The Dallas Cowboys will make history in 2026 when they, along with an opponent to be named later, will play the first-ever NFL game in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The game will take place sometime during the regular season, though the exact date hasn’t yet been announced.
It will be the 11th international game the Cowboys have played in their history, which leads the NFL. However, it will only be the second time they’ve played an international regular-season game.
With the game in Brazil to look forward to, here’s a comprehensive list of the Cowboys’ international games, starting back in 1986 with a preseason matchup against the Bears.
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File photo: Dallas Cowboy’s coach Tom Landry (left) and Ed “Too Tall” Jones smile as they wear helmets borrowed from a couple of “bobbies”, or policemen, during a training session in London, England July 28, 1986. The Cowboys will meet the champion Chicago Bears in an exhibition game in London Aug. 3.
AP Photo/Gerald Penny
London, 1986
In a preseason game at Wembley Stadium, the Cowboys fall to the Chicago Bears 17-6. It was the very first of the NFL’s “American Bowl” series that held games outside of the U.S. from 1986 to 2005 in hopes of promoting the sport to an international audience.
Tokyo, 1992
The Cowboys visited Japan in 1992 where they fell to the Houston Oilers 34-23 at the Tokyo Dome.
Owner and General Manager of Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, left, presents a team’s uniform to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, right, while U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Foley, center, looks on during the NFL teams’ courtesy call at the premier’s official residence in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 4, 2000. Cowboys will play against Atlanta Falcons at the Tokyo Dome in a preseason match.
Toru Yamanaka
London, 1993
In their second-ever game at Wembley Stadium the Cowboys and the Detroit Lions play to a 13-13 preseason tie.
Mexico City, 1994
Coming off back-to-back Super Bowl championships, the Cowboys slipped south of the border and played the second-ever NFL game in Mexico. A record-breaking 112,376 people attended the matchup at Estadio Azteca. Unfortunately they saw a Cowboys team unable to put up any points in a 6-0 loss to the Oilers at Estadio Azteca.
Toronto, 1995
The Cowboys went north the next year, taking on the Bills at the SkyDome in Toronto, home of the Blue Jays. They’d fall in an appropriately baseball-looking score, 9-7 to Buffalo.
Monterrey, 1996
Dallas returned to Mexico the following season but instead played at Estadio Universitario in Monterrey. They dropped another to the Chiefs in a 32-6 preseason blowout.
Mexico City, 1998
The Cowboys went back to Estadio Azteca in 1998 where they’d continue their international winless streak, falling 21-3 to the New England Patriots.
Mexico City, 2001
Cowboys Greg Ellis (98) and Mike Lucky (86) are congratulated by mascot Rowdy as they walk off the field following the first half of play against the Oakland Raiders during the pre-season Mexico 2001 game at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
Michael Mulvey
In the Cowboys’ ninth international game they log their first win, dropping the Raiders 21-6 in another matchup at Estadio Azteca.
London, 2014
The Cowboys made the only international regular-season game they’ve ever played count. Tony Romo and crew went across the pond in 2014 to play another matchup at Wembley, this time against the Jaguars. Dez Bryant hauled in six passes and 158 yards for two touchdowns in the first half alone as Dallas ran away from the Jags for a 31-17 victory.
Dez Bryant had a MONSTER day the last time the Cowboys played an international game against the Jaguars in London (Nov. 9, 2014):
158 yards | 6 receptions | 2 touchdowns pic.twitter.com/TE14cwgZDR
— SleeperCowboys (@SleeperCowboys) February 6, 2026
While Dallas is 1-7-1 all-time in international preseason games, they’re 1-0 in the games that matter.
We’ll see if the Cowboys can improve upon that in Brazil next season.
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