How Eagles could still play international game in 2022

[time2rock]

How Eagles could still play international game in 2022

 

The NFL announced the five teams that will host international games during the 2022 season, and for Eagles fans looking to head abroad to watch their team, there's still hope.

Between a game in Munich, a game in Mexico City, and three games in London, 2022 will tie 2017 for the most international games (5) in a single season in league history - and will set a record for the number of separate countries to host an NFL game in a single season.

Here's the list of the sites and the host teams:

• Munich: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Mexico City: Arizona Cardinals
• London (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium): Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints    
• London (Wembley Stadium): Jacksonville Jaguars

All five teams will be the "home" teams for the respective games, and while we don't know the Eagles' actual 2022 schedule we do know which teams they'll face on the road and which teams they'll face at home.

The Eagles are playing both the Packers and the Saints next year, but those games will be played in Philadelphia, which rules out the Birds' first trip to the UK since 2018 when they beat the Jaguars at Wembley Stadium.

There's still a chance, however, that the Eagles could head to Mexico City because their 2022 matchup with the Cardinals is a road game.

If the idea of the Eagles facing Arizona in Mexico City seems oddly familiar, it's because it had a chance of happening two years ago. There was a possibility the Eagles could've played the Cardinals down at Estadio Azteca back in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic ruined all hopes of any international NFL games that season.

I think it'd be pretty neat if the Eagles went to Mexico to face the Cardinals. Inject a little extra intrigue into a random regular season game. Shoot, why not? Spice it up!

The Eagles also have a fascinating history with NFL games in Mexico City. They were slated to play the first-ever NFL game in Mexico against the Lions in 1968 (a preseason contest) but the game was cancelled - possibly because of lack of interest, or possibly because of planned demonstrations during the Movimiento estudiantil, a widespread movement seeking greater political freedoms throughout the country.

Ten years later Ron Jaworski and the Eagles played in the actual first-ever NFL game in Mexico (also a preseason contest) and lost to the Saints, 14-7, in a game Jaworski said the Eagles weren't prepared for.

Here's Jaworski, via ESPN:

"We played in a bullring, the locker rooms were too small, and the goal posts were crooked."

Wild!

We'll see what happens with this year's slate. In case you need a reminder, here's a look at the Eagles' home and away opponents for 2022:

Home: Cowboys, Giants, Commanders, Vikings, Packers, Titans, Jaguars, Saints, Steelers

Away: Cowboys, Giants, Commanders, Bears, Lions, Colts, Texans, Cardinals

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/nfls-2022-international-game-host-teams-announced-eagles-still-play

[UK_EaglesFan89]

Dang it! Was hoping there was a faint chance they may come back to the UK this year. 

[time2rock]

1 hour ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Dang it! Was hoping there was a faint chance they may come back to the UK this year. 

Just curious, where at in the UK do you live?  I used to travel there quite a bit a few years ago for work.  Fly into Manchester - a car would be waiting to drive me to Harrogate in North Yorkshire (IIRC it was about a 2 hr drive).  

[UK_EaglesFan89]

36 minutes ago, time2rock said:

Just curious, where at in the UK do you live?  I used to travel there quite a bit a few years ago for work.  Fly into Manchester - a car would be waiting to drive me to Harrogate in North Yorkshire (IIRC it was about a 2 hr drive).  

A car would be waiting for you? What do you do for a living?

I live in the South West. Small city could Gloucester. Its in between Bristol and Birmingham which are 2 of the bigger cities that more would have heard of.