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Back in February, we wrote about how there was a 16.7% chance the Philadelphia Eagles would be playing the Arizona Cardinals in Mexico during the 2020 NFL season.
We now know there’s a 0% chance of that happening. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the league officially cancelled all international series games this year. Statement from NFL executive vice president, chief strategy and growth officer Christopher Halpin:
“After considerable analysis, we believe the decision to play all our games domestically this season is the right one for our players, our clubs, and all our fans in the US, Mexico and UK. We greatly appreciate the support of our governmental and stadium partners in Mexico and the United Kingdom, who all agree with this decision, and we look forward to returning for games in both countries in the 2021 season. We also thank our incredible fans in those territories for their passionate support of the NFL. We will continue to serve them through our outstanding media partners and by being active supporters of both grassroots football and COVID-19 relief efforts in Mexico and the UK.”
Playing the Cardinals in Mexico could’ve given the Eagles an advantage in that it would’ve meant replacing one of Philly’s road games with a neutral site matchup. Despite that, not all fans were on board with the prospect of playing south of the border:
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Given the uncertain times we live in, it’s not clear if more cancellations will be on the way. The NFL is still planning to unveil their 2020 regular season schedule this week but ... who knows if they’ll truly be able to adhere to it. There’s been talk that the season might not start until mid-October.
In any case, we do know the Eagles won’t be making their first trip to Mexico since last playing there in 1978.