Biggest surprise of week 1?

[Spider-Dan]

Zero chance they make the International Series preseason-only when NFL stars are barely playing and teams aren't even trying to win.  It defeats the whole purpose.

[CF DolFan]

All I know is adding more teams would just make the league suck that much more. As it stands, many teams do not have a good QB or offensive line already.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Zero chance they make the International Series preseason-only when NFL stars are barely playing and teams aren't even trying to win.  It defeats the whole purpose.

Works for European soccer.  We go and watch their rookies play each other in meaningless games.  And those preseason games have a lot to do with the spread in popularity of soccer in the USA has.  People who don't know the difference between a quarterback and a nickel back  aren't going to care they are watching the backup QB get picked off by a third string DB.

[Spider-Dan]

Soccer doesn't have anywhere near the injury rate of gridiron football; they play over twice as many games.

And if you are ostensibly "growing the sport" with an overseas Cowboys vs. Chiefs game that does not feature Mahomes, Kelce, Dak, or Cee Dee, you are wasting your time.  The sport is marketed via its stars.