Cowboys look to corral Ravens' Lamar Jackson in Rio as questions about field conditions persist

Kenny Clark is headed back to Brazil, where his Dallas Cowboys face Baltimore two years after the defensive tackle played for the Green Bay Packers on a “mushy” field.

This year, it's the first regular-season game in Rio de Janeiro matching 1-1 teams on Sunday. In 2024, it was a season opener and another NFL first in Sao Paulo, where the Packers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 34-29.

Clark is trying not to correlate the two.

“Regardless, we’re going out there to play a game on Sunday,” Clark said. “That would be crazy for me to be up here complaining about it. I’m ready to play.”

Whatever the conditions, the Cowboys will be chasing the NFL's most dangerous mobile quarterback in Lamar Jackson after struggling to contain Jaxson Dart of the New York Giants and Washington's Jayden Daniels in the first two games of the season.

Jackson was getting the same questions about conditions at Maracana Stadium — and showing even less concern than Clark.

“I am locked in,” Jackson said. “I cannot focus on how the grass would be.”

There won't be nearly as much chatter about the long flight to Rio as there was for this year's first international game in Melbourne, Australia. That was a season opener as well, and San Francisco beat the Rams 27-7 after the 49ers gave themselves a week to adjust while Los Angeles arrived less than two days before kickoff.

In this case, both teams were planning to take 10-hour flights that left Thursday evening and arrived in Rio on Friday morning. Both teams played the previous Sunday, and both will be back on the field next Sunday, Oct. 4.

“Try to walk around as much as possible, but at the same time sleep as much as possible,” Jackson said. “It is a 10-hour flight, right? Five and five — try to balance it out.”

Baltimore (1-1) at Dallas (1-1).

When/where to watch: Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT, CBS.

Latest odds: Ravens by 3 1/2.

Against the spread: Ravens 1-1; Cowboys 1-1.

Last week: Ravens lost to Saints 24-17; Cowboys beat Commanders 37-20.

Last meeting: Ravens beat Cowboys, 28-25, on Sept. 22, 2024, in Arlington, Texas.

Series record: Ravens lead 6-1.

Jackson and RB Derrick Henry vs. the Dallas front seven. While the Cowboys did a better job pressuring Daniels — and Marcus Mariota after Daniels' elbow injury — than they did Dart in the opener, they couldn't get either Washington quarterback on the ground. Dallas is also allowing an average of 4.5 yards per carry in the traditional running game through two weeks. Without further improvement by the Cowboys under young first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker, Jackson and Henry might run wild.

— The Cowboys gave up a home game for their first international appearance in 12 years. It's the first regular-season game in Rio, but the third consecutive season for a game in Brazil. Sao Paolo's Corinthians Arena hosted a game each of the past two years. Both of Baltimore's previous international games were in London, most recently in 2023.

— It appears Dallas will be without S Malik Hooker (forearm) and LB DeMarvion Overshown (hamstring) for a second consecutive game. The same could be true for Ravens WR Zay Flowers, who injured a hamstring in the opener. Baltimore LT Ronnie Stanley exited with a toe injury last week and didn't return.

— The Cowboys had the worst third-down defense in the NFL last season and are trending that way again. They have allowed a league-worst 68% conversion rate through two weeks. In the opener against the Giants, Dallas had just two second-half possessions because the defense couldn’t get off the field. New York scored the first two times it had the ball after the break and ran out the clock on the third possession.

— QB Dak Prescott plays his first game since completing his takeover as the Cowboys' career passing leader. The last number he needed was touchdowns, and his fourth against the Commanders gave him 249, one more than Tony Romo. Prescott entered the week tied for the early NFL lead in TD passes with six.

— The Ravens are 25-4 in Jackson’s starts against the NFC, including 14-1 on the road. He was 12 of 15 passing for 182 yards and a touchdown and ran for 87 yards and another score in the Dallas meeting two years ago.

— Henry has an NFL-record 26 games with at least 100 yards and multiple touchdowns rushing. One of those was against the Cowboys two years ago. He had 151 yards and two scores.

— Cowboys WR George Pickens will see a familiar opponent from his days with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He's looking for his first big game in 2026 following the trade last year that led to his breakout season with Dallas.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) carries against the New Orleans Saints in the first half of an NFL football game in Baltimore, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Dallas Cowboys safety Caleb Downs (13) tackles Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) in the first half during an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jessica Tobias)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) celebrates after throwing a pass for a touchdown against the Washington Commanders in the second half during an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is sacked by New Orleans Saints defensive end Chase Young (99) in the second half of an NFL football game in Baltimore, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Major League Baseball's postseason is rapidly approaching, with the Los Angeles Dodgers seeking a third straight World Series title. There are four days left in the regular season and six playoff spots are still available, though multiple teams could clinch Thursday.

