The NFL announced the visiting teams and the dates for the 2025 international games on Tuesday, a slate that will send the Minnesota Vikings overseas for back-to-back weeks.
The 2025 international schedule is as follows. The “host teams,” which were revealed earlier this year, are listed first.
- Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland (Week 4, Sept. 28)
- Cleveland Browns vs. Minnesota Vikings in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Week 5, Oct. 5)
- New York Jets vs. Denver Broncos in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Week 6, Oct. 12)
- Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Los Angeles Rams in London at Wembley Stadium (Week 7, Oct. 19)
- Indianapolis Colts vs. Atlanta Falcons in Berlin (Week 10, Nov. 9)
- Miami Dolphins vs. Washington Commanders in Madrid (Week 11, Nov. 16)
A game in São Paulo, Brazil, with the Los Angeles Chargers as the designated home team, is still to be announced.
The league has held regular-season international games for two decades, dating to Oct. 2, 2005, when the Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
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Since then, commissioner Roger Goodell has made clear his desire to expand the NFL’s international footprint. In 2007, the league launched its International Series, which has since been a part of the NFL schedule annually (apart from 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Madrid (Santiago Bernabéu Stadium), Dublin (Croke Park) and Berlin (Olympiastadion) are new stops for the NFL in 2025. Next year, the league will play its first game in Melbourne, Australia, with the Rams as the designated home team.
Since expanding the regular season from 16 to 17 games in 2021, AFC and NFC teams alternate between nine and eight home games each year.
In the 2025 season, AFC teams play nine games at home, meaning those playing overseas are the nominal hosts. There are small, but not insignificant advantages, such as first pick on hotels and being the first team to depart the stadium.
The seven international games in 2025 are the most in one season. The league has held five international games in five separate seasons: 2017, ’19, ’22, ’23 and ’24.
The Vikings’ back-to-back international games are also rematches of two previous London appearances — a 34-27 win against the Steelers at Wembley Stadium in 2013 and a 33-16 win against the Browns at Twickenham Stadium in 2017. The Vikings are 4-0 overall in international games, which includes wins in 2022 against the New Orleans Saints and in 2024 against the New York Jets, both at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Jaguars have played a “home” game in London each year since 2013, except 2020, as part of their multiyear commitment to the UK. In 2023 and 2024, the Jaguars played on back-to-back weekends in London, further solidifying their familiarity with the British capital.
Of the 13 teams in international games in 2025, the Steelers are furthest removed from an overseas trip. Pittsburgh’s 2013 game against Minnesota was its most recent international appearance, though the Steelers might be more familiar with Dublin than others. Pittsburgh played in a 1997 preseason matchup against the Chicago Bears at Croke Park as part of the American Bowl series, while Steelers president and owner Art Rooney II has family in the country, and the late Steelers chairman Daniel M. Rooney served as a U.S. Ambassador to Ireland from 2009-12.
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On Monday, the league announced the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will face the Dallas Cowboys in the season kickoff game on Thursday, Sept. 4. The full 2025 schedule will be released on Wednesday at 8 p.m. on NFL Network.
Why would the Vikings be willing to play back-to-back games overseas?
It starts with experience. Minnesota has played in London twice over the last three seasons. The Vikings won both games. They beat New Orleans in 2022 when the Saints doinked a 61-yard field goal on the final play. Last year, the Vikings navigated a drizzled slop against the New York Jets, and cornerback Stephon Gilmore secured the game-sealing interception off of Aaron Rodgers. Minnesota’s players enjoyed both trips.
The Vikings embraced the chance to expand their brand further into Europe. In fact, the Vikings’ public relations staff even hosted London media members in Minnesota in the months before the Vikings played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Dublin presents a different set of circumstances, but the Vikings likely view the matchup as an opportunity to expand their reach. — Alec Lewis, Vikings beat writer
How will the Vikings structure their travel?
In their previous two London trips, the Vikings traveled late in the week. Vice president of player health and performance Tyler Williams was not interested in acclimating to the time zones for days so much as he was focused on a quick arrival and exit. It’ll likely be different this time around. The Vikings might arrive mere days before the first game against the Steelers. Staying the following week seems most likely.
One of the most interesting layers to this is what an early bye week will mean for the Vikings down the stretch of the season. They have playoff hopes. Much of their roster is older, yet so much of Minnesota’s offseason has been geared toward wanting peak form come January. The early-season travel and break will place further onus on the Vikings’ staff to operate smartly in terms of segmenting snap counts and playing time, especially on defense. — Lewis
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Why the Rams-Jaguars clash stands out
The game will be a familial one between the Rams and the Jaguars. Former Los Angeles director of scouting strategy James Gladstone is now the Jaguars’ general manager after working under Rams GM Les Snead from 2016-25. The Jaguars’ new head coach is Liam Coen, who was an assistant under Rams head coach Sean McVay from 2018-20 and offensive coordinator in 2022. Gladstone has also hired a few now-former Rams senior scouts and analysts, including Jake Temme, Brian Xanders and Brian Hill. — Jourdan Rodrigue, Rams beat writer
More foreign fields for the NFL
The NFL will play at three new stadiums to add to its growing international inventory.
Following games at Munich’s Allianz Arena (2022, 2024) and Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park (2023), the NFL will land in a new German city in 2025. The Olympiastadion played host to the Berlin Thunder — the three-time World Bowl winners of NFL Europe — and Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin play home games now. The German capital’s 74,475 capacity stadium also hosted the finals of the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2024.
The 15-time European champions Real Madrid have played at the Bernabeu since 1947. It is currently being revamped at a cost of €1.76billion ($1.91bn, £1.51bn) and features a retractable pitch and roof, and a 360-degree video scoreboard.
Dublin’s historic Croke Park has been home to the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1913 and the annual Gaelic Games regularly attract 82,300 spectators. — Peter Carline
(Photo of Justin Jefferson: Julian Finney / Getty Images)
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