Every Time the Dallas Cowboys Played Outside the U.S.

With the 2026 NFL schedule out, it's been revealed that the Dallas Cowboys will be playing not only at home, but on the road...AND on the road to Rio! During Week 3, the Dallas Cowboys will play the Baltimore Ravens at Macarena Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on September 27.

This is NOT the first time the Dallas Cowboys have played overseas or in another country. They've played a handful of international games dating back since the 80's.

The first Dallas Cowboys international game was against the Chicago back in 1986

The first time the Cowboys played at a stadium outside of the States was on August 3, 1986 against the defending Super Bowl champs, the Chicago Bears.  The two teams would face off at the iconic Wembley Stadium (somewhere the Cowboys will be back much later).

The Bears would win that game 17-6 & it became the first of "American Bowl" games that the NFL would hold (that ran until 2005). The two teams would meet again in the regular season at Texas Stadium & the Bears would win that game as well, 24-10.

The Dallas Cowboys would play several more international preseason games in the 90's & early 2000's

Between 1992 to 2001, the Cowboys played a total of SEVEN international games in 5 different cities across the globe:

• The Cowboys faced off against the Houston Oilers at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on August 2, 1992. The Oilers would beat the Cowboys 17-16
• The Cowboys came back to Wembley to play the Detroit Lions in 1993. That game ended in a 13-13 tie.
• August 13, 1994, Mexico City would be the home to another classic Dallas/Houston match up at the Estadio Azteca football stadium. The Houston Oilers only beat the Cowboys, 6-0, but it was the most attended NFL game of all time.
• The first NFL game in Toronto, Canada would feature the Cowboys & the Buffalo Bills playing at the SkyDome on August 12, 1995. The Bills won that game 9-7.
• The Cowboys went back to Mexico to play Monterrey's Estadio Universitario on August 5, 1996 to play the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs won that game 32-6.
• On August 17, 1998, The Cowboys would play the New England Patriots at Estadio Azteca but would lose 21-3.
• The Cowboys final preseason international game on August 27, 2001 in Mexico City's Estadio Banorte. The Cowboys would break their winless streak and beat the Oakland Raiders 21-6.

In summary, The Cowboys were 1-6-1 for international games. But, as I mentioned, those were either exhibition games or preseason games...

The first regular season international game for the Dallas Cowboys came in 2014.

Week 10 of the 2014 season, the Dallas Cowboys would play against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the iconic Wembley Stadium in England. The Cowboys would get a HUGE win where it mattered; they would win that game 31-17.

So far the Cowboys have played 9 games international games & this year's Rio game will make it 10 in total.

If you want to read more interesting Dallas Cowboys stories, you can read about how some former Dallas Cowboys formed a music band back in the 2000's here.

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