49ers schedule: Is a London game against Minnesota Vikings to be or not to be?
The 49ers will not be playing in London for an 11th consecutive season as the Minnesota Vikings instead will host the New York Jets there in October.
SANTA CLARA – For an 11th consecutive season, the 49ers won’t be going across the pond to play in London.
All 17 of their regular-season games will be played in the continental United States, spanning all corners from Buffalo to Miami to Los Angeles and Seattle. But it all starts at Levi’s Stadium on Sept. 9 when they open against the New York Jets.
Their only option for a London voyage this season was if the Minnesota Vikings were to host the 49ers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, an hour north of London.
Instead, the NFL revealed this morning that 49ers-Vikings matchup will take place in Minneapolis for a second straight season. The entire NFL schedule is due out at 5 p.m. PT.
The Vikings will look to improve to 4-0 all-time in London when they host the Jets on Oct. 6.
The 49ers’ other known date ar this point: they will be hosting the Kansas City Chiefs (1:25 p.m. PT) in a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl LVIII, which the Chiefs won 36-33 in overtime.
All other NFL International Series games involve home teams not on the 49ers’ schedule:
*Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Chicago Bears in London (Tottenham) on Oct. 13.
*New England Patriots vs. Jaguars in London (Wembley) on Oct. 20.
*New York Giants vs. Carolina Panthers in Munich, Germany on Nov. 10
*Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Sept. 6.
Only twice have the 49ers played regular-season games in London: a 2010 win over the Denver Broncos, and a 2013 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The 49ers’ most recent “International Game” was two years ago, when they defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Mexico City, which is where the opposite outcome played out in 2005.
The 49ers have played exhibitions internationally in England (London; 1988, 1992), Japan (Tokyo 1989, 1995; Osaka, 2002), Germany (Berlin, 1991), Spain (Barcelona, 1993), Canada (Vancouver, 1998).
Next year, Spain will become the fifth different country to host an NFL International Game, doing so in Madrid between yet-to-be named teams.