The Atlanta Falcons will play the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Oct. 1, at Wembley Stadium in London as part of the 2023 NFL International Games, the league announced Wednesday. The game will kick off at 9:30 a.m. ET and be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Week 4 matchup will mark Atlanta’s third regular-season game played in London, having most recently defeated the Jets, 27-20, in Week 5 of the 2021 season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Falcons full 2023 schedule will be released on NFL Network and NFL.com on Thursday, May 11, but this is a big piece being revealed in the 2023 schedule puzzle. The Morning Shift reacted to the news as soon as it broke and the consensus is that it’s good that the Falcons are getting the game out of the way early.
“I think I’d rather have it be earlier than later if I'm the Falcons and I'm headed overseas,” Mike Johnson said. However, the concern that comes with the Falcons having their London game early in the season is that their bye week will most likely come the week after their trip to Wembley Stadium.
NFL teams obviously use their bye to get healthy and rest up, so late bye weeks are always better. But an early bye week will most likely be the tradeoff for an early London game.
Along with getting a long London trip out of the way early on in the season, the Falcons will also face a good measuring stick test by taking on a good Jaguars team that made the postseason last year.
Also, the Falcons will take on former Atlanta first-round pick wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Remember you can listen to this game and every single Falcons game right here on the flagship station of the Falcons Atlanta Sports Radio 92.9 The Game.