NFL field director says he's confident Rio stadium surface will be in good shape for Ravens-Cowboys

SAO PAULO(AP) — The field at Maracana Stadium has been hit by unusually heavy rainfall over the past six weeks, but the NFL's field director expressed confidence it will be in good shape Sunday when the Baltimore Ravens and the Dallas Cowboys play the league's first game in Rio de Janeiro. The NFL had a crew on site Monday to begin preparing the stadium for the game, one of a record nine international contests on the NFL schedule this season. “They’ve faced some unprecedented weather over the last six weeks or so as far as rainfall goes,” Nick Pappas, the NFL’s field director, told The Associated Press from Rio. “We’ve got to have plans in place to ensure that you can mitigate the weather the best you can and, right now, we feel we’re in a good spot.” Pappas said the NFL had shipped a tarp to Rio about a week ago to help protect the turf.

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