The National Football League (NFL) is trying to establish its fan base in London. American Football fans in UK will get early taste on action in Week 4.
The Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints will play at the Northumberland Development Project on Thursday local time. The match will also mark the first international matchup of the season. A total of five games will be played in the UK.
The Vikings are coming off of a win against the Detroit Lions in Week 3 and hold a record of 2-1. The New Orleans Saints are coming off a loss against the Carolina Panthers.
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The London games have always matched up with losing records. The rest are 21 games that have had a record of 0.500 or the other 21 games with the team at least winning one game.
The issue with the NFL has always been the same regarding the matchups in London. Teams with losing records are being sent to London as the teams failed to fill their home stadiums.
The Saints are the home team heading to London. The league also guarantees that every team will host a home game in international showdowns at least once every eight years.
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When is the Vikings vs. Saints game in London?
The match between the Vikings and Saints is scheduled for October 2nd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. The kickoff time for the Vikings and Saints game is 2:30 PM local time and 9:30 AM ET.
The game will be aired live on NFL Network and will be available live on the NFL Network app, NFL Mobile app, and Yahoo Sports.
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Here are the 31 London games so far, with the teams’ records heading into the game (stats source -NBC Sports Official)
2007: Giants (5-2) vs. Dolphins (0-7)
2008: Chargers (3-4) vs. Saints (3-4)
2009: Patriots (4-2) vs. Buccaneers (0-6)
2010: Broncos (2-5) vs. 49ers (1-6)
2011: Bears (3-3) vs. Buccaneers (4-2)
2012: Patriots (4-3) vs. Rams (3-4)
2013: Steelers (0-3) vs. Vikings (0-3)
2013: 49ers (5-2) vs. Jaguars (0-7)
2014: Dolphins (1-2) vs. Raiders (0-3)
2014: Lions (5-2) vs. Falcons (2-5)
2014: Cowboys (6-3) vs. Jaguars (1-8)
2015: Jets (2-1) vs. Dolphins (1-2)
2015: Bills (3-3) vs. Jaguars (1-5)
2015: Lions (1-6) vs. Chiefs (2-5)
2016: Colts (1-2) vs. Jaguars (0-3)
2016: Giants (3-3) vs. Rams (3-3)
2016: Washington (4-3) vs. Bengals (3-4)
2017: Jaguars (1-1) vs. Ravens (2-0)
2017: Saints (1-2) vs. Dolphins (1-1)
2017: Cardinals (3-3) vs. Rams (4-2)
2017: Vikings (5-2) vs. Browns (0-7)
2018: Seahawks (2-3) vs. Raiders (1-4)
2018: Titans (3-3) vs. Chargers (4-2)
2018: Jaguars (3-4) vs. Eagles (3-4)
2019: Raiders (2-2) vs. Bears (3-1)
2019: Buccaneers (2-3) vs. Panthers (3-2)
2019: Bengals (0-7) vs. Rams (4-3)
2019: Texans (5-3) vs. Jaguars (4-4)
2021: Jets (1-3) vs. Falcons (1-3)
2021: Dolphins (1-4) vs. Jaguars (0-5)
2022: Vikings (2-1) vs. Saints (1-2)