Spain becomes the latest country to host an NFL regular-season game this week as the Washington Commanders and Miami Dolphins face off Sunday (9:30 a.m. ET) in Madrid -- marking the league's first-ever game in Spain and the sixth different country outside the United States to host a game.
Both teams enter the historic matchup with something to prove. The Commanders, winless in international play (0-1-1), turn to veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota for his fifth start of the season while Jayden Daniels remains sidelined. On the opposing side, the Dolphins are 2-5 in international regular-season games and have lost four straight overseas.
Adding to the storyline is a special connection under center: both Mariota and Tua Tagovailoa hail from Saint Louis High School in Honolulu, Hawai'i -- where Tagovailoa first met Mariota at a passing academy when he was in fourth grade.
The Mariota-Tagovailoa connection gives the game extra meaning far beyond Madrid. Tagovailoa, who said he looked up to Mariota while in high school, called the meeting a powerful moment for kids in Hawai'i and across the Pacific. Seeing two Polynesian quarterbacks face off, he said, is a "really cool opportunity" for young players in places like Hawai'i, New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga -- and a full-circle moment for him.
Mariota said that for two quarterbacks who "grew up in the middle of the Pacific, far away from here," getting to share this stage is "special" and something he doesn't take for granted. He added that having his parents and brother with him in Spain underscored how "unbelievable" it is that football brought them there and how "awesome" it is to see the NFL globalize the sport.
Before kickoff at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, both teams took time to do some sightseeing. Here are the top scenes from NFL's first-ever regular-season game in Spain.
ESPN Research contributed to this report.
