The NFL is always looking for ways to grow the game, so why not take a regular-season trip to the land of punters?

According to a report from Herald Sun‘s Shannon Deery (via Sports Illustrated), the NFL has a trip Down Under on the horizon.

“Melbourne is set to host an in-season NFL game, in a major sporting coup for the state,” Deery said. “The match will be played at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) in October 2026 and is one of several in-season matches secured for Victoria. It is understood the Los Angeles Rams – who won the Superbowl in 2022 – are set to feature in the match with their likely opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles – who play off next Monday in the Super Bowl with Australian Jordan Mailata in their team.”

Man… get ready for a long flight…

We’ll see if it happens — although it would surely not be as snowy as the last time these two met a few weeks back — but it makes a lot of sense. More and more players from Australia are finding their way to the NFL, often as punters, but as Deery mentioned, Aussie Jordan Mailata has become one of the league’s best offensive tackles.

So, why not try and make some inroads down there by sending a couple of teams down there?

The Birds would be a good choice. Not just because of Mailata, but since they just played in Brazil back in September, you know most of them have their passports. 

If they do end up playing in Australia, they’d take a commanding lead for the most NFL games played in the Southern Hemisphere at two.

Deery hinted at additional games down there, and it would stand to reason that if the NFL were to travel to Australia it would be part of a multi-year deal.

I think this will be cool… what may not be cool is the start time here in the good ol’ US of A.

But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.