NFL International Games – Syndication Server

Broncos welcome ‘very possible’ scenario of international game in 2025

Broncos owner Greg Penner welcomes the “very possible” scenario of playing as a “road” team in an international game in 2025.

NFL teams are required to play at least one international game once every eight years. The Denver Broncos last played abroad in 2022 (a 21-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London), so they are not required to play overseas again before 2029.

However, the Broncos could still agree to play an international game in 2025, potentially as an away team. Team owner and chief executive officer addressed the possibility of an international game during his end-of-season press conference earlier this week.

“This isn’t one of our [mandatory] years,” Penner said Wednesday. “You have a cycle with the league. I think it’s about every eight years that we’re required to play one of our home games [abroad]. This isn’t one of those years for us, but there are some games, away games of ours, and those teams you’ve seen are the Jets and the Colts. So it’s very possible we end up playing in a game in London or Berlin.

“I think Sean [Payton] has a great approach to these things which is, ‘That’s an opportunity for the team to have some time to bond in a different way.’ You saw that with the team this year at the Greenbrier, which I think was helpful for the team as really building a young group and a culture. We’d welcome that if we have the opportunity to do it.”

As Penner noted, Denver’s list of 2025 opponents includes road games against the Jets and Colts, who are set to “host” games in London and Berlin, respectively, during the 2025 season. That makes the Broncos candidates for both of those games.

In addition to playing in England and Germany, the NFL is also expected to play games in Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Ireland this fall.

The Pittsburgh Steelers — who are not among Denver’s 2025 opponents — are expected to be the “home” team for the Ireland game. The Miami Dolphins (also not a Broncos 2025 opponent) were just announced as “hosts” for the Spain game this morning.

Meanwhile, there have been unconfirmed reports that the Houston Texans will be the “home” team for a Mexico game this fall. Denver does have a road game against the Texans in 2025, and at least one Mexican outlet has suggested that the Broncos could play south of the border next season.

There have been no credible reports of the “home” team for the Brazil game yet, but the NFL has confirmed it plans to play another game in South America in 2025.

To to recap: Denver is unlikely to play in Ireland or Spain next season. England and Germany are confirmed possibilities while Mexico and Brazil home teams are still to-be-announced. We should find out more info in the coming weeks as the NFL continues unveiling the 2025 international slate.

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Broncos are candidates for an international game in 2025

The Broncos are potential candidates for London (@ Jets) and Berlin (@ Colts) games in 2025. Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Ireland are TBA.

The Denver Broncos are candidates to play in one of the NFL’s international games next season.

Last week, the NFL announced that the New York Jets will “host” a game in London next season. Because the Broncos are one of the Jets’ “road” opponents next fall, Denver is in contention for that London game.

This week, the league announced that the Indianapolis Colts will be the “home” team for a game in Berlin in 2025. Indy is also on the Broncos’ list of “away” games, so Denver is also a candidate to play in Germany.

The NFL has not yet announced what clubs will be the “home” teams for potential international games in Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Ireland. The Broncos figure to be a strong candidate to eventually “host” a game in Mexico, which is the team’s designated international market.

There have been rumblings that the Miami Dolphins will play in Spain and the Pittsburgh Steelers will play in Ireland, but official announcements are yet to come. Denver’s list of 2025 opponents does not include the Dolphins or Steelers.

We already know the Broncos are a candidate for London and Berlin. We’ll find out in the coming weeks if any other teams on Denver’s schedule are set to host international games in 2025. The complete schedule is expected to be announced in May.

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Raiders could play in Germany in 2025

The host team has been announced for Berlin Germany. It’s the Colts, one of the Raiders away opponents.

The NFL announced Wednesday the Indianapolis Colts would be the designated team for 2025 in the NFL game in Berlin, Germany.

This will be the first ever regular-season game held in Berlin. The game will be played at the Olympic Stadium as part of a multi-year commitment to playing games in the sports metropolis.

Among the teams the Colts could face is the Raiders. They are one of four out-of-division teams the Colts could face including the Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, and San Francisco 49ers.

It’s been five years since the Raiders have played an international game. The last time being 2019 which was their final season in Oakland. Which means the Las Vegas Raider are due for heading overseas for a game.

We already know the Raiders won’t be playing in London. Which just leaves Berlin and Madrid Spain should the league opt to have them play internationally. The host team has yet to be announced for the Madrid game, so that on is still very much up in the air.

49ers 2025 schedule could wind up including 1st ever game in Berlin

Another team enters the mix as a potential international opponent for the 49ers.

The San Francisco 49ers have another opportunity on their 2025 schedule to play a game overseas.

The NFL on Wednesday announced the Indianapolis Colts would be the host team for the league’s first ever regular season game in Berlin, Germany. San Francisco is set to visit the Colts this season as part of their scheduled jaunt through the AFC South.

While the NFL has played regular-season games in Germany five times and as recently as 2023, those games all took place in either Frankfurt or Munich. The 2025 season will mark the first-ever game in the German capital. The league is also slated to play a game in Madrid, Spain.

