Lamar Jackson may go check out Christ the Redeemer in the offseason, but he's not buying a ticket for this weekend.
Coming off a stinging home loss to the New Orleans Saints, the Ravens are solely focused on beating the Dallas Cowboys (1-1) in Brazil. While the first-ever NFL game played in Rio de Janeiro will be an unforgettable experience, the Ravens want to make it a good memory.
"Just to see the NFL's growth with the international part of things – it's great. I am excited," Jackson said Wednesday. "But at the end of the day, it is a business trip for us. It is not to go have fun, to sightsee, or anything like that."
The Ravens fly out Thursday night and land Friday morning. It allows them to have normal practice days at the Under Armour Performance Center on Wednesday and Thursday, then jump into recovery and as much normalcy on Friday and Saturday as possible before Sunday's game.
International travel schedules became a big topic of conversation after the drastically different approaches taken by the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams for their Week 1 game in Melbourne, Australia. The 49ers spent the week there while the Rams landed approximately 28 hours before kickoff. The 49ers blew them out, 27-7, and McVay later conceded that it was a mistake.
It's the Ravens' third international game, following trips to London in 2017 and 2023. Baltimore lost the first against the Jacksonville Jaguars, then beat the Tennessee Titans on the second trip across the pond.
The Ravens spent several days in London before last international trip, but Rio has only a one-hour time difference from Baltimore, so there isn't as much acclimation required beyond it being a longer flight.
Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said playing international is "really cool" because it breaks up the season a bit and provides a different challenge.
"I feel like the rhetoric around the game after it is done is who handled the travel and everything better. I think that just goes hand in hand on who is being more of a pro or not. That is something that I think we can thrive at," Hamilton said.
"We're only down there for like two days. We have practice obviously [and then] you have to get ready for a game, so kind of in and out. I am sure we will see enough of [Brazil's] beauty. I think our hotel is in a pretty cool place with a decent view. Get close to the beach, probably not go out on it, but it's close enough."
How the Ravens Plan to Handle a 10-Hour Flight
Along with the game plan for the Cowboys, each Ravens player is formulating their own game plan for the 10-hour flight from Baltimore to Rio de Janeiro.
"I am just going to try to sleep as much as possible and just relax – that is all I can do," Jackson said. "Keep my legs [moving and] try to walk around as much as possible, but at the same time sleep as much as possible. Five [hours awake] and five [hours sleeping] – try to balance it out."
Hamilton said he'll probably watch "Peaky Blinders" on Netflix until he falls asleep.
"I think the staff — credit to everybody involved — has a great plan in place for us when we get down there, and [we are] going to try to take advantage of the travel in a way that it is not hindering us coming into Sunday," Hamilton said.
"I think the words 'flying out of our skin' were used in the team meeting, so that is the ultimate goal. Obviously, both sides are dealing with it, so there are really no excuses to be made but, I think we have a good plan in place and good organization when we get down there."
Jackson Isn't Sweating Field Conditions
There was some chatter in recent days about the quality of the playing surface at the iconic Maracanã Stadium and the possibility of the game moving back to Dallas, but that has died down.
On Wednesday, Ravens players were asked if they have any concerns about the condition of the turf.
"I believe the NFL does a great job at having their specialists go out there and look over the fields. I can't worry about that," Jackson said.
"I just have to worry about getting us a dub in Brazil – our first time in Rio. [As for] the field, we have played on bad fields plenty of times, so I cannot really dwell on that. We are just going out there to play football."
Hamilton said he'll reserve judgement until he sees what the field looks like during warmups. He's seen the "he said, she said" going on about it.
"I know the players are the product in this league," Hamilton said. "As soon as we lose putting the players forward is when we lose the league. And I am sure the league knows that and they are doing their best to put us in the position to be safe. So, that is not really in the forefront of my mind right now. [I'm] just trying to get ready for the game."
