The Ravens-Cowboys game at Maracanå Stadium in Rio de Janeiro raised red flags about the quality of the field. The NFL worked to make the playing surface satisfactory for the game.
Obviously the turf wasn’t a problem. (There were a lot more slips and slides in Denver, after the rain during the Rams-Broncos game.) The passing grade on a test that should never fail naturally led to limited coverage due to the fact that the field wasn’t a bunch of anything other than grass.
Yes, there are stories claiming that the terrain was not a problem. This problem should never be a problem. The field is like a long snapper. It should only be noticed when he is not doing his job properly, and you should never worry that the long snapper will do anything other than throw the ball accurately and reliably.
That said, Cowboys safety Caleb Downs had some criticism regarding the surface.
“It was good at the start of the match, but at the end of the match it was it was pretty much just dirt there” said Downs, via Joseph Hoyt of Dallas Morning News. “I can’t make excuses about this, so we have to keep doing our job.”
A source on site described the pitch as “aesthetically unappealing”, comparing it to an “uneven lawn”. The source said this posed no significant risk to player health, but was below the standard the NFL should expect for its games.
That’s the main thing. The NFL has set the bar high. The peloton on Sunday was not up to par. Even though no players were injured due to this and it did not affect the integrity of the game, concerns about the quality of the pitch should never become a story. Because the quality of an NFL playing field should never be in doubt.
Gn sports