Indianapolis joins the Cleveland Browns on the list of teams the 49ers could conceivably play against across the Atlantic. The Browns are slated to play a game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next season. Cleveland is set to be one of the 49ers’ nine road games.

We won’t know the full NFL schedule until sometime in May, which is when the NFL says it will announce the opponents for each international game. Schedule leaks could come out before then, and the 49ers would surely love to know as soon as possible if they’re playing on a different continent to ensure maximum time to prepare for what’s always a strange week of scheduling.

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Will Raiders play international game in London in 2025?

The NFL released the home teams for the three London games. Could the Raiders be among those headed to the UK in 2025?

We are a few months away from the full 2025 NFL schedule release. But well in advance of that, the NFL has announced the home teams for the London games.

Three teams will play ‘host’ in London next season. Those teams are the Browns, Jaguars, and Jets.

The question is if the Raiders could be the opponent in any of those games. And the answer is…

No.

The Jaguars and Browns are among the Raiders 2025 opponents, but both of those matchups are Raiders home games, which means you can eliminate London from the list of possible locations for Raiders games this season.

After playing three times in London in 2014, 2018, and 2019, the Raiders have not left the country for a game since relocating to Vegas, so they’re due to go overseas again.

There are still games that will be played in other countries next season, so there is still a chance the Raiders could play internationally.

The two other countries announced for NFL games are Berlin Germany and Madrid Spain. The home teams have not yet been announced for those cities.

It’s worth noting that the Raiders have more home games this season than away games, which would seem to raise the likelihood that if one of their games was to be moved internationally, it would be a home game. But it’s not an absolute.

2 49ers opponents to play international games in 2025

Could the 49ers be headed to England?

The San Francisco 49ers could be headed across the Atlantic to play a game in the 2025 season.

According to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero, the NFL on Friday announced the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars will all play international games next season. The Jets and Browns will play at Tottenham Stadium, while the Jaguars will be at Wembley. Dates and times will be announced with the NFL schedule sometime in May.

Pelissero also noted the NFL can schedule up to eight international games, and that Madrid and Berlin will both host games in 2025. That leaves the door open for other opportunities for the 49ers to go overseas, although teams for those games haven’t been announced.

San Francisco is slated to play against the Jaguars and Browns next year, putting them in the mix to play in one of those London games.

However, it’s likely the teams announced Friday will be the home team in those matchups, which takes the Jaguars off the table. The 49ers are scheduled to host Jacksonville at Levi’s Stadium.

Their matchup against Cleveland remains in play though since that’s a road game for the 49ers. The Browns got onto San Francisco’s schedule by way of both teams finishing last in their respective divisions.

The 49ers haven’t played an international game since 2012 when they faced the Jaguars at Wembley. That year they rolled the Jags 42-10.

With what projects as a weak schedule, the 49ers may be subjected by the NFL to an international trip, particularly since San Francisco has a strong following in England.

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Broncos will likely play an international game within the next 2 years

The Broncos appear poised to play an international game within the next two seasons, with Mexico the team’s most likely destination.

During an interview on “NFL GameDay” on Sunday morning, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league aims to play eight international games during the 2025 NFL season.

Goodell said the NFL will “certainly” return to Germany and the United Kingdom and “definitely” play in Spain next fall. The league “expects” to return to Mexico City and Brasil, and they are looking into potentially playing a game in Ireland.

If there are no repeat teams, eight games would feature 16 clubs on the international schedule in 2025. If that format continues and the NFL balances the schedule evenly, every team would play an international game every other season.

That means the Denver Broncos will likely play an international game in either 2025 or 2026. The Broncos’ most likely destination is Mexico, the team’s designated “International Home Market Area.” The NFL prefers teams to play in their IHMA, so Denver is poised to play in Mexico.

Get your passports ready!

Commissioner Roger Goodell tells @ColleenWolfe where the NFL is traveling next season pic.twitter.com/Bhn9L71e4E

— NFL GameDay (@NFLGameDay) November 10, 2024

The league typically announces teams for international games before the full schedule release in the spring. Stay tuned. The NFL could begin announcing international teams for the 2025 slate as early as January.

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Vikings HC on challenges of playing overseas: ‘Those are just excuses’

Kevin O’Connell recognizes the challenges of playing international games but doesn’t let those become excuses for his team.

This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccurate headline.

The Minnesota Vikings are no strangers to playing in front of an international crowd. They have done it in Sweden, Japan, Germany, and, of course, England. Since the International Series began in 2007, they have been involved in four games, the latest coming this past Sunday.

Kevin O’Connell recognizes the challenges but doesn’t let those become excuses for his team. The Minnesota Vikings head coach appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and discussed various topics, including playing in London.

“It’s always a challenge when you go over to London. … Those are just excuses if you allow them to be, and I absolutely love going over there,” he said.

O’Connell has reason to like going to London, as the Vikings are undefeated in international games. The Vikings improved to 5-0 on the season after defeating the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

The Vikings are on a bye following their international travels and will play the Detroit Lions in Week 7.