ASHBURN — The Washington Redskins will play the Cincinnati Bengals in London next season and could possibly have consecutive games scheduled overseas.
The Redskins are scheduled to play the Bengals on Oct. 30 at Wembley Stadium — one of three games in the 2016 International Series. It is possible, however, that the Redskins also play the St. Louis Rams at Twickenham Stadium a week earlier.
Coach Jay Gruden downplayed the Wednesday announcement, owing to its place in the distant future.
“It’ll be exciting next year, but I really could [not] care less at this time,” Gruden said. “We’re trying to get a victory against a very good New York Giants team in an important game. We’ll deal with that in the offseason when it comes.”
St. Louis’ Week 7 game in London is slated against an NFC East opponent and will be based on the order of this year’s standings. The Redskins are currently in second place, while the Rams are third in the NFC West. That said, they share matching 4-6 records.
In three of the last four seasons, the Redskins and Rams have both finished last in their respective divisions.
Either the way, the Redskins would be considered the visiting team in London and would not lose a home game. The Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars are scheduled to play at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 2. It is the fourth consecutive season the Jaguars will play in London.
Defensive end Ricky Jean Francois played in London in 2010 as a member of the San Francisco 49ers when they they beat the Denver Broncos, 24-16, at Wembley Stadium.
“It’s going to be a humbling experience,” Jean Francois said. “Everybody is going to love that place, guarantee it.”
The most difficult part, Jean Francois said, was adjusting to the eight-hour time difference between California and London.
“Just people telling us when to wake up, when not to rest, it will throw you all off,” Jean Francois said. “It was killing us all week. That had to be the hardest thing.”
Cornerback Will Blackmon played for the Jaguars in a 42-10 loss to the 49ers in 2013, which put a damper on the experience.
“London was cool, but the tough thing is, you’re still there on business. It’s not like you can truly go there and enjoy the whole thing,” Blackmon said. “I still prefer it to be an exhibition game, and then when I went out there, we got blasted by San Fran, so my trip out there was terrible.”
The thought of possibly spending two weeks in London for consecutive games was even more troubling for Blackmon.
“I don’t want to think about that,” Blackmon said. “I can’t do two weeks in London. I need some U.S. soil. Some U.S. food.”
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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