Getty Cardinals QB Kyler Murray
Eagles fans love road trips — and this one would require a passport. And lots of tacos and tequilas.
The NFL announced the Arizona Cardinals will play host to a regular-season game at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in 2020. It was part of the deal when the franchise was awarded Super Bowl LVII scheduled for 2023, according to the team. The league has held a game in Mexico every year since 2016, except for in 2018 when the game was postponed to unsafe field conditions.
Last year, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers 24-17 on Nov. 18. The Cardinals last played in Mexico City in 2005 in the first regular-season game on foreign soil.
“We are thrilled to learn that this game will take place at Estadio Azteca where we received such an enthusiastic reception in 2005,” said Cardinals President Michael Bidwill. “We are extremely grateful for the support we receive from fans in Mexico and look forward to an incredible experience.”
We will be the home team for a game at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in 2020.
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Eagles Scheduled for Road Game versus Cardinals
The news of the Cardinals getting a “home” game in Mexico City immediately sparked rumors that the Eagles might be the opponent.
Why not? Remember, Philadelphia’s opponents have already been scheduled for the 2020 season, including games against the entire NFC West.
The Eagles will serve as the visiting team versus Arizona and San Francisco while hosting Los Angeles and Seattle. It’s not inconceivable to think that the NFL would pick that Eagles-Cardinals matchup as the one it wants to showcase in Mexico City.
Kyler Murray is one of the league’s rising stars and they could easily market the contest as a showdown between two of the best young quarterbacks in the game: Kyler Murray versus Carson Wentz. It makes a lot of sense.
The Eagles last played overseas in 2018 when they traveled to London’s Wembley Stadium to battle the Jacksonville Jaguars. Philadelphia was the road team in that contest as the Eagles beat the Jaguars 24-18. Wentz went 30-of-37 for 310 passing yards and two touchdowns in that one.
Cardinals Could Host Another NFC East Team in Mexico
The Eagles aren’t the only NFC East team on their “home” schedule in 2020. The Washington Redskins are also on their slate of games and would be an even more intriguing option than the Eagles.
New Redskins coach Ron Rivera — the former linebackers coach in Philadelphia — is of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent so he might have more appeal for NFL fans in Mexico City. His mother’s family migrated from Mexico to Colorado and then to California while his Puerto Rican father was serving at Fort Ord in the Salinas Valley, according to ESPN.
Rivera became just the third Latino to be a head coach in the NFL when the Carolina Panthers hired him in 2011. He has never shied away from his heritage and was proud to embrace his role as a role model.
“Absolutely. I was like, “Hey, I have a great opportunity to be a role model.” I’ve talked to lots of groups through the years,” Rivera told ESPN in 2012. “At one point, when I was in Chicago, I worked with the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund and that was a truly great experience.”
The other teams that could be headed to Mexico to play the Cardinals include Miami, Buffalo, Detroit, Seattle, San Francisco or Los Angeles.
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NFL Rumors: Eagles Headed to Mexico City in 2020?