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Die Seattle Seahawks reisen diese Woche nach Deutschland, um gegen Tom Brady und die Tampa Bay Buccaneers in einem Spiel anzutreten, das für uns in den USA VIEL ZU FRÜH beginnt (6:30 Uhr). Wie immer hat DraftKings Sportsbook die Seahawks als Außenseiter.
Translation: The Seattle Seahawks travel to Germany this week to take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a game that starts WAY TOO EARLY for those of us stateside (6:30 AM). As always, DraftKings Sportsbook has the Seahawks as the underdog.
Google is our friend today.
In addition to the above translation, Le Goog is also the source of this lovely factoid: Sunday’s matchup between the Seattle Seahawks (+100) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-120) will be the NFL’s 44th international game.
It will also be the first NFL game played in Germany.
Before we talk about the Germany game though, let’s dive into some relevant information from the NFL’s prior international games:
- 33 of the NFL’s 44 international games have been played in the U.K.
- 4 were played in Mexico
- The other 6 were played in Canada
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Each of the league’s 32 teams have played in at least one international game.
The Jaguars lead the way with 9 games played outside the US, followed by the Raiders and Dolphins with 5 apiece.
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The Seahawks have played in 2 of the previous international games and are undefeated, having dispatched their opponents by a combined score of 77-20.
Those games and scores:
- 2012, Rogers Centre (Canada): Seahawks 50, Bills 17
- 2018, Wembley Stadium (U.K.): Seahawks 27, Raiders 3
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The Buccaneers have played in 3 of the London games and have yet to return home with a victory.
Games and scores:
- 2009, Wembley Stadium: Patriots 35, Buccaneers 7
- 2011, Wembley Stadium: Bears 24, Buccaneers 18
- 2019, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (U.K.): Panthers 37, Buccaneers 26
Shifting our focus to the present, Sunday’s historic matchup at 75,000-seat Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany features two teams who lead their respective divisions.
Of course, that’s an oversimplification.
One division leader is 6-3 and holds a game and a half lead over their nearest rival. (Yep, that would be the Seahawks.) The other division leader (Tampa Bay) has a 4-5 record, is tied with one of their division rivals (the Falcons), and could be tied with another one (the Saints) when Week 9 officially ends (depending on the outcome of Monday Night Football).
Continuing along that line ...
One division leader has won 4 consecutive games by double digits (two 10-point wins + two 14-point wins). The other division leader needed a vintage Tom Brady drive (60 yards in 35 seconds with no timeouts) to steal a win from the Rams on Sunday and break a 3-game losing streak.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Naturally, the Bucs are favored in this one.
Presumably because of the simple fact that they have Tom Brady under center while the Seahawks do not.
- Fact: Through the first 10 weeks of the season, Tampa Bay has been the favored team 9 times.
- Fact: This is the 8th game this year in which Seattle has been the underdog.
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Anyone who thought the historic first game in Germany would be any different has probably not been paying attention.
To be fair, the line has moved a considerable distance over the last couple months.
When the schedule first came out, the Bucs were favored by 9 over the Seahawks and the Over/Under for the game was 47 points.
Today, the Over/Under is 44.5 and the line is a single point.
By game time, it might be a Pick’em.
But let’s hope not.
Because the last time the Seahawks faced Tom Brady in a pick’em game on a neutral field, things didn’t turn out so well for the good guys.
Here’s one final factoid to chew on today: Tom Brady has never lost an NFL game on foreign soil (3-0) and his team has outscored the opposition in those games by a combined score of 113-22 (35-7, 45-7, and 33-8).
To be fair, his teams in those 3 games were the 2009 Patriots (10-6), the 2012 Patriots (12-4), and the 2017 Patriots (13-3).
Nobody is going to confuse the 2022 Buccaneers with any of those teams.
Los Falken!
Translation: Go Hawks!
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