The Dallas Cowboys touched down in Brazil, now standing at 1-1. So, head coach Brian Schottenheimer wanted no distractions as the team now tries to improve their record. He made sure to set the expectations clear for the face-off against the Baltimore Ravens in Rio de Janeiro. To make it distraction-free, Dallas did not allow any family members of the players to travel to Brazil, as the U.S. categorizes Brazil as a Level 2 concern.

“Brian Schottenheimer said they were upfront with players about the business aspect of this trip,” reported Dallas Cowboys beat reporter Joseph Hoyt on September 25. “Families aren’t here. They plan to spend a lot of time together working and meeting before they kick off on Sunday.”

São Paulo has hosted NFL games twice, and we have seen how the security has been tight in both cases. This is the first time in Rio that an NFL game will be played. 

The scale of the surveillance operation for the first NFL matchup in Rio is significant. Rio’s Operations and Resilience Center says it has 392 cameras covering the Maracanã area and the main access routes into the Greater Tijuca region. It will include 44 cameras focused specifically on streets around the stadium.

Three drones will also be used to monitor crowds and traffic. At the same time, approximately 250 operators will monitor pedestrian and vehicle movement from the city’s operations center. The security plan also includes facial-recognition technology, intelligence operations, and preventive bomb-squad sweeps.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys’ schedule in Rio has also been deliberately structured around football rather than tourism. After arriving Friday morning following a roughly 10-hour flight and travelling over 5,000 miles, Dallas practiced at Flamengo’s training facility. The team is scheduled to visit Maracanã on Saturday for a walkthrough.

That will give the players their first opportunity to see the locker room and inspect the playing surface before Sunday’s game. Coach Brian Schottenheimer has acknowledged the walkthrough is intended partly to familiarize players with the environment so that the stadium is no longer completely unfamiliar when they arrive for kickoff.

The trip also represents a significant moment in the NFL’s international expansion. Rio draws more than 10 million tourists annually, but the Cowboys will have little time for sightseeing. With only a little over 48 hours between their arrival and kickoff Sunday afternoon, the team will follow a packed schedule to prepare for the Ravens.

“We’re going to be busy. This is a business trip,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said Thursday. “The meetings and the walkthroughs and the practice that we’ll have [Friday], the trip to the stadium on Saturday, those are all critical parts to what we’re doing so we go into the game feeling prepared. I feel really good about the plan right now. It’s keeping these guys focused on the things that went in earlier in the week.”

Schottenheimer has kept the schedule deliberately packed. Had they been accompanied by families, the itinerary would have included visiting the must-visit tourist spots in Rio. 

“I’m not planning any touristy attractions,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “My thing is to focus on getting down there. It’s going to be a long trip. We know that. We own that. Got a good plan in place.”

So, now that they have reached Rio, the Cowboys’ players, coaches and staff won’t have much time to explore Brazil, as they’ll remain at the hotel whenever they aren’t at walkthroughs or Sunday’s game.

The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 2 travel advisory for Brazil, advising travelers to exercise “increased caution.” Some parts of the country, including areas near international borders and informal housing developments, have a Level 4 “do not travel” warning. The advisory cites crime and kidnapping as the primary concerns.

“Organized criminal groups sometimes target individuals observed withdrawing money from ATMs or leaving banks. Use ATMs in secure locations such as shopping malls or major hotels,” reads part of the advisory. “Express kidnapping — in which criminals force victims at gunpoint to withdraw cash from multiple ATMs or transfer funds via banking apps (commonly Pix) — is an ongoing threat to both locals and foreigners.” 

For Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, it is for the first time in his 11 NFL seasons that he got an opportunity to play a game outside of the US. Unfortunately, just hours after touching down, he traveled to CR Flamengo’s training grounds for a Friday practice. 

“Surprised it’s been this long, but excited it’s here and it’s in Brazil for the first time, a place I’ve never been,” Prescott said, focusing on the “business” side of things. “To be here in Brazil where there’s big fan group, big fan base and support, hopefully allow a lot of people to see me play and this team play for the first time in person.”

Prescott’s teammate and wide receiver George Pickens, too, is accepting how Dallas has planned the Brazil trip, keeping the players’ safety as a priority. 

“Just being safe,” said Pickens. “I feel like the brand we have is a lot bigger to risk … because we’ve got fans out there. A bigger brand. Definitely want to stay safe, because you don’t want to risk it as a team.”

Besides seeking revenge for their last year’s 31-13 loss against Baltimore, Dallas’ goal is to bring the players back to Dallas safe and sound.