General view inside the stadium, as a pyrotechnic display takes place prior to the NFL match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 13, 2024 in London, England.
The Cleveland Browns are heading across the pond for a game this season.
The Browns are going to be playing at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Oct. 5 against the Minnesota Vikings.
If a Browns-Vikings game abroad seems familiar, that’s because those teams also squared off in London the last time Cleveland played overseas. The Vikings topped the Browns 33-16 in the 2017 London Games at Twickenham Stadium.
Cleveland’s date with Minnesota will serve as one of the nine home dates on its schedule. It also will be one of three games played in London, with Jets-Broncos on Oct. 12 and Rams-Jaguars on Oct. 19 serving as the others.
The Vikings will play in the U.K. twice in consecutive weeks. Aside from their date with the Browns, the Vikes will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park in Dublin on Sept. 28.
More Time
Cleveland was 3-14 last year and finished with the No. 2 pick — which it traded to Jacksonville — and could again be in line for a top-5 draft selection based on its questionable offensive skill players.
So the fact the NFL has not unveiled any other Browns regular-season games is not surprising, since Cleveland does not expect to play much in primetime.
Thus far, the NFL has only revealed marquee games and its international slate ahead of the schedule-release show Wednesday night. The rest of the schedule is likely to trickle out via leaks ahead of show, meaning most fans will know their entire team’s slate before the NFL Network show airs.
History Repeating?
This will only be Cleveland’s second game outside North America, and its first did not end well.
The Browns led the Vikings 13-9 in the first half, and held a one-point advantage at halftime of the 2017 game in London. But Minnesota roared back by outscoring Cleveland 24-3 over the final 15:20 of its 17-point win.
DeShone Kizer finished the game 18 for 34 for 179 yards and was sacked three times, but he did rush for a one-yard touchdown in the first half. But Cleveland’s loss in London served as the high point of its 0-16 season that year.
The Vikings, meanwhile, went onto the NFC Championship Game that season — buoyed by the Case Keenum-to-Stefon Diggs Minnesota Miracle in their 29-24 win over the New Orleans Saints in the divisional round.
But Minnesota fell to the Eagles 38-7 in the NFC Championship Game before Philadelphia defeated the Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
Trouble Abroad
The Browns are one of seven teams that have never won overseas, though they are also one of just two squads — the Steelers are the other — to only play one game outside the U.S.
Pittsburgh will play its first game outside the United States since 2013 — the longest tenure between international games.
The Cardinals, Packers, Bills and Titans all have the worst winning percentage of any teams abroad, since each is 0-2 in London.
The AFC North as a whole has struggled overseas, since that division is just 1-3-1 in games played outside the continent. The Ravens are 1-1, with the division’s lone win, a 24-16 win over the Titans in London on Oct. 15, 2023.
The Bengals are the only other team not to lose overseas, since in true London fashion, they tied Washington 27-27 on Oct. 30, 2016.
