Raiders and Texans will play Monday night game in Mexico City in 2016
The Raiders and Texans are heading south of the border.
SAN FRANCISCO -- The NFL's International Series is heading south of the border next season. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced on Friday that the Raiders and Texans will clash in Mexico City on Nov. 21.
That Week 11 game will be played on a Monday night. The Raiders "home" game against Houston will mark the first time in NFL history that a Monday night game has been played outside the country.
"Expanding our International Series of regular-season games to Mexico marks an important step in our continued international growth," Goodell said. "We have a tremendous, passionate fan base in Mexico and we know the atmosphere on game day will be outstanding."
The fact that the Raiders agreed to move a home game outside the country isn't that shocking. The team currently doesn't have a stadium lease in Oakland, which means they technically don't even have a home stadium right now, so giving up a home game isn't exactly a surprising move for the Raiders.
"The Raiders are honored to once again represent the National Football League in its International Series," Raiders owner Mark Davis said in a statement. "The Raiders are truly a global brand and we look forward to visiting the loyal and passionate members of the Raider Nation in Mexico."
Texans. Raiders. @nflmx.#MiPartidoMiNFL #NFLMexicohttps://t.co/jramZoso7y
— OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) February 5, 2016
On the NFL's end, putting a game in Mexico makes a lot of sense. The last time the league held a game in Mexico City, it was a huge hit. The 49ers and Cardinals played in Mexico in 2005, and the two teams ended up setting an all-time NFL attendance record of 103,467. That regular-season record stood until 2009, when the Cowboys and Giants drew 105,121 people to a game in Dallas.
On Houston's end, the Texans had been hoping to be a part of the NFL's return to Mexico. During the 2015 season, Texans president Jamey Rootes visited Mexico City and after the trip, he immediately expressed an interest in having the Texans play a game there.
"We've always expressed that we have an interest in participating internationally as a road team (and), we've made it clear that we were most interested in doing that in Mexico," Rootes said. "It's an amazing opportunity for teams and the league. Mexico City is a logical choice for a team like the Texans. We'd be a great ambassador for the league."
Now that there's a game set to be played in Mexico City, don't be surprised if the NFL eventually moves a regular season game to Germany.
Back in May, Mark Waller, the executive vice president of NFL international, said that the league was hoping to put a regular season game in both Mexico and Germany by 2017.
















