Will the Eagles play an international neutral-site NFL game in 2023?

The NFL has officially announced the teams who are hosting international games during the 2023 season. Three games will be played in London, and two will kick off in Germany. Here’s a historical fact that most of you are aware of. The lone time the Philadelphia Eagles played an international game was during the 2018 season in London. That one resulted in a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The question this time around revolves around whether or not Philly could be involved in a similar affair. The chances appear to be slim.

In 2023, five AFC teams will be labeled as ‘hosts’. They were chosen because, with the 17-game format, they would have had nine home games. All will lose one now at their stadium as a result of their involvement.

This means, if the Eagles are chosen to play in an international game, they won’t be robbed of a home game at Lincoln Financial Field. Also, one of their road games could potentially be played at a neutral site. Three of the five hosts are on the Eagles’ 2023-2024 regular-season schedule. One of those opponents will be played during a home game, so again, the chances of the Birds playing overseas next season are slim. Here’s what we know.

The Eagles won’t be playing a game in London.

The host teams for the three games that will be played in London are as follows:

• Buffalo Bills
• Tennessee Titans
• Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars play annually at Wembley Stadium. Tennessee and Buffalo are scheduled to host one game each at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and with that being said, we can determine that it’s impossible for the Birds to be involved.

While the Eagles are set to meet the Bills next season, that matchup is the aforementioned home game. The Titans and Jags aren’t on the Eagles’ schedule in 2023, so again there is absolutely no chance the Eagles will be involved in one of the three games in London.

Could the Eagles play a game in Germany? Here are the host teams.

• Kansas City Chiefs
• New England Patriots

The NFL hosted its first regular season game in Germany this past season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeating the Seattle Seahawks. In 2023, there will be two games in Germany played in Frankfurt and Munich. There is a very real chance the Eagles could be selected in one of those contests as the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots are both on the schedule as road opponents in 2023.

The Chiefs might present the more favorable matchup as playing them at a neutral site prevents the Eagles from being forced to play at Arrowhead Stadium. Both the Eagles and Chiefs crafted 14-3 overall records this past season and secured the top postseason seeds in their respective conferences, so the NFL might want to reserve this one for a primetime meeting. Either way, it would be a fun game to feature for European fans.

In Conclusion

International games help the NFL reach new fans for our great country’s most popular sport. It also gives any interested American fans an opportunity to travel abroad and see their favorite team in a new destination. Unfortunately, there are some downsides, particularly for the players.

It takes them out of their routine and requires them to practice and compete in unfamiliar surroundings. The time zone difference also makes fans watching at home adjust. Still, with that said, the Eagles would have nothing to lose if they are selected to be the road team for one of the international games in 2023.

Again, they wouldn’t have to give up a game at the Linc, so the international trip would even out their schedule with eight home games, eight road games, and one neutral-site game. Stay tuned. The next step involves the NFL officially unveiling the full schedule to see if the Birds will make a trip abroad next season.