There are a record number of international NFL games this season. Four, to be exact. The league is committed to expanding around its international presence, which is what every major sports league is committed to doing.
New markets, new audiences, whole new populations of people to use as a revenue stream. The NBA does it, MLB does it, European soccer leagues and teams do it.
There’s a problem with the NFL’s strategy, though, in that most of the games they send over to London are, well, bad. There are some obvious factors there. Adding overseas travel to the week never helps, first and foremost. It’s a major break in routine for everyone involved, from players to coaches to officials, culminating in a game at an unfamiliar stadium in front of a patchwork crowd.
This season, the league has had trouble maintaining quality of play in regular games as it is, which is likely a factor in the league’s declining ratings. The weekly Thursday Night Football games have become slogs, either blowouts or bad games. This past Sunday night, SNF saw a 6-6 tie, the result of two missed chip shot field goals at the end of overtime.
It was a perfect storm in London this morning, as Washington took on Cincinnati.
Let’s go to the highlights! (Well, a few, from near the end of the game.)
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