Which NFL Teams Are Playing in London This Year?

The NFL is back in London this year and there are four teams playing! Find out which ones are making the trip across the pond.

Introduction

The National Football League (NFL) has been playing regular season games in London since 2007. The NFL International Series began with one game and has grown to four games per year since 2013. This year, there are five NFL teams playing in London: the Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Teams

Four NFL teams are playing in London this year. They are the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Los Angeles Rams, the Miami Dolphins, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Los Angeles Rams

The Los Angeles Rams are an American football team that competes in the National Football League (NFL). The Rams are headquartered in Encino, California, and play their home games at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The Rams franchise was founded in 1936 as the Cleveland Rams in Ohio. The franchise moved to Los Angeles, California in 1946, and won the NFL Championship in 1951. The Rams franchise relocated to St. Louis, Missouri in 1995, and won Super Bowl XXXIV in 1999. The Rams franchise returned to Los Angeles prior to the 2016 NFL season.

The Los Angeles Rams are scheduled to play two home games at London’s Wembley Stadium as part of the NFL International Series during the 2017 season.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football franchise based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Their home stadium is Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati. The Bengals have won two league championships, in 1981 and 1988, as well as eight divisional titles and 10 playoff appearances.

The Bengals have been members of the AFC North since the franchise’s inception in 1968. Following Lou Saban’s resignation after losing Super Bowl III to the New York Jets,Paul Brown was hired as head coach and general manager on January 9, 1968. Brown named Chuck Noll as his assistant head coach on January 17,1968; Noll served as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1969–91 and led them to four Super Bowl victories. The Bengals lost their first regular season game against the Houston Oilers 27–16 at Crosley Field on September 16, 1968. On September 23, 1968 they notched their first victory against the Kansas City Chiefs 31–7 at Riverfront Stadium. The following week saw their first road game as they visited Cleveland Stadium for an AFC Central matchup with the Browns; Cincinnati won that contest 38–14 en route to a 7–7 record during their inaugural season of play.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are an American professional football team based in Houston, Texas. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team plays its home games at NRG Stadium, a stadium it shares with the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s Houston Rockets. The Texans were established in 2002 as the Houston expansion team after Houston’s previous franchise, the Houston Oilers, folded in 1996. The team’s majority owner is Cal McNair; Mike Tome is the general manager.

The Texans began play in 2002 as an expansion team after the NFL granted the city of Houston an expansion franchise on October 6, 1999, amid hopes for recovery from Hurricane Ike in September 2008. While Harris County Judge Robert Eckels conveyed enthusiasm and support from county officials, many elected officials within the city of Houston itself voiced skepticism and considered other sites within the region before community and business leaders coalesced around bringing NFL football back to Southeast Texas after a 33-year absence.[8][9] The Oilers’ last game was played at then-Astrodome MTBE plant site on December 22, 1996; afterward, owner Bud Adams announced that he was moving his franchise to Nashville to become the Tennessee Titans.[10][11]

On March 19, 2000, Ray McNair brought together a twisting consortium of businessmen – including Bob McNair who would eventually become majority owner – to bid on three abandoned franchises: Cleveland Browns ( suspensions ), Arizona Cardinals ( contraction ) and Houston Oilers . This became known as “The Texas Two Step”.[12] The league initially indicated Cleveland would get first pick as part of their ransacking deal with Baltimore Ravens , but ultimately all three teams were allowed to choose players in a special supplemental draft held before the regular college draft .[13][14] In the ensuing weeks both Eckels and then-Mayor Lee P. Brown expressed support for an NFL return,[15][16] with Brown proclaiming that if an ownership group could be assembled “we will have a stadium ready for them.”[17][18] On October 6 Commissioner Paul Tagliabue awarded an expansion franchise to McNair’s group under their original name choice of “Houston Oilers”.[19][20][21]

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are an American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team plays its home games at TIAA Bank Field.

The Jaguars and the Carolina Panthers joined the NFL as expansion teams for the 1995 season. Since their inception, the Jaguars have won division championships in 1998 and 1999 (as members of the now-defunct AFC Central) and have qualified for the playoffs six times, most recently in 2017. The Jaguars have wontheir lone conference championship, winning the AFC Championship Game in 2017 before losing to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

The Venues

This year’s NFL International Series includes four games in London, all of which will be played at Wembley Stadium – the home of England’s national soccer team. As in past years, the 2020 London games will be played on consecutive weekends in October.

Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium is a football stadium in Wembley, London, which opened in 2007. It was built on the site of the previous Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002–2003. The stadium hosts the annual FA Cup final, the England national football team’s home matches, and various other football events.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

The brand new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the venue for two NFL games in 2019. It’s the first purpose-built stadium in Europe designed specifically for football and American football, and it has a capacity of 62,062. The stadium is located in north London and is the home ground of Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur.

The first NFL game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be played on October 6, 2019 between the Chicago Bears and the Oakland Raiders, and the second game will be played on October 13, 2019 between the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Dates

American football is one of the most popular sports in the United States.

October 27th, 2019

On October 27th, 2019, the Chicago Bears will take on the Oakland Raiders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. This will be the first time these two teams have played each other since 2015. This game is part of the NFL International Series and will be broadcast live on BBC Two in the UK.

November 3rd, 2019

The NFL announced their London games for the 2019 season and there are some great match-ups in store! The first game will be on October 6th when the Chicago Bears take on the Oakland Raiders. This will be the Raiders’ first trip to London, while the Bears have played there before. Other games include:

October 13th – Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
October 27th – Cincinnati Bengals vs. Los Angeles Rams
November 3rd – Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

So if you’re looking for some exciting NFL action, make sure to check out one of these London games!

Conclusion

The New England Patriots, the Los Angeles Rams, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the San Francisco
49ers will all be playing in London this year. This is a great opportunity for NFL fans to see some of
the best teams in the league in action.