The Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans will play games in London during the 2019 season, leaving the Green Bay Packers as the only NFL team that will have not played in the United Kingdom.
The Panthers will face a NFC South rival, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Texans will play an AFC South matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In the other London games, the Chicago Bears will play the Oakland Raiders and the Cincinnati Bengals will face the Los Angeles Rams.
In addition, the Kansas City Chiefs will face the Los Angeles Chargers in Mexico City as a part of the league’s International Series that began in 2007.
The dates of the matchups and locations of the London games will be announced later.
“I’ve had the chance to play and coach in London before, and those were unbelievable experiences,” Carolina head coach Ron Rivera said in a statement. Rivera played in London with the Bears in the 1986 preseason and coached in London with the Chargers in the 2008 regular season.
It also will be a chance for Carolina defensive end Efe Obada, who joined the Panthers in 2017 as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program and this past season became the first player from that program to make the 53-man roster, to play in the city where he grew up.
The Nigerian-born Obada shared last season that he and his sister were victims of human trafficking and were abandoned on the streets of London.
“It’s amazing the Panthers are going to play in London,” Obada said. “One of my goals, beyond making the roster, has been to play in London, be in front of the English fans and get a sack. It would be coming full circle to be on that field. Now I have to make the team again. It’s added motivation.”
This will be a home game for the Buccaneers, so the Panthers still will play eight home games at Bank of America Stadium.
Two of the UK games will be played at Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium, and the other two at Wembley Stadium.
Source : ESPN
