Cardinals Will Play In Mexico City For 2022 Game

Opponent and date for Estadio Azteca matchup to be determined

Feb 28, 2022 at 07:31 AM

Darren Urban

azcardinals.com

The Cardinals are again scheduled to play a regular-season game in Mexico City, the NFL announced Monday, after a planned game there in 2020 was cancelled because of the pandemic.

The opponent, date, and time are yet to be announced, but it will be played at Estadio Azteca -- the same place the Cardinals "hosted" a game in 2005 in the first NFL regular-season game outside the United States.

While the 2020 game was a necessary concession after the Valley and State Farm Stadium were awarded the Super Bowl after the 2022 season, the NFL no longer requires teams that host Super Bowls to give up a home game for an international date. However, as part of the league's expansion to a 17-game regular season, teams now have a requirement to play at least one neutral-site game internationally on a rotating basis.

The Cardinals still have eight home games and eight regular road games this season.

Whomever the Cardinals play in Mexico, it will come from the team's 2022 home opponents: Seahawks, 49ers, Rams, Chiefs, Chargers, Buccaneers, Saints, Eagles and Patriots.

The last time the Cards played in Mexico, they beat the 49ers, 31-14, in front of a then-NFL record crowd of 103,467.

"In 2005 when the Cardinals hosted the first NFL regular season game played outside the United States, we experienced first-hand the extraordinary support and incredible passion of our fans in Mexico," Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement. "We know that has increased exponentially in the years since and are thrilled to return to Mexico City and Estadio Azteca in 2022."

The Cardinals also played outside the country in London against the Rams in 2017 in a regular-season game. They have played preseason games against the Chargers in Japan in 1976 and in London against the Vikings in 1983. The games against the Chargers was the first NFL game outside of the United States, and the game against the Vikings was the first NFL game in Europe.

Mexico City and Estadio Azteca have hosted three recent games. In 2019, the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs beat the Chargers there, 24-17. The site has also hosted games between the Patriots and Raiders in 2017 and the Texans and Raiders in 2016.

The full NFL schedule is announced sometime in mid-May.