Set your alarm, Minnesota Vikings fans. The NFL has a few early kickoffs for you. The league has been busy expanding its borders the past few years, and in 2025, Roger Goodell and company are making their biggest moves outside of the U.S. yet.
Which team will be traveling the most this season?
Minnesota is the first team in league history to play back-to-back overseas games in different countries. Both games will kick off at 8:30 a.m. CT.
The first game will be against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 28 in Dublin, Ireland. It’s the NFL’s first regular-season game in Ireland, and head coach Kevin O’Connell is fired up.
“Great venue in Croke Park, 82,000-plus,” O’Connell said. “When you think about opportunities to play in unique atmospheres and environments that are experiences for your players, what better way than to play in Dublin for the first time in the regular season?”
The Vikings will then travel to England on Oct. 5 to play another AFC North team, the Cleveland Browns. The Vikings are a perfect 4-0 in games played in London, including last year’s win over the New York Jets. Vikings owner Mark Wilf said in a statement that it’s a great opportunity to introduce new fans to his team and the game of football.
“To return in 2025 as the first team to play in back-to-back international games in different countries was something we could not pass up,” Wilf said. “UK fans have a history of showing up and embracing the Minnesota Vikings, creating what often feels like a homefield environment, and we are hopeful that is what we see again in 2025.”
It may feel like a “homefield environment,” but the Vikings will be the designated road team for both overseas games. They will still have eight home games in Minneapolis this coming season, keeping fans who cannot travel happy.
Who else will be playing overseas games and where?
Last year, the NFL played its first-ever game in Brazil when the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles opened the season in Sao Paulo. This year, Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers will play against a yet-to-be-named opponent. That game will be on Sept. 5, the NFL’s opening weekend.
In addition to the Vikings-Browns matchup in London, there will be two more games in England in consecutive weeks. The Jets will face the Denver Broncos on Oct. 12, and the Los Angeles Rams will play the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 19. The Jaguars have played a “home” game in London each year since 2013, except during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
In another first, the NFL will play a regular-season game in Berlin on Nov. 9, between the Indianapolis Colts and the Atlanta Falcons. The international slate wraps up with a first-ever game in Madrid, Spain, on Nov. 16, between the Miami Dolphins and the Washington Commanders.
The NFL has turned “Schedule Day” into a full-blown event, which takes place Wednesday, May 14, at 8 p.m. ET on the NFL Network. While fans already know their team’s opponents, Schedule Day is when they get to buy tickets and start scheduling trips.
