Jaguars first to play twice overseas as NFL drops international slate

The Jacksonville Jaguars will play twice in London in 2023 — a first for an NFL team — and the Miami Dolphins will face reigning the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in a marquee matchup of the NFL international games announced Wednesday by the league.

The Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts join the list of teams playing outside the United States next season, along with the Jaguars, Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots.

The international slate will kick off in London with a Week 4 clash between the Falcons and Jaguars on Oct. 1 at Wembley Stadium. The Jaguars will play their second game in London a week later when they take on the Bills on Oct. 8 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Titans and Ravens will round out the final London game on Oct. 15 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“We have staged games in London since 2007, with interest and momentum in the sport here in the U.K. rising year on year and look forward to giving fans the best NFL experience yet in 2023,” NFL UK general manager Henry Hodgson said.

Germany will host the remaining two NFL games in Europe: a Week 9 meeting between the Dolphins and Chiefs on Nov. 5 and the Colts facing the Patriots on Nov. 12. Both games will be played at Frankfurt Stadium.

It will be the first time the NFL has staged multiple games in Germany, which hosted its first regular-season game last season, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earning a 21-16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. The five games played in Europe is also the most ever for an NFL season, and all five will begin at 9:30 a.m. ET.

“We are also pleased to confirm that the two games in Germany will be played in Frankfurt, a city steeped in NFL heritage,” said Peter O’Reilly, NFL executive vice president, club business, major events and international. “We look forward to staging both games at Eintracht Frankfurt’s Stadium, building on the incredible atmosphere experienced at last season’s game in Munich.”

There will be no international game in Mexico in 2023 due to renovations taking place at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

The full 2023 NFL schedule will be released Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

The Jaguars previously planned to play two home games at Wembley in 2020, but those contests were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. This year, they will play the second game of a three-year contract the NFL approved in March 2022 for them to host a game annually at Wembley Stadium. The contract gives the Jaguars full responsibility for the games and allows the franchise to keep all revenue.

ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg contributed to this report.