The Redskins will not get to follow up their 2016 London game against the Bengals in 2018. (Matt Dunham/Associated Press)
The NFL announced its slate of 2018 regular season games in London on Thursday, and the Washington Redskins aren’t on the bill.
The three games in the 2018 lineup: the Seattle Seahawks vs. the Oakland Raiders on Oct. 14 at Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium in North London; the Philadelphia Eagles vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 21 or Oct. 28 at Wembley Stadium; and the Tennessee Titans vs. the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 21 or Oct. 28 at Wembley. Three of those teams (the Eagles, Jaguars and Titans) made the playoffs this season.
The Redskins were part of one of the NFL’s least memorable games, played on home soil or overseas, at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 30, 2016. Pitted against Cincinnati (3-4), the Redskins (4-3) played the Bengals to a penalty-strewn, mistake-filled tie in a game that lasted nearly four hours. The 27-27 draw, the last of three games played in London that year, barely warranted mention in London’s major newspapers. The Redskins went on to finish 8-7-1, just missing the playoffs.
The NFL’s complete 2018 schedule is due out in April; it will clarify the matchups for the Oct. 21 and 28 games at 84,000-seat Wembley.
Hoping to cultivate its fan base overseas, the NFL started playing regular season games in London in 2007. The league held one game each year there from 2007 to 2012, then added a second annual game in 2013. From 2014-16, the NFL staged three annual games in London, then increased it to four this past season. Mexico City has also hosted a game each of the past two seasons.
More on the Redskins:
D.C. Sports Bog: Vernon Davis is keen on curling and thinks other NFLers should be, too
Redskins legend Darrell Green will guide college all-stars at NFLPA Collegiate Bowl
Dan Steinberg: There’s one thing about the Kirk Cousins saga that we can all agree on