The Rams Should Support Changes On Scheduling International Games

WOODLAND HILLS, Ca. The Los Angeles Rams are set to open their 2026 season in Melbourne, Australia. The franchise will be the first NFL team with marketing rights to play on the continent, taking on the San Francisco 49ers in the contest. While the game itself will open up a new region to an expanding product, the league is risking it's heritage by putting on these contests with these teams.

Thus, the Rams should support changes, ensuring that international games do not involve two teams from the same division.

The Rams Lose Out By Going Down Under

While the Rams do have the priveledge of being the first team to capitalize on the market, they also lose out on a home game, while giving their rival the ability to start to influence the region. The international games are a great way to celebrate the expansiveness of the NFL and football in general, with anticipation of a new year drawing eyes to television screens.

Oct 19, 2025; London, United Kingdom; Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams (23) takes a video with social programing manager Patty Vicente after their win against the Jacksonville Jaguars in an NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The NFL shouldn't have an opening weekend. They should have an opening week. The Super Bowl champion should open up the season on Tuesday, the NFL should hold international games from Wednesday through Friday, give Saturday to college football before kickoff on Sunday.

It would be a display of the league in a digestable format that allows diehard fans to grab all the football they want, casual fans to pick and choose while leaving their appetite open to new games, displayed on the world's grand stages, and for those who use a broadcasting service that cycles through games on Sundays, the viewer would be able to have a more in-depth look at the league due to how spread out the schedule is.

Feb 9, 2026; San Francisco, CA, USA; From left: California lieutenant governor Eleni Kounalakis, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, ; Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment commission president Kathryn Schloessman and Los Angeles Rams safety Quinten Lake pose at the Super Bowl LX host committee handoff press conference at Moscone Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

On Sundays, the NFL could then move some of their early window games into the afternoon window to give off a more grandiose feeling of occasion with night time contests. Wrap up with Sunday Night and Monday Night Football before going back to their standard weekly schedule.

This gives the Super Bowl champion the king's privledge of ultimate rest, the teams playing abroad enough time to rest and recover, it expands the NFL's international influence, and it celebrates the best of what this game has to offer.

Oct 19, 2025; London, United Kingdom; during a NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

One of those things is rivalries and those deserves to be played in front of packed home stadiums. Have Sunday night and the two games on Monday night be rivalry games. The Rams lose out on hosting a rival for what would have been a primetime game anyways, while being forced to give up the advantage of being at home.

There's a special feeling for rivalry games. Especially when a team is trying to defend their home. That's what makes football great and the NFL is losing out on something special by shipping beefs overseas.