Cowboys' Brian Schottenheimer Jokes He 'Thanked' NFL for 'Unique' Schedule Involving Brazil Game

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer says he thinks his team is prepared to navigate the unique challenge of playing three games, including one in Brazil, in a span of 12 days.

Schottenheimer has jokingly "thanked" the NFL for the schedule assignment, which starts with Sunday's matchup against the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil, per ESPN's Todd Archer.

The Cowboys are then set to travel for a road game against the Houston Texans the following Sunday, Oct. 4 before returning home for a Thursday, Oct. 8 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"I'd be a hypocrite if I said I think it's a tough task, but we're up to it, and mentally tough we need to be," Schottenheimer told reporters Thursday. "This is a long season. I can't be a 'win-the-day' type of guy and be angry about it, but in reality, it's a long trip, come home, Houston, short week. But we're going to win today, and then we're going to go down there, and we're going to win Friday, Saturday, and play a really good team, and hopefully win that.

"It does require mental toughness, and the schedule is a schedule, and we will play anybody, anytime, anywhere. But it's a unique schedule for sure."

There's a two-hour time difference between Dallas and Rio de Janeiro, where Schottenheimer says the team has been planning the logistics of the trip since March.

Schottenheimer said during a Thursday appearance on 105.3 The Fan his plan was to compress preparation for the game into earlier in the week before flying to Brazil Thursday night for a short practice Friday and a visit to the stadium Saturday.

"Everything sounds like you wanna get down there at least 48 hours or so before the game, get a little bit adjusted, acclimated," Schottenheimer said.

The NFL season started off with an international matchup in Melbourne featuring two teams with radically different travel strategies in the San Francisco 49ers, who arrived early in Australia to adjust to the time difference, and the Los Angeles Rams, who conceded a blowout loss after attempting to keep their players on California time during the trip.

Sean McVay later called himself a "dumbass coach" for not giving his team more time to adjust to the travel.

The Cowboys and Ravens, in contrast, are both planning to fly to Brazil Thursday night and spend two days in the country ahead of the Week 3 matchup.

Both teams will hope giving players more time to adjust to international travel will help them prepare for Sunday's kickoff at 4:25 p.m. ET.