NFL in London

National Football League in London

2022 London NFL games

Week 17 Review

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What a sad way to end a competitive Sunday-when Buffalo’s Damar Hamlin went down with cardiac issues in a solemn silence to football, as we look at all in our Week 17 Review.

It was a topsy turvy and exciting week in the NFL, with questions of injury attentiveness, fantasy finals, and playoff implications became a little deeper, even a little durper as the Washington FC and Ron Rivera didn’t even realise that their loss knocked them out of playoff contention.
So much for having math guys on the squad.

Damar Hamlin

Football fans and humans alike reacted with shock and pause on Sunday when Buffalo Bills defensive player Damar Hamlin tackled Bengals WR Tee Higgins triggering a cardiac arrest on the field.
The shock to the heart of the 24 year old and the world itself was felt with every passing palpitation on the field beckoning ‘please, get up’ ‘please be okay.’

As of  Jan 4th, Hamlin is still in critical condition, after being resuscitated twice in an effort to save his life and give pause to the game and the way we handle these situations themselves.

We love you Damar Hamlin! Fight this! You’re young, strong, and the Bills Mafia, and the NFL fans of the world got you!

More critical now is the response that the NFL ‘may’ have had on Sunday night.
Indications from the league that the game should ‘go on’ was passed on to several parties, but it was the teams themselves that led the charge to end the game.
The Bengals crossed to Buffalo to offer condolences and to do this another time, which was agreed.
The NFL is family, and we got hurt. Bad.

It was over an hour before the league gave an official response, which begs the question as to whether there should be an emergency playbook for when a real crisis hits the field.
A game sponsored by so much loving military support could tap into its own triage capabilities.

Thoughts, prayers, hugs kisses and more are appreciated.

Donate to the Damar Hamlin GoFundMe Toy Fund here.

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Command Blow

Just when the Washington football club had a chance to qualify for the playoffs, they blew it, and they didn’t even knew it.

Deshaun Watson and the Browns gave glimpses of hope for the 2023 season as he rubbed and tugged himself all over the Washington D.

Carson Wentz became a wordplay of himself as he ‘Wentzed’ himself in a ‘Wentzing’ debacle that made us want to ‘Wentz’.
For a guy who has had to deal with cancer in his life, it’s surprising he hasn’t cut that Wentz out already.

Lions Roar

It was Bears versus Lions in a divisional rematch of the ages, but in this case the dome home Detroiters’ did the deed.

The Bears lost more O linemen to injury as Justin Fields was forced to tap-dance his way to a potential concussion or worse with no protection or viable receivers.
He did have to take a tent trip which is potentially sending less and less pleasurable for youth of the day.
Chicago is looking like the worst of the blurst-so it’s all about that draft pick, or trading it.

Lions roared in the dome, with a commanding display over Chicagos inept defence.
It got a little silly at times, as Detroit ran all over da Bears and Goff started to look like a big QB in a fantasy fiesta for fans in a lopsided 41-10 victory.

Detroit has the Packers at home who are riding high in Rodgers in South America.

Green Goths

The slovenly Packer faithful have emerged from the dours of the earlier season to see Aaron Rodgers good-thumb his way to a sling of victories, after a slap down of the Vikings in Week 17.

From ‘we won’t make the playoffs’ to ‘he’s back’, the cheeseheads have finally ripened after a bit of malaise mould.
With the Lions on the horizon the Pack faithful that they can get get lucky like Daft Punk one more time, as it’s been safety and D scoring the majority of the points.

If the Packers do make the playoffs, they will limp in against a slew of top teams who will be looking to feast on the soft cheese O line, receivers, and melt Aaron Rodgers to the crisp point of brown-there are no more buses to throw people under.

Russ Cooks

The Chiefs took a chin ride from Russ and the Denver D as they irked out a win and gave a menu of how to tomahawk the Kansas defence when push comes to neigh.

When the memes, jibes and jibber jabber comes to play-Russ is cooking as of late, and making the haters eat some words.

Still a loss, but a ten point diss was shaken.

What the Jets

Mike White was white-faced as the New York Jets just seemed to stymie and stall in a must win game.
From a team that was putting dumby scores with a tandem of run and pass, they looked flat against a mediocre Seattle D.

Couldn’t score, didn’t care, didn’t want to be there.
Seattle gets a much needed win to give them a 23.5% chance to make the playoffs, and the Jets got eliminated.
Another rebuilding year then eh?
How many is that?

Thanks for following, reading, listening, and we welcome your input.
Please feel to reach out to us and look forward to a great 2023 season.

 

Week 16 Picks Podcast

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Ho Ho Ho everyone, and a merry Christmas to you all, as we present our Week 16 Picks Podcast.

Wade and Ryan have been pulling long hours in the toy shop, as they craft their best predictions for the Christmas slate of games in week 16.

Will Santa give our presents to all the good teams this year, or will all the bad teams get a big old steaming pile in their stockings this year?
Not up to us.

