The Washington Commanders will get a ninth home game in 2026.
Well, sort of….
Yes, the NFL had to come up with some sort of fair scheduling system, seeing that they went from the 16-game schedule to the whacky, unnecessary 17th game. Their answer was to rotate a ninth home game between the conferences each year. So, the AFC will get the 9th home game this 2025 season, and the NFC teams will host a 9th home game in 2026.
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That is, unless you are one of the teams selected (or perhaps mandated) to go overseas and play an International game. Friday, news broke that the Commanders will play an international game again in 2026. They were also declared the home team for that game, meaning local Commanders fans will miss seeing the Commanders at Northwest Stadium for one game in 2026.
The Commanders apparently sent out an email to their season ticket holders. At least that was the claim by some on X (Formerly Twitter), explaining that the extra home game was actually going to be rather far from home. The Commanders also appeared to be asking for fan support, appealing to hard work, being part of the burgundy and gold Community, and energy, making it all worth it to hang in there.
It’s understandable, actually. It’s been a brutally disappointing season, given the high expectations coming into 2025. So, the Commanders are trying to get out ahead of this and appeal to the community aspect of being a season ticket holder. They no doubt anticipated losing a number of season ticket holders, and thus it’s completely understandable they want to reach out and encourage the fan base to hang in there with the team, looking ahead to 2026. One fan posted excerpts of the email, citing the Commanders’ encouragement to “keep believing in us.”
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The NFL selects host teams for international games from the conference with the ninth home game that year. Thus, home teams in international games will be NFC teams in 2026. In addition, teams may volunteer to be scheduled for a home game at an international site. There has been no official word on whether the Commanders volunteered to play their ninth home game overseas in 2026. Yet, because the decision has already been made, is there any evidence to suggest the Harris Ownership Group did not want to host a game overseas?
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders to play home game in 2026 internationally