The Dodgers are once again among the best teams in the big leagues, and they'll have several challengers in October, including the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays. All three teams could finish the regular season with 100 wins or more. Los Angeles is rolling into the postseason and four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani returned to the lineup on Wednesday after a stint on the injured list and was 1 for 4 at the plate with two strikeouts and a walk.

The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves have also clinched spots in the postseason. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, a three-time AL MVP, is dealing with a right calf strain that will likely keep him out through at least the Wild Card Series.

While the 12-team playoff field appears mostly set, there are a few long-shot contenders for the postseason, and specific matchups are in flux.

Here's some of what to watch as the season comes to a close.

In the American League, the Cleveland Guardians can clinch a postseason spot with a win at Boston or a loss by the Rangers or a loss by the Astros.

The Chicago White Sox can clinch a postseason spot with a win at Kansas City.

Over in the National League, the San Diego Padres can clinch with a win at the Dodgers or a loss by the D-backs. The Chicago Cubs can clinch with a win vs. Miami or a loss by the D-backs.

The Philadelphia Phillies can clinch their spot in October with a win vs. Milwaukee and a loss by either the D-backs or the Padres.

There's quite a bit of mediocrity in the AL Central and West divisions this season, which has led to some fascinating pennant races and could lead to a sub-.500 team making the postseason.

The Guardians (82-76) have a narrow advantage over the White Sox (81-77) in the AL Central while the Rangers (78-80) and Astros (78-80) are fighting for the AL West. Houston has the tiebreaker if the season ends in a tie.

Over in the National League, the playoff bracket is close to set.

The Padres (88-70), Cubs (87-71) and Phillies (87-71) are jockeying for position in the wild-card race but will almost certainly make the postseason. The only team within shouting distance is Arizona (84-74), which is three games back. Chicago holds the head-to-head tiebreaker for home field over Philadelphia and San Diego, and the Phillies own the tiebreaker over the Padres after sweeping that season series 6-0.

MLB's major awards probably won't have much drama this season.

Both MVP races have strong favorites with Chicago's Pete Crow-Armstrong running away with the NL honor while Houston's Yordan Alvarez is the probable choice in the AL, though Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero has also had a fantastic season. Alvarez still has an outside shot at a Triple Crown. He leads the AL in batting average at .316 and his 41 homers are tied with Caminero, New York's Ben Rice and Baltimore's Pete Alonso. His 102 RBIs are eight back of Alonso.

For the Cy Young Award, Milwaukee flame thrower Jacob Misiorowski and New York ace Cam Schlittler are the favorites in the NL and AL, respectively.

The Rookie of the Year races also look set with Cincinnati's Sal Stewart and his 110-RBI season the leader in the NL and Detroit's Kevin McGonigle the favorite in the AL.

There are 12 teams that qualify for MLB’s postseason, including six teams from both the AL and NL. The three division winners in each league get seeds No. 1 through No. 3, ranked by win-loss record. Then the three wild-card teams get seeds No. 4 through No. 6, also ranked by win-loss record.

The top two teams with the best record in both the AL and NL automatically advance to the Division Series. The other eight teams play in the Wild Card Series, which is a best-of-three format beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 29. In both the AL and NL, the No. 6 seed will travel to face the No. 3 seed while the No. 5 seed goes to No. 4. The higher seed hosts all three games.

The winners then advance to the best-of-five Division Series, followed by the best-of-seven League Championship Series and a best-of-seven World Series between the winners of the AL and NL.

Wild Card Series: Sept. 29-Oct. 1 (NBC/Peacock)

Division Series: Oct. 3-10 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)

Championship Series: Oct. 11-20 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)

World Series: Oct. 23-31 (FOX)

The Dodgers (+200) are the favorites to capture a third straight World Series title while the Brewers (+550), Rays (+800) and Yankees (+850) are viewed as the top contenders.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Cleveland Guardians' Nathaniel Lowe, center, celebrates with teammates after defeating the Boston Red Sox following a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, center, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, right, congratulate Mookie Betts after the Dodgers defeated the San Francisco Giants in a baseball game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) delivers a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (44) celebrates in the dugout after scoring during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in Houston, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong rounds third base on his way to scoring during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge walks back to the dugout after the bottom of the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts, right, is congratulated by Shohei Ohtani, center, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto after the Dodgers defeated the San Francisco Giants in a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)