Jacksonville Jaguars host Russell Wilson's Denver Broncos at Wembley; New Orleans Saints take on the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the Green Bay Packers to host the New York Giants at the same venue; Tampa Bay Buccaneers face Seattle Seahawks in Munich
Wednesday 4 May 2022 16:23, UK
Russell Wilson will return to Wembley in October after it was confirmed the Denver Broncos will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2022 NFL London Games.
After the home teams for the three London fixtures in October - New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers and the Jaguars - had been announced in February, the NFL on Wednesday revealed each of their opponents.
The Saints host the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 2, with the Packers taking on the New York Giants at the same venue a week later. Then on October 30, the Jags host the Broncos at Wembley.
Wilson, who was acquired by the Broncos in a blockbuster offseason trade, will make his second appearance at Wembley after starring in a 2018 Seattle Seahawks victory over the then-Oakland Raiders.
For the Broncos, it is a first trip to the UK since they lost to the San Francisco 49ers at Wembley in 2010. The Jaguars, meanwhile, return to Wembley for the first time since 2019, having previously played there for seven straight seasons.
The Packers, who are playing an international game for the first time, are taking on the Giants, who are playing in the UK for the third time, having won the inaugural London game at Wembley in 2007.
The NFL also confirmed that the Seahawks will travel to Munich to play the first-ever regular season game in Germany, as they take on Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had already been confirmed as the home team at Bayern Munich's stadium on November 13.
The Arizona Cardinals will face the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City's Estadio Azteca on November 21.
Last year, as part of the League's expansion of the regular season to 17 games, it was determined that, beginning with the 2022 season, up to four of the teams from the conference whose teams were eligible for a ninth regular-season home game would instead be designated to play a neutral-site international game each year.
This year's International slate will see the Packers become the 32nd and final NFL team to play a regular season game overseas, bringing with them back-to-back MVP Aaron Rodgers.
"There's huge interest, it's the last of the 32 NFL teams to play internationally and that means their first time in London," NFL Head of Europe and UK Brett Gosper told Sky Sports News.
"Their organisation is incredibly excited by that, as is Aaron Rodgers himself.
"Great to have the current MVP here and future Hall of Famer so massive interest in that particular game of course."
A deep-rooted German fanbase will meanwhile finally get its reward for years of supporting the sport's European growth by welcoming the greatest player in NFL history to Munich.
"It's a historic game," Gosper added. "People don't realise Germany is possibly a bigger fan market in numbers than the UK, and they've never had a regular season game, we've been having regular season games in the UK since 2007.
"So in the iconic Allianz Arena, which is the home of Bayern Munich, it will be fantastic because we've got the greatest Super Bowl quarterback of all time in Tom Brady.
"Huge expectation in Germany, huge interest in ticketing as well which is an indication of the excitement."
Wilson makes his return to London in new colours as a Denver Bronco, as well as fond memories from his 27-3 win over the Raiders with Seattle in 2018.
He threw for 222 yards, three touchdowns and just one interception on the day.
"To be able to go to London, to go to battle overseas, to be on this football team it's just a tremendous honour," he told Good Morning Football.
"We're excited about it, we've been working our butts off every day. It's a great organisation, everybody is ready to roll.
"I got to play in London before in Wembley Stadium, it's an amazing tradition, all the people there it's electric and really special. It feels like an international Super Bowl in a way so I'm excited.
"I think going overseas and playing international and expanding the game, the game of football has been growing like crazy.
"You think about NFL Flag and how it's grown internationally, obviously from the media standpoint how big London is, the game is rapidly growing."
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