The NFL wants to establish a big fan base in London, but the league is not sending great games across the pond.
Sunday’s Vikings-Saints game will be the NFL’s 31st game in London, and for the 31st time, it will not match up two teams with winning records. The Vikings did their part, starting the season 2-1, but the Saints are 1-2.
Ten London games have matched up two teams with losing records, while the other 21 London games have had one team with a winning record or a .500 record, but never have both teams had a winning record.
The NFL sometimes sends bad teams to London because those teams struggle to fill their home stadiums and don’t mind giving up a home game to play overseas. But sometimes the London games are just the victims of bad luck, with the games looking good on paper when they’re scheduled, only to have the teams playing in London struggle early in the season.
It’s possible that the streak could be broken in Week Five, when the Giants face the Packers in London. The Giants are currently 2-0 and the Packers are currently 2-1, so if the Giants win either tonight or next week, and the Packers win next week, they’ll both have winning records heading to London, and give the London fans something they’ve never seen before: Two winning teams.
Here are the 31 London games so far, with the teams’ records heading into the game:
2007: Giants (5-2) vs. Dolphins (0-7)
2008: Chargers (3-4) vs. Saints (3-4)
2009: Patriots (4-2) vs. Buccaneers (0-6)
2010: Broncos (2-5) vs. 49ers (1-6)
2011: Bears (3-3) vs. Buccaneers (4-2)
2012: Patriots (4-3) vs. Rams (3-4)
2013: Steelers (0-3) vs. Vikings (0-3)
2013: 49ers (5-2) vs. Jaguars (0-7)
2014: Dolphins (1-2) vs. Raiders (0-3)
2014: Lions (5-2) vs. Falcons (2-5)
2014: Cowboys (6-3) vs. Jaguars (1-8)
2015: Jets (2-1) vs. Dolphins (1-2)
2015: Bills (3-3) vs. Jaguars (1-5)
2015: Lions (1-6) vs. Chiefs (2-5)
2016: Colts (1-2) vs. Jaguars (0-3)
2016: Giants (3-3) vs. Rams (3-3)
2016: Washington (4-3) vs. Bengals (3-4)
2017: Jaguars (1-1) vs. Ravens (2-0)
2017: Saints (1-2) vs. Dolphins (1-1)
2017: Cardinals (3-3) vs. Rams (4-2)
2017: Vikings (5-2) vs. Browns (0-7)
2018: Seahawks (2-3) vs. Raiders (1-4)
2018: Titans (3-3) vs. Chargers (4-2)
2018: Jaguars (3-4) vs. Eagles (3-4)
2019: Raiders (2-2) vs. Bears (3-1)
2019: Buccaneers (2-3) vs. Panthers (3-2)
2019: Bengals (0-7) vs. Rams (4-3)
2019: Texans (5-3) vs. Jaguars (4-4)
2021: Jets (1-3) vs. Falcons (1-3)
2021: Dolphins (1-4) vs. Jaguars (0-5)
2022: Vikings (2-1) vs. Saints (1-2)
