The Chicago Bears returned to London last season for the first time since 2011, where they lost to the then-Oakland Raiders 24-21 on Oct. 6. Would they be making a trip back across the Atlantic to face another AFC opponent in 2020? Not according to one NFL insider.
The Bears have an away game scheduled against the Jacksonville Jaguars next season, who announced on Tuesday they will play in back-to-back home games in London this fall. The Jaguars are the first NFL team to play two home games outside of the United States.
Because a quarter of their home schedule will now take place overseas, questions arose as to whether the Bears would be one of the two opponents.
But according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, their home game against the Bears is protected and will remain in Jacksonville.
Opponents are TBD, but the #Jaguars’ home games against the #Bears and #Steelers will be in Jacksonville. The team says the London doubleheader is related to “the team’s ambitious and big-picture plans for Jacksonville and, specifically, the planned Lot J development”. pic.twitter.com/roOTjofXL5
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 4, 2020
The Bears could still play one of their games in London as two more games have yet to be decided. But since the NFL International Series began in 2007, only the Jaguars, Raiders, and Los Angeles Rams have played overseas in consecutive seasons.
The NFL schedule will be released in late April.
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