Seahawks-Buccaneers set as 1st Germany game

NFL

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL’s first game in Germany.

The league announced Wednesday the teams will face off 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 play 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 will announce later Wednesday morning the Arizona Cardinals‘ opponent for their game at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

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 New England 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, who is from Achern, about 200 miles west of Munich, 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 Buccaneers-Seahawks game will be the NFL’s first-ever regular-season game in Germany.

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 Los Angeles 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 have come in London, and the Jaguars are 4-4 in those games. 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.

Articles You May Like

Tkachuk ‘OK’ following collision with Kucherov
Liverpool’s belief at an all-time high in Premier League title race
Franklin quiets critics as PSU wins CFP opener
Rangers’ Rempe gets 8 games for Heiskanen hit
Arsenal’s Saka out for ‘many weeks’ with injury

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *