A look at who the Chiefs might play in Germany and who they likely won’t face
Some Chiefs fans may say Auf Wiedersehen to family and friends and head to Germany for a game in the 2023 season.
The NFL announced Thursday the Chiefs had been selected to play in one of two games in Germany. The Patriots are the other team.
Who might the Chiefs play when they take part in the International Series? Here are their opponents for the 2023 season.
Home (9): Bears, Bengals, Bills, Broncos, Chargers, Dolphins, Eagles, Lions, Raiders
Road (8): Broncos, Chargers, Jaguars, Jets, Packers, Patriots, Raiders, Vikings
Who Chiefs won’t play in Germany
The Chiefs are the home team for the game, so they won’t play a team on the road list in Germany.
It’s unlikely the Chiefs would play one of their home games against an AFC West foe in Germany. NFL games in Europe rarely feature divisional matchups, although Texans-Jaguars and Buccaneers-Panthers games were played in England in 2019.
In the off chance an AFC West foe was selected, it won’t be the Broncos, because they played in London this past season.
It also seems highly unlikely the Chiefs’ games against the Bengals or Bills would not be held in Germany because both are contenders for a prime-time matchup.
You can likely scratch the Dolphins game, too, because former Chiefs star Tyreek Hill’s return to Arrowhead would be highly anticipated by KC fans. And it would be nice for Hill to hear cheers from Chiefs fans.
Who Chiefs might play
That leaves three potential opponents: the Eagles, Bears and Lions.
Philadelphia would seem to be a high-profile game, which mike make it appealing to be played in Germany. Plus, the Eagles have played just one International Series game. That came in 2018 and they were the road team.
One caveat with the Eagles: if they win the Super Bowl or face the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, the 2023 game would be played at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chicago Bears last played in Europe in 2019 when they lost to the Raiders. The Bears were the road game in that contest, and a Justin Fields-Patrick Mahomes matchup could draw interest in Germany.
There is a Facebook page and a web page for Bears fans in Germany.
The last time the Chiefs played in Europe, they faced the Lions in 2015. That was the second of consecutive years in which the Lions played in England.
But it will have been eight years since the Lions last took part in the International Series. How’s this for a coincidence: The Pride of Detroit blog noted the NFL enacted a rule last year that says every NFL team will play in an international game every eight years.
That would mean the Lions’ time to travel abroad has come. And the Lions are coming off a season in which they were second in the NFC North and finished with a 9-8 record. That could make for an intriguing game with the Chiefs.
This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 12:40 PM.
