The Indianapolis Colts have a Week 10 road game against the New England Patriots on Sunday. However, the game isn’t in Foxborough at Gillette Stadium, it’s in Frankfurt, Germany. As part of the the NFL’s international series, the Colts and the Pats will be taking their rivalry on the road.
The NFL has been playing games internationally a lot in recent years. This season alone, the league has had a couple of London games, and just in Week 9, the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs played each other in Frankfurt, where Indy plays Sunday. This will be Indy’s first international game this season but it’s not the first time the Colts have played outside the country.
Colts history in international games
Indy has played just one international game and it didn’t go well. Back in 2016, the Colts traveled to London to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. While not actually in Jacksonville, this ended up being another road loss to the Jaguars. However, it was a great game, as Indy lost 30-27. This was back when Andrew Luck was under center, Frank Gore was at running back, and TY Hilton was the team’s leading receiver.
The Colts and the Jaguars put on a show for the fans in London but things could’ve went better for Indianapolis. Now, Indy is hoping to put on a show with the Patriots in Germany but are planning to leave Europe with a win this time. While this will be Indy’s second international game, New England will enter the game with a little more experience.
Patriots history in international games
The Pats have already played three international games and they have a perfect 3-0 record. In 2009, the Patriots defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-7 in London. They returned to London in 2012 and had another dominant performance, winning against the then St. Louis Rams 45-7. New England’s most recent international game was in 2017, defeating the then Oakland Raiders 33-8 in Mexico City.
Clearly, the Patriots have been dominant in international games, but that’s because they were in the middle of a two-decade dynasty where they were dominant wherever they played. As you can see by the dates and team names, a lot has changed. The Pats will enter this game with a 2-7 record and Indy has a pretty good chance to pick up a win.