Packers and Brady Head for Europe
It’s taken 15 years but finally the Green Bay Packers will play an NFL game in London, England.
Just who the Packers will be playing hasn’t yet been confirmed. What we do know is they will become the 32nd and final team from the NFL to cross the Atlantic and play a game in the English capital.
2022 promises to be another big year for the NFL in terms of international matches. They are used to coming to England and playing games, but this year are also going to be staging a match in Germany.
German fans will be treated with the chance of seeing Tampa Bay Buccaneers playing. That should mean they get the opportunity (most likely their only one) to see Tom Brady play.
That’s something the Tampa Bay fans didn’t think they’d see after he announced his retirement but has since changed his mind. The Buccaneers will be playing at the Allianz Arena in Munich on a date yet to be confirmed.
Two months ago, the announcement was made of the inaugural NFL games in Germany. In addition to the Allianz Stadium being used, there will also be games played in Frankfurt. Both will have a couple of games over the next four seasons.
Green Bay won’t be playing at Wembley Stadium. Their first ever game in London will be played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Last season saw Green Bay unbeaten at home as they won the NFC North.
They eventually lost a home game when beaten by San Francisco in the Divisional Play-offs. If they want to again have an unbeaten regular season run, then they’ll have to play on two ‘home’ grounds.
Other ‘home’ teams playing in the 2022 International Series in London will be the New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars are on their way to Wembley and will also play there in 2023 and 2024. They have a big fan base in the UK and have made eight trips to London so far. New Orleans play at Tottenham, hoping to win a third match in London.
The Arizona Cardinals will also be on their travels next season. It’s been confirmed they will be playing a match at the Estado Azteca in Mexico City. That’s the first NFL game to be played in that country in three years. The NFL has fond memories of staging matches in Mexico. In 2005, there was a massive attendance of 103,467 and only seven NFL games have had a larger attendance than that.
Who could Green Bay (who are +1200 with current betting offers to win the next Super Bowl) be facing on their London debut? Looking at the teams due to be played at home in the 2022 season, the list is Chicago, Minnesota and Detroit, who are the other teams in the NFC North.
If it’s not an all-NFC North clash, then the opponents could be either Dallas, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, New England, the New York Giants or the defending champions, the LA Rams.
Regardless of who their opponents are, it’ll be an historic occasion for the Packers. Their President and CEO is Mark Murphy. He says they are “excited” to finally make their international debut. Murphy believes fans in the UK and Europe “have been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to see the Packers play in their backyard.” He also expects many of their US fans to make the journey to England.
