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Commanders and Jaguars to host games in London next season, with Jacksonville playing twice

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Commanders and Jaguars to host games in London next season, with Jacksonville playing twice
Sport

Sport

Commanders and Jaguars to host games in London next season, with Jacksonville playing twice

2026-02-25 22:08 Last Updated At:22:20

The Jacksonville Jaguars are set to become the first NFL team to play two home games overseas.

The Jaguars and the Washington Commanders on Tuesday were named hosts for three games scheduled for London in 2026. Jacksonville will play back-to-back games across the pond in October, with one at historic Wembley Stadium and the other at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Commanders also will host a game at Tottenham, the official home of the NFL in Britain.

Specific dates and opponents will be announced later.

The Jaguars are making the move because stadium renovations will reduce capacity in Jacksonville to 42,507 this fall. The Jaguars will be fully displaced in 2027, with most of their home games to be played in Orlando. They can play up to three home games internationally that season.

This will be the third time in four years that the Jags have played consecutive games in London, but they were the home team for one and the visiting team for the other in those previous ventures.

Jacksonville swept Atlanta and Buffalo in London in 2023 and split with Chicago and New England in 2024. The team lost to the Los Angeles Rams at Wembley Stadium last year.

“My immediate takeaway was London is undoubtedly our home away from home,” Jaguars coach Liam Coen said. “We have a passionate and knowledgeable fan base in London, built over time and still growing, and we’re making a positive impact with fans throughout the United Kingdom as well.

“That’s something our entire organization, starting with our ownership, has worked very hard to achieve and takes great pride in further developing each season.”

The Jaguars have played an NFL-leading 14 games in London since 2013, including 11 at Wembley and three at Tottenham. They are 7-7 in those. They scheduled two home games in Britain in 2020 but shuttered those plans because of the pandemic.

Washington has played twice overseas, including a 27-27 tie with Cincinnati in 2016. The Commanders lost to Miami in overtime in the NFL’s first game in Madrid last year.

The London lineup is part of an NFL-record nine international games in 2026 that span four continents, seven countries and eight stadiums.

San Francisco and the Rams are slated to play in Australia. The 49ers will be the visiting team for that one and the home team for a game in Mexico. Detroit is the home team for a game in Germany. New Orleans is the home team for a game in France. Dallas is the home team for a game in Brazil. And the home team for a game is Spain has yet to be announced.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

FILE - Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington (11) reacts after his touchdown was disqualified on a flag during the first half of an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

FILE - Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington (11) reacts after his touchdown was disqualified on a flag during the first half of an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn speaks during a press conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn speaks during a press conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

FILE - A general view of the flags of Britain and the United States on the field of Wembley stadium before an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Anthony Upton, File)

FILE - A general view of the flags of Britain and the United States on the field of Wembley stadium before an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Anthony Upton, File)

Jack Hughes’ overtime goal, which gave the United States its first Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980, drew an average audience of 26 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the U.S., according to Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel ratings and Adobe Analytics digital data.

Team USA’s 2-1 overtime victory over Canada on Sunday averaged 18.6 million live viewers (8:15-11 a.m. EST) on NBC and Peacock. The total rose to 20.7 million with encores on USA Network on Sunday afternoon and NBC late Sunday night.

According to Nielsen, it is the most-watched sporting event on record in U.S. history with a start time before 9 a.m. Eastern time.

It is NBC’s second-most-watched hockey game. Canada’s OT win over the U.S. in the gold medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Games averaged 27.6 million. That game had a 3:15 p.m. EST puck drop.

The North American audience when Hughes scored the golden goal was nearly 35 million. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said on Monday that 8.7 million were watching in Canada during overtime.

The Milan-Cortina Olympics averaged 23.5 million viewers in the United States, making them the most-watched Winter Games since 2014 and drawing a 96% larger audience than the 2022 Beijing Games.

NBCUniversal said the average includes combined audiences on NBC, Peacock, CNBC, USA Network and other digital platforms. It covered the live afternoon (2-5 p.m. EST) and prime-time (8-11 p.m. EST/PST) windows.

The gold medal game in women's hockey on Feb. 19 — when Team USA beat Canada 2-1 in overtime — averaged 5.3 million on USA Network and Peacock. The audience peaked at 7.7 million during Megan Keller’s golden goal.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

United States' Jack Hughes (86) celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning goal to beat Canada in overtime in the men's gold medal hockey game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

United States' Jack Hughes (86) celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning goal to beat Canada in overtime in the men's gold medal hockey game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

United States' Jack Hughes celebrates after scoring the winning goal against Canada during the overtime period of the men's ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

United States' Jack Hughes celebrates after scoring the winning goal against Canada during the overtime period of the men's ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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