NFL in London

National Football League in London

NFL News

New Predictions

by

Week 4 of the NFL is here, and there are some new predictions based on Covid, injuries and other NFL news.
I have adjusted my picks due to injury reports that have been released on Sunday.
Fortunately, the Saints vs Lions game is still on, and the Patriots and Chiefs will either be played on Monday or Tuesday.

Here are some of the new scores that I have updated based on the new information.

Saints vs Lions

Detroit has some of their key defensive players back, and the Saints are lacking some of their top receivers.
The Lions are at home and are ready to rumble. I like the Lions to cover, or even win.
Detroit 31 Saints 28

Cardinals vs Panthers

The Cardinals injury report takes out 3 of their secondary. This will allow Teddy and Robbie Anderson to deep ball some damage to the Cards who have struggled against veteran receivers. The original line in this game was -3.5, but the Panthers at home are just too much to pass up.
Cardinals 30 Panthers 28

Seahawks vs Dolphins

The Seahawks are traveling across the country to a sweaty and hot stadium with no a lot of rest. Miami has been stellar at home, and have also had 10 days off after a Thursday night game. Russell Wilson is awesome, but his injury report is ghastly. The Seahawks will win, but the Dolphins have a chance to really cause some damage with a rested team.
Seahawks 33 Dolphins 26

Chargers vs Bucs

With the release of the injury report, it seems the Chargers will be without 3 starting offensive lineman. This is huge given the speed of the Bucs front D. Tom Brady will be looking to torch the kid despite missing Godwin. Mike Evans and Grink look to have a beast of a game here.
Bucs 24 Chargers 14

Giants vs Rams

When the original line was set at 13, I wasn’t ready to bite on the Rams being favoured by that much. Then I rewatched some of their earlier games and I felt reality kick me in the face. The Giants suck, and Jared Goff will light them up like a Roman Candle on Sunday.
Rams 33 Giants 18

Bills vs Raiders

The Raiders are now down 2 offensive lineman and 2 wide receivers. Facing an exceptional Josh Allen will only add to their woes. Allen survived a scare last week against the Rams, so he might be looking to make a statement here. A Stefon Diggs sized statement. This could get ugly.
Bills 28 Raiders 21

DraftKings

Make sure you play along in our DraftKings League so that you can enjoy all the Sunday action with us!
https://dkn.gs/r/kwxDR0JIokKPkA6cPjCtNA

London 2020 Games

by

Damn you Covid 19 for taking away the London NFL games for 2020. Imagine, we could be basking in the glow of having these four games played on our soil right now. But alas, that damn virus has other plans.

The NFL will be back. We can’t guarantee this, but with the amount that the NFL has invested in the UK, coupled with the huge appetite for NFL tickets, it seems pretty dang likely.
Tottenham literally changed its stadium to accommodate the game, and tied in sponsors and partners to make the game happen here, so all signs point to the NFL returning to London, and potentially other places in the UK.
Liverpool and Manchester have all signalled moves that they would like to adapt their stadiums to host NFL games in the future.
The only real question is when.

Earlier in 2020, when everything was rosy and had the potential for an amazing year, we took a stab at which teams would be coming to London for the 4 games split at Tottenham and Wembley equally.
We used some maths, insider tips and our own gumption to determine which teams MIGHT be coming to the UK for this year.
We have no idea if they were right or wrong, but we did use some logical inference based on previous years.
Here are the games we THOUGHT would happen.

Broncos vs Falcons
Week 3-Sept 27/ 20
Tottenham Stadium

Arthur Blank had confirmed that the Falcons were going to be hosting a home game in London, although he didn’t know who they would be facing. Given that the Jags usually host the last 2 games of the London series, we assumed that Atlanta would be one of the first games up.
London gets very busy in the autumn, and their are traditional events like Diwali that are big draws in the centre of town.
The NFLUK usually dresses Oxford Circus in NFL garb at the beginning of the season to get the UK crowd hyped for the start of the season.
We looked at other events scheduled, keeping in mind the London games signify the start of bye weeks, to give teams a chance to rest when they get home.
Given all of this information, and prospecting on the Falcons schedule, we chose an AFC/ NFC matchup between the Falcons and Denver Broncos.
Were we right? We’ll never know

Patriots vs Dolphins
Week 4-Oct 4/ 20
Tottenham Stadium

Part of what determines who comes to London is home attendance. If your team is struggling to draw home fans, then the league will move you up to chuck across the pond. The Dolphins have seen attendance dwindle in recent years, so they would be at the top of the queue to come over. Add to this the mercurial hurricane weather in Florida up til November, and Miami made sense.
You also have to look at which teams HAVEN’T been here in a while, and the Patriots are a prime candidate. The Brady-less Pats and a scorned Robert Kraft might not have the gumption to say no to the league, so this AFC East matchup would make sense.
We also had an inside tip from Boston that this was on the cards, so we went with our gut.
Again, we will never know if we were right.

