The Patriots will play a “home” game in Germany against the Saints this season, according to a German news report.
German newspaper Bild reports that the Saints-Patriots game is set for Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt on either November 12 or November 19, via the Providence Journal.
AFC teams play nine home games and NFC teams play eight home games this season, so the international “home” games will be assigned to AFC teams. The Patriots were assigned Germany as an “international home market” as part of the NFL’s ongoing attempts to attract more overseas fans, and it was expected that the Patriots would play a home game in Germany this season.
The NFL has awarded two games to Germany this year, with Bears-Chiefs reportedly set as the other game.
Last year the NFL played its first game in Germany, and it was played in front of a sold-out stadium in Munich that met the NFL’s high expectations for the German market. This year the league is playing two games in Germany, and more are expected in the coming years.
The NFL will also play three games in London during the 2023 season. The Bills, Titans and Jaguars are slated to be the home teams in those games, which have not yet been officially scheduled.