The Jacksonville Jaguars are no strangers to playing overseas. Heck, they even played back-to-back games across in London each of the past two years. But don't tell Adam Schefter of ESPN, who somehow didn't get the memo.
As part of the NFL international series, the Minnesota Vikings will be playing in Germany and London. That's an exciting feat, as fans from both countries will get to have a taste of NFL football. And just recently, Schefter was trying to hype up the games and managed to drop the ball while doing so.
The Jaguars were the first team to play consecutive international games
Adam Schefter said that the Vikings were the first NFL team ever to play two international games. The issue with that premise is that it's not true. The Jags were the first club to attain that achievement. Below is his original statement.
"After today, Minnesota will become the first NFL team to play two straight international games, next Sunday against the Steelers in Dublin, and the following Sunday against the Browns in London," Schefter wrote.
As noted before, this is false, which led Schefter to edit his statement once several Jaguars fans rightly pointed out that Jacksonville did it first. Here's the updated version of the tweet (emphasis on the bold part).
"After today, Minnesota will become the first NFL team to play two straight international games in two different countries, next Sunday against the Steelers in Dublin, and the following Sunday against the Browns in London."
That's a more accurate depiction of the Vikings' international trip this season.
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The Jaguars have played two consecutive games in London twice
You could make the case that saying the Jaguars were the first team to play back-to-back international games in response to Adam Schefter's tweet is nitpicking. But it isn't. He did the right thing by correcting his original statement, but he should've gotten it right to begin with.
Why should the Jags catch a stray because an NFL talking didn't do his research? And that's the thing: This isn't about Jacksonville. Simple facts matter, and those who saw the original post might think that the Minnesota Vikings were the trailblazers when it came to international games. They weren't.
That distinction goes to the Jaguars. What the Vikings are is the first NFL team that plays two games in two different non-United States countries in a season, and that's a different feat also worth recognition.