Colts vs Jaguars
Week 7-Oct 25
Wembley Stadium

One of the takeaways from previous NFL in London games, is that the NFLUK generally likes to schedule games around the time change. This makes the difference between the east coast only 4 hours, as the US time changes happen on different weekends. They have also made an effort to finish the UK games before America gets hit with November holidays.
Jacksonville Jaguars were due to play 2 games at Wembley, with a division rival being one of the prime targets. Since Indy hadn’t been to the UK in ages, and Phillip Rivers was at the helm, we assumed that this would be a logical bet.
Too bad, because this would have been a heck of a game.

Lions vs Jaguars
Week 8-November 1/20
Wembley Stadium

Detroit Lions were another team we were secretly told was on the chopping block for a trip to Blighty.
Their home attendance was at Covid levels even before the virus was discovered, and they hadn’t been to London in a few years.
These dates also branch over the time change, so week 7 and week 8 were the Jaguars weeks here we assumed with a great deal of certainty.
Ending the UK games by November 1st also allowed the teams to return to the chaotic November schedule, and the start of the REALLY rainy season in the UK.
Did we get this one right? We’ll never know.

Optimism is rampant for the 2021 games, as the MLB has confirmed that their 2020 games will be moved to 2021 in London. Will the NFLUK follow suit?
Hopefully, but it’s too hard to say at this point.
This damn virus is showing no signs of weakness, and adapts more than the Terminator.

Make sure you LIKE our Facebook page, as we often use this as a point of communication with our fans.
https://www.facebook.com/nflinlondon

 

 

 

Watching NFL Games

by

Looking to watch the NFL for week 4 in London? Not going to lie, things have changed dramatically thanks to Covid 19, so watching the NFL the way you use to is going to be tough.
Bars and pubs have to close by 10pm, which means drinks and food are cleared even earlier.
You will also need to book seats in advance, and table time is generally limited to 2 hours, which isn’t ideal for NFL fans.

The Premier League has also had to adapt to the new normal, which means there are now more games on a Sunday. In previous years the PL would be done and dusted by 5:45, which was perfect timing to get the start of the first series of games.
Now football/soccer has games at 4:30 and 7:15 pm, which totally screws the NFL over. Most pubs will be packed with punters looking to watch footie, so you would have a better chance of buying a Sun newspaper in Liverpool than you would getting them to switch channels.
Week 4 competes with Man U vs Tottenhams at 4:30pm, and Aston Villa vs Liverpool at 7:15pm, so it will be very hard to get a pub that shows the games with sound.

There are some pubs that will be showing NFL, we thought we would point you to a few we know.

Princess Alexandra-Crouch End

This North London boozer is one of our faves, and is an NFL venue with a traditional pub feel. Only 10 minutes from Finsbury Park station, this pub has 4 TVs, loads of room and two patios.
The Alex shows both the Sky game, as well as Redzone.
The owner Nick is a real gem, and his staff are very warm and accommodating. They also have two Alaskan Malmutes, who will help you clean your plate.
The pub is usually open until 1am, but with new Covid it must close at 10pm.
You will need to make a reso, and football rules, but he will deffo have Sky or Redzone up by 6:20pm.

https://princessalexandran8.co.uk/

Maple Leaf-Covent Garden

You like Canadian pubs eh? Well this little hoser is a real treat of a pub. Located smack dab in the middle of Covent Garden, this Canucklehead bar has lots of TV, and traditional Canadian fare & beer.
The pub also must close at 10pm, and you will need a reservation, but its central location means that you can meet with friends, and all split to grab the tube home.
The Maple Leaf shows the Sky game and Redzone on numerous TVs, so you have lots of angles to view the games.
Say hi to Zach the manager, he’s the man.

https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/greater-london/maple-leaf/

