The NFL's international experiment ran into a few issues on Sunday, as the Broncos and Jets took the field in London. While it's in any league's nature to expand its footprint – especially one as popular as the NFL – Roger Goodell's flirtation with more international games and perhaps someday even an international team ought to be stopped. Goodell hasn't been shy about touting the league's international success stories. In doing so, he ought to acknowledge some clear failures.
Sunday's Jets vs Broncos game was one of those, predictably. The Jets entered the game 0-5, with the worst record in the NFL. They had zero net passing yards late in the fourth quarter. The Broncos, despite having a winning record to their name, have relied heavily on their defense while second-year quarterback Bo Nix looks to have taken a step back. How the Broncos keep winning is beyond me – they beat the previously-undefeated Eagles last week – but no audience new to NFL football deserved what Goodell put in front of their burning eyes on Sunday morning.
Roger Goodell's international dream has to end after Broncos-Jets
Prior to the NFL's game in Dublin, Ireland – which was a huge success thanks to two good teams in the Steelers and Vikings – Goodell got a little ahead of himself and admitted the league could look to expand such matchups in the near future.
"In today's world, we have to be global," Goodell said at a promotional event in Dublin (h/t ESPN). "Every time we play an international game, fans say they want more. I really, truly believe our game can and will be global. Our job is to share our game with the rest of the world."
That sounds great in theory! Yet, Goodell isn't taking the NFLPA into account here, which would surely have something to say about more international games and thus more player safety issues. These games are often played on turf and with short turnarounds thanks to the travel time to places like Dublin, London, Germany, Brazil and more. That leads to a worse product across the board.
Broncos-Jets had issues across the board for NFL
The Broncos hung on to beat the Jets. They would have been defeated by just about any other NFL team. Justin Fields had 45 yards passing and was sacked nine times. You and I couldn't have done much worse, frankly. The Broncos offense wasn't exactly moving the ball up and down the field, either, as they managed just 13 points on one touchdown and three field goals. The touchdown came on a missed assignment by the Jets defense. Denver also took a safety on a hold in their own end zone.
The game itself was bad enough. Those in attendance hopefully had enough liquid enthusiasm in their system to get through it. For those watching at home across the world, the viewing experience was flawed as well. The NFL World Feed, meant to show the game to a new audience, suffered issues with their feed at the beginning of the third quarter. Again, these fans didn't miss much, but that's not how you grow the game.
The NFL's infrustructure is unmatched in professional sports. They should be able to afford better production talent and avoid issues that could cause fans to tune out, rather than in. As if the game itself wasn't reason enough to turn this game off, it looks like the NFL did some of their new fans a big favor.