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At this Rate, We’ll Have the NFL Baghdad Game by 2029
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The NFL is going to France in 2026 for a matchup that will reportedly be the Saints vs. Browns. The Saints are confirmed, and the Browns are the apparent opponent:
Tyler Shough vs. Shedeur Sanders. Should be an instant classic! In exchange, we’ll take a Ligue 1 game between Lyon and Marseille at Lincoln Financial Field. Who says no to that swap?
The NFL is going to six confirmed cities (so far) for 2026. It’s Paris, Melbourne, Rio, Munich, London, and Madrid. If there’s an Eagles angle here, it’s Jordan Mailata playing down under. Could be cool, but you’d have to fly a million miles to get there. The Birds did not go overseas in 2025 so they’re probably due for a trip this season. The only London trip was in 2018, when the Birds beat the Jaguars 24-18 behind strong performances from Carson Wentz and Josh Adams. Wendell Smallwood had a receiving touchdown in that game. The Birds are 2-0 in international games after beating the Packers in Sao Paulo to begin the 2024 NFL season.
It seems inevitable that every team plays at least one international game each year as the NFL seeks world domination. And at the rate they’re expanding, nothing is off the table. We’ve got the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Australia, Ireland, and Brazil. Those feel like the big countries, U.S. allies and big markets with big soccer teams. The next round of international expansion should be a little more exotic. NFL Baghdad could be an all-time game. They’ll probably do Dubai or Riyadh at some point and take the oil money. Honestly, I think one of the best places to play in terms of crowd insanity would be Istanbul. NFL Turkiye, Patriots vs. Bills in a divisional showdown. Hell to the yes! And then we’ll NFL Siberia between the Cowboys and Giants. Get ’em out of here. Just save the first African game for the Birds. They say that Accra is “The New Delco.” –
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com