Sports Bar & Grill-Farringdon

Farringdon is usually a dead zone on the weekends, which makes going to the SB&G a perfect place for your Sunday Funday. Just a short walk from the tube station, this sports bar is heaving with TVs and loads of beers on tap. They also have a pool table, great outdoor space, and plenty of wings to make your Sunday stuffed.
They show both the Sky game and Redzone, and you will need a reservation. Like all pubs, it closes at 10pm, so you will need to book ahead.
Luckily they have loads of TVs, so you will be able to get a game on if you ask the manager Martin nicely.

https://www.sportsbarandgrill.co.uk/farringdon

Leicester Arms Pub-Piccadilly Circus

In the heart of central London, this traditional pub has sports galore on the weekends. It is more of a football/ soccer pub, so you will need to book ahead to see if you can secure a space to watch NFL.
The food is traditional pub fare, and they have loads of beers on tap so you can wash down your team’s loss.
The pub does close at 10pm due to Covid, so you will only be able to watch the first set of games.
Book your table here.

https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/greater-london/leicester-arms-piccadilly/

We will continue to update the list of bars and pubs that show the NFL. If you’re a bar or pub who shows the NFL in the UK, or would like to in the future, please get in touch.

Have a great week, and hopefully all this virus nonsense is behind us soon. Stay safe and sane!

TNF-Broncos vs Jets

by

If you thought the US Presidential debate was a shit show, wait til you get a load of what’s on Turds-Day night as the NY Jets host the Denver Broncos.
Both teams are 0-3 in what might be known as the ‘Tank for Trevor Bowl’.

Both teams are a mess right now, with injuries riddling so bad, they would likely lose to a CFL team.
The Broncos have tried this season, but losing key players in a difficult division will most likely doom their season.
The Jets have to worry about Adam Gase, as he has a herpes like affect on the whole New York franchise.

Broncos (0-3) vs Jets (0-3)
Jets -1 +40.5

Broncos

Brett Rypien will be making his first NFL start in a ‘what the hell’ kind of decision to start the week. The nephew of the great Canadian QB Mark Rypien will have one of the easiest starts to his career, facing a Jets team that gives up more than an meth head in a police confession.
Rypien took over for Driskell last week in their beating by the Bucs, so he has at least some experience facing a tough D.
Not sure how tough this Jets defence will be in comparison.

Jets

Pack your bags Adam, you are the weakest link. Goodbye. This could be the last game for the head coach as fans are calling for him to be beheaded, fed to dogs, then the remains dumped in the East River.
If this is the last game for Gase, you can imagine that he will want to do everything in his power to put on a good showing at home.
Le’Veon Bell has been a ghost this season, and you wonder if it’s to get out of New York, or just to slink his career off to the shadows.
With the kind of money he’s been paid, you would think he would show a bit more gumption.

Prediction

Thursday night games are always a bit of letdown, as teams are coming off of a short week only to jump in the saddle again. Covid 19 has made TNF even worse, as players are having to go through even more testing, made even worse by the Titans spreading germs all over the league.
The Broncos don’t have a lot of pressure here. Sure, they’re 0-3, but there’s not a lot you can do with a third string QB and loads of your D aching on the sidelines.
All of the pressure is on the Jets to succeed, which given the track record of their head coach could be a bridge too far.
This game will be low scoring, no caring, and be uglier than Joe Biden throwing hate on primetime TV.
The line was originally -3 for the Broncos which made me want to pick the Jets to cover, but I think that the 24 year old Rypien will be looking to prove his name in this one.
Broncos 20 Jets 18

Jeremy Hill in London

by

Remember when London use to host NFL games? Good times. We brought back those good times with a TBT interview with former Bengals running back Jeremy Hill.

In 2016 the Bengals hosted the Washington team (formerly Redskins) in a fun filled affair at Wembley stadium. The game ended in a 27-27 tie, with Hill scoring the last TD for the Bengals.
It was the second tie of the season, which hadn’t happened previously in 1997.

We were fortunate to interview Hill at the Saracens Rugby ground in North London where we talked to him about numerous NFL things.
We chatted about the rise of Fantasy football and how players deal with it, as well as if he plays Madden, and which RB he uses in games.

Lastly we touched on the big issue…who does he think is the best player in the game.
The answer might surprise you.

We will be uploaded interviews from previous NFL in London games throughout this season, as we wipe a tear away from our eyes and think about the season that would have been here.

Which game did you think was the best of the NFL in London series thus far?