Dak Prescott, Cowboys want to 'be the aggressors' vs. Ravens in Rio

Tommy Yarrish RIO DE JANEIROFor the first time in his 11 NFL seasons, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will play in a game on international soil on Sunday. The Cowboys landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ahead of their Week 3 game against the Baltimore Ravens on Friday morning. A few hours later, Prescott and the Cowboys traveled to CR Flamengo's training grounds for a Friday practice, which provided a scenic backdrop ahead of a unique weekend. "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. "Obviously just trying to expand the game to all the different places, understanding the game has been here, but not the Cowboys brand of football and not the organization" "It's exciting as ever any chance you get to play this game, and to get to play it in a new country with new fans and get to introduce it to maybe some new kids out there that were trying to learn about the game of football and to the be the faces and the people that they get to look up to and aspire to be is humbling, and something that we're not taking lightly." Prescott and the Cowboys are also not taking the Ravens lightly. From the jump, Dallas has said that this is a business trip. Players and coaches' families did not travel with them, and the Cowboys won't be leaving their hotel outside of Saturday's walk around Maracaa Stadium and the game on Sunday. New Ravens head coach Jesse Minter awaits on the other sideline, a familiar face for Prescott and the offense after facing the Chargers last season when Minter was Los Angeles' defensive coordinator. In that game, Dallas was able to post 340 yards of offense, but lost 34-17. "Being able to go back and watch what this head coach did against us in LA last year, that game has been huge for us just in our game plan and us trying to break down things," Prescott said. "They make adjustments, we make adjustments." "We're excited about our game plan, we've got answers for whatever they're going to do. That just kind of goes into the rules of who we are, not trying to get outside of our box to combat anything they're doing or counter them too much. We want to be the aggressors; we want to make them play on their heels and bring our best game to them." Prescott credited Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer and his staff for making the preparation for this game feel like a normal week. Schottenheimer and the coaches finished their game plan early in the week, giving Dallas' players more time to digest it during their shared time together in the hotel ahead of Sunday. "They made it harder on themselves and got the gameplan in earlier, so we're a day ahead of everything," Prescott said. "So just being able to get out here and have an extra day to massage the game plan, to cross our T's and dot our I's and do the things that we need necessary. At the same time, just getting great team bonding. Being at the hotel together and just spending a lot of time together in a new place. Credit the coaches for getting the plan in so it makes it easier on us as players." Part of the preparation for this game specifically has been planning ahead for the playing surface at Maracaa Stadium, which has had some concerns over the past week. Schottenheimer and the Cowboys have remained confident that the field won't be an issue on Sunday, and Prescott feels similarly. "Not a lot goes into that for me. I trust my equipment, the cleats that I'm going to have," Prescott said. "Not really even looking into the news about how people feel about the field. If it's the surface we're going to play on, let's go do it. One way or another, obviously if they're going to allow the game to be played, it's good enough. Where I'm from, I've played on worse. Been tackled on concrete. So the fact that the grass is soft, we'll take it, I'll take it anyways. I hope not to hit it anyways." The first international playing stage for Prescott is one that further puts into perspective the position he's in, and inspires him and the Cowboys to strive to spark a new generation of interest in America football, and Cowboys fans, outside of the United States. "I don't know if there's any place in the world that there's not a good bit of Cowboys [fans]," Prescott said. "That's the awesome part about playing for this organization. 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. "It's something that I think about each and every game, is 'Who's watching for the first time?' Or, 'Who's trying to pick up this game, and how can I inspire them?' Just allows me to not take any play for granted, to be right where my feet are, and that's what I'm doing this whole trip."