Why does the NFL keep exporting its worst games to Europe? Because it can

For a league that often trumpets its desire to grow its audience in Europe, the NFL has a weird way of showing it.

The matchups that the NFL has inflicted on crowds in the United Kingdom and now Germany have almost always been putrid.

There have been 42 NFL games in Europe since the NFL first brought its product overseas in October 2007. Of those, only two have pitted a pair of teams with winning records, a matchup between the Giants and Packers in 2022 and one between the Chiefs and Dolphins last season.

Nine times, the NFL has subjected crowds in Europe to a game featuring at least one winless team. The 2017 Cleveland Browns made a London appearance on their way to becoming the second 0-16 team in NFL history, as did the legendarily bad Urban Meyer-coached Jaguars and a 15-loss Dolphins team quarterbacked by the immortal Cleo Lemon.

It’s like introducing Italian-American cuisine by opening up a can of SpaghettiOs. Or showcasing the best of American barbecue by serving a McRib.

The final NFL game on European soil this season is the ultimate battle of ineptitude. Steel your stomachs for Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers (2-7) against Daniel Jones and the New York Giants (2-7). That’s a bigger matchup for next year’s draft order than it is for the current playoff race.

The Panthers and Giants are two of seven teams tied for the worst record in the NFL just over halfway through the season. The loser of Sunday’s game will move a step closer to drafting its quarterback of the future or another impact player. Sunday’s winner still would need a miracle to get within striking distance of a playoff bid.

As if watching the Giants and Panthers weren’t dreadful enough, the crowd in Munich gets no respite at halftime. The NFL says that Machine Gun Kelly is taking the stage to perform. That’s practically an act of war against the Germans.

There’s no reason to subject one of America’s closest allies to such punishment, but the NFL has been doing it to the UK for…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-11-08 01:30:23

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