Seahawks-Buccaneers set as 1st Germany game
The Seahawks and Buccaneers will play Nov. 13 in Munich in the NFL’s first regular-season game in Germany….
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL’s first regular-season game in Germany.
The league announced Wednesday the teams will play at 9:30 a.m. ET on Nov. 13 at Allianz Arena, home of FC Bayern Munich.
The NFL also announced the three 9:30 a.m. ET games that will be played in London next season. The New Orleans Saints will face the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 2 and the Green Bay Packers will play the New York Giants on Oct. 9 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Jacksonville Jaguars will play the Denver Broncos on Oct. 30 at Wembley Stadium.
The league also announced the Arizona Cardinals will play the San Francisco 49ers on Nov. 21 in a Monday Night Football game at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
This will be the fourth NFL game played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The Oakland Raiders beat the Houston Texans 27-20 in 2016, the New England Patriots beat the Raiders 33-8 in 2017, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers 24-17 in 2019.
The Chiefs were scheduled to play the Los Angeles Rams there in 2019 but the game was moved to Los Angeles due to poor field conditions.
Arizona lost its lone international matchup in 2017 33-0 to the Los Angeles Rams at Twickenham Stadium in London. The 49ers are 2-0 in international games, beating Denver 24-10 in 2010 and Jacksonville 42-10 in 2013 at Wembley Stadium in London.
The Bucs will be seeking their first victory playing outside the United States. They’re 0-3 in their three games played in London, losing to the Patriots 35-7 in 2009, the Chicago Bears 24-18 in 2011, and the Carolina Panthers 37-26 in 2019.
This will mark the Seahawks’ third international regular-season game in franchise history. They beat the Buffalo Bills in Toronto in 2012 and the Oakland Raiders in London in 2018.
The Seahawks have a German-born player in linebacker Aaron Donkor, who was allocated to Seattle last year as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. Donkor is from Achern, about 200 miles west of Munich, and spent the 2021 season on Seattle’s practice squad. The Seahawks received another roster exemption for Donkor this week.
The NFL announced in February that it will play four games in Germany over the next four seasons, two apiece in Munich and Frankfurt.
The Packers were the lone team to have never played in an international game. The Giants are 2-0 overseas, beating the Miami Dolphins 13-10 in the NFL’s first international game played in 2007 at Wembley Stadium and beating the Rams 17-10 in 2016 at Twickenham Stadium.
“Our fan base in the U.K. has always been extremely loyal and passionate,” Giants chief commercial officer Pete Guelli said. “The organization has had two memorable games in front of the London fans, and we look forward to engaging with them leading up to the game this fall.”
The Saints are 2-0 in London, beating the San Diego Chargers 37-32 in 2006 and the Miami Dolphins 20-0 in 2017 at Wembley Stadium. The Vikings beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-27 in 2013 at Wembley Stadium and the Cleveland Browns 33-16 in 2017 at Twickenham Stadium.
This will be the ninth time the Jaguars will have played a game outside the United States, which is more than any other team. The Las Vegas Raiders and Miami have each played five international games.
All of the Jaguars’ games abroad have been in London, and the Jaguars are 4-4 in them. They have played in the U.K. annually since 2013, with the exception of the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Jaguars beat Miami 23-20 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year to snap a 20-game losing streak that was the second-longest in NFL history.
The Jaguars and the NFL have agreed on a three-year contract that will allow the Jaguars to play an annual home game at Wembley Stadium through the 2024 season.
Denver is 0-1 outside the United States, losing to San Francisco 24-10 in 2010 at Wembley Stadium.
“It’s a great honor for the Denver Broncos to be selected by the NFL to play in London as part of its International Series,” Broncos general manager George Paton said in a statement. “Broncos Country is everywhere and the best way to grow our game — and reach fans all over the world — is by playing internationally. Our entire organization is excited with the opportunity to play at historic Wembley Stadium against the Jaguars.”
The Jaguars-Broncos contest also will be the first NFL game broadcast on ESPN+.
ESPN’s Brady Henderson and Jordan Raanan contributed to this report.
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