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NFL picks Seahawks rival to play the first game in Australia

One of the Seattle Seahawks' bitter foes will host the league's first game in The Land Down Under.
Jon Alfano|
Jan 5, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (11) is sacked by Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Jan 5, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (11) is sacked by Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

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The NFL has made it a priority to expand its global reach as much as possible, hosting games in new markets on a regular basis. Now, The Land Down Under is the new frontier.

On Wednesday, the league announced that it will host a regular-season game in Melbourne, Australia in 2026 as part of a "multi-year commitment" to play games in the country. The Los Angeles Rams will be the designated home team at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG).

"Expanding to Melbourne, Australia, a beautiful city with a rich sports history, underlines our ambitions to become a global sport and accelerate international growth," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, per the league's website. "Together with the Victorian State Government, Visit Victoria and the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and with the Los Angeles Rams in 2026, we look forward to making history in what is an important market for the NFL and a significant next step in expanding our international footprint."

Of course, as NFC West rivals, the Seattle Seahawks have a real chance at being the Rams' opponents for this game.

The Seahawks are no strangers to breaking into new territory. In 2022, they faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL's first regular-season game in Germany, falling 21-16 at Allianz Arena in Munich. They also faced the then-Oakland Raiders at Wembley Stadium in London in 2018, winning that game 27-3.

The Rams' exact opponent will be announced at a later date, but it's easy to take a peek ahead and see who they could face.

In 2026, their home opponents include the Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers. They'll also face one team each from the NFC North and AFC East, with the exact opponent depending on the 2025 standings.

The league has already announced the designated host teams for its 2025 international games, and only one of them, the Jacksonville Jaguars, has Seattle as a home opponent. With it looking unlikely that they'll leave the U.S. in 2025, an international game in 2026 seems very plausible.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

Jon is a lead writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI and contributes to other sites around the network as well. The Tampa native previously worked with sites such as ClutchPoints and GiveMeSport and earned his journalism degree at the University of Central Florida.