If you want to give the gift of the podcast to your friends, you can unwrap it here, and share it with those you love, like detest and hate.

Here are some of the games that Wade & Ryan look at in their picks for Week 16.

Giants (8-5-1) vs -4 Vikings (11-3) +48

Welcome to the ‘Disappointment Bowl’, where two teams who had previous high expectations, have led us all to question their voracity going forward.
Are both these teams pretenders?

The Giants have slid down from their high hopes of the past, as they start to groove into the middle of the NFC East.
With the team steadily relying on Saquon, it’s been tough for Daniel Jones to establish himself when their O-line makes it equally as difficult for him.
The Vikings have also been called Chrissie Hynde ‘Pretenders’ as of late, although their massive comeback against the Colts in Week 15 has to have added a bit of fire to the belly.
Ryan isn’t convinced that the Vikings are the better match here, and doesn’t see how Cousins is going to keep up with the pace of the Giants.
Wade also agrees that the Giants might have more to lose here given the Vikes have already clinched, so that might but a little fire under their keister.
Ryan- Giants 24 Vikings 23
Wade- Giants 26 Vikings 23

-2.5 Lions (7-7) vs Panthers (5-9)  +43.5

How about ‘dem Lions? From getting Hard Knocked around at the start of the season, to potentially ended up ahead of the Packers for second place in the NFC North.
Dan Campbell has inspired his players, and Goff and the goofs have been answering, scoring points and unleashing a D that has been tough for recent opponents.
The Panthers on the other hand have nothing to lose.
The lost Baker, they lost McCaffery, they lost Robbie, a coach…but sometimes a slimline makes you meaner.
Carolina still boasts a D that keeps them in games that they might not normally be in, and might give Sam Darnold a chance to exorcise his ghosts of the past.
Ryan loves the Lions here, and thinks that they are on the right path to victory with Dan Campbell fired up on all fronts.
He doesn’t think that the Panthers have the tools to compete with a feisty Michigan squad.
Wade is smelling an upset here, as the combination of the Panthers furious D, and the outdoor setting of the south during Christmas to give the Lions some trouble.

Ryan- Lions 27 Panthers 20
Wade- Panthers 21 Lions 18

-8 Bills (11-3) vs Bears (3-11)  +41.5

The boys have the ultimate battle on Christmas Eve, as Ryans Bills visit Wade’s Bears in Soldier Field on Saturday.
There is more at stake than pride here..actually-nope, that’s pretty much all there is.
Buffalo continues to roll despite some injuries and worries that Josh Allen might not be 100%.
The Bills D hasn’t been the same since losing Von Miller, but Josh continues to be the running and driving force for the team.
Justin Fields has been having a pretty good season, even if the Bears haven’t.
They have lost six games straight since signing Chase Claypool, and the O line is about as effective as wet cocaine.
Ryan loves his Bills for a win here, and doesn’t see how the Bears are going to be able to keep up, despite their run of Fields lately. He thinks Allen and the guys steamroll through Soldier Field easily.
Bears fan Wade isn’t as convinced. He thinks that the Bills will win, but that the weather, and fact that the Bills have to face the Bengals in Week 17 might be enough for them to have their heads elsewhere.
Ryan- Bills 28 Bears 17
Wade- Bills 26 Bears 19
That’s it for our Week 16 Picks Podcast! Hope you enjoy listening to the whole show.
On behalf from all of us at NFL in London, we wish you all the Merriest of Christmases, the Happiest of Holidays, and the safest of the season.
We’re nothing without you, so take care of each other this holiday season.

Week 14 Picks Podcast

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That chill in the air isn’t just England feeling frosty after getting booted out of the World Cup by France, it’s time for our Week 14 Picks Podcast!

Yes, jolly olde England isn’t feeling so flush, after getting booted from the Cup despite outplaying the French, but at least we can go back to focusing on the NFL again.

Wade & Ryan are back with their full game slate of picks on a short week in the league.

Make sure that you listen to the whole podcast right here!

 

Among some of the games that the guys discuss this week includes:

Vikings (10-2) vs -2 Lions (5-7)  +51

How insulting is it for the league leading Minnesota squad to be two point dogs to the Lions in a divisional match-up?
The Vikings can’t get ‘no respect’, whereas the Lions continue to Hard Knock recent opponents, not to mention the Week 3 matchup between these two where Detroit almost took the contest.

The Vikings will be playing angry heading into Michigan, with Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook looking to bust open some seams in the easy to score against Lions D.
They can score a lot of points…but also get scored on just as easily.

Detroit has finally started to find its form, with 5 wins that put them second in their division.
Sure, Jared Goff isn’t the best piece leading the squad, but on the back of their D and speeding running game, the Lions can make any game fun.

Ryan isn’t liking the disrespect that the Vikings are being given here, and pips them to be able to beat the Lions in an away dome victory.

