

The date and opponent for the Cowboys’ game in Rio will be released in the spring. Aside from the NFC East foes, the Cowboys have home games scheduled against the Arizona Cardinals, Jaguars, 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens.

There will be a record nine international games in 2026. Paris, Munich, Madrid and London (three) also will serve as host cities to go along with Rio, Mexico City and Melbourne.