Wade is on the Lions hype, looking back at the Week 3 matchup where the Lions were feasting on the Vikes until some key injuries changed the trajectory of the game.

Ryan- Vikings 30 Lions 26
Wade- Lions 31 Vikings 27

Jets (7-5) vs -10 Bills (9-3)  +43

It’s a New York throw down, as the Bills host their divisional rival Jets in a snowy Sunday showdown.
The Jets had the Bills number in week 9, but can the plucky Jets do it again as 10 point underdogs?

The Jets have thrived under Saleh, and have tapped into a deep squad of runners and receivers to keep spreading the love around. If not for the drama at QB, the Jets might have had a few more wins this season to make this division even tighter.

The Bills continue to throttle opponents, but those 3 losses demonstrate that the Bills don’t have all the tools to dominate..yet.
The Bills will be using the snow and cold to their advantage as they look to put a knock out blow on New York.

Ryan likes his Bills to take the W in this one, although he doesn’t trust that spread given how tightly these two teams play.

Wade also likes the Bills, but has been burned by too many big spreads this year to go for this one.

Ryan- Bills 27 Jets 21
Wade- Bills 26 Jets 18

Browns (5-7) vs -5.5 Bengals (8-4)  +46.5

The battle for Ohio is always an ugly, fraternal affair that has most bettors avoiding it due to the slugfest of emotional play.
Oh yeah, and Deshaun Watson is back.

The Browns were able to get the W last week against the Texans, even though Watson looked so washed up that he should be hanging on a laundry line to dry out.
Maybe the only way to go for Watson is up?

Cincy has finally started to revive themselves after a tenuous start to the season.
The O Line has finally started to shore itself up, giving Burrow more pocket time.
The D is also healthy enough to cause problems, as demonstrated against Mahomes last week.
Of course, Joe Burrow has lost 4 games to the Browns-so there’s that too.

Ryan thinks that the Bengals will be too much for the stinky Browns, and that Burrow will have a big time connecting with his receivers.

Wade likes the Bengals to win, but doesn’t trust the previous matches enough to go for Cincy for the spread cover.

Ryan- Bengals 27 Browns 20
Wade- Bengals 28 Browns 24

That’s it for this week’s NFL picks for Week 14!
Make sure you listen to the whole podcast to get the feels for it.
Share it with your friends as a special holiday treat!

 

Week 10 Picks

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Another wild week of the NFL is behind us, as we head into the final European NFL game of the season.
If TB12 is wearing lederhosen, then it’s time for Week 10 Picks.

Wade & Ryan did ok in another tough week 9 of NFL picks, so hopefully they have some great picks for you this week.

If you want to hear ALL of their Week 10 Picks, then make sure that you check out the podcast here, or wherever else you find your podcasts!

 

Bears in London

As part of the home network initiative this season, the Chicago Bears have the rights to put on events and promote the team across the UK.

For Week 10, the Bears are hosting a viewing party in London’s Flat Iron Square, near London Bridge station. For all information, and to see if you can get tickets, just click here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/official-chicago-bears-vs-detroit-lions-watch-party-tickets-452816013887?aff=ebdssbcategorybrowse&keep_tld=1

Amons some of the things on tap for this event includes a wicked viewing party as the Bears host the Detroit Lions at 6pm GMT.

Not only will fans have a chance to win prizes, and Bears goodies, they will also be giving away a trip to Chicago to watch a Bears game courtesy of United airlines.

Not only that, Bears alumni Ruben Brown will be on hand to take pictures, and potentially table slam any Bills mafia who want to talk to him.

Should be a fun event, but expect London prices.

As far as some of the games this week, here are Wade and Ryan’s picks.

Seahawks (6-3) vs -3 Bucs (4-5)  +44.5

The division leading Bucs have 4 ugly wins, so it seems odd that a hobbled TB12 squad would be favoured over a surging Geno Smith and company.
The NFL didn’t do any favours to the Seahawks by having them fly a crazy length on a short week.
Will the Seahawks be too tired to even dip their pretzels on Sunday?

The Seahawks have the advantage when it comes to health and wealth. Their running game is solid, and the O line is finally giving them enough time for Geno to find Lockett and Metcalf.
They have 6 wins when many people figured that this would be a Seattle building year.

The Bucs suck. They have limped through games, struggled to get the run together, but at least Tommy boy isn’t smashing tablets any more.
Why the Bucs are favoured is a big surprise? Who is going to score of them?

Ryan doesn’t like the Seahawks disrespect, and is tipping them to upset the Bucs in their German home game.

Wade agrees, and thinks that Geno and Kenneth Walker will pip Tampa Bay in a close, low-scoring game.

Ryan-Seahawks 24 Bucs 20
Wade-Seahawks 23 Bucs 20

Lions (2-6) vs -3 Bears (3-5)  +48.5

The Lions are fresh off a win, after beating Aaron Rodgers and the slumping Packers at home.
While Hard Knocks may have excited fans at their prospect at the start of the season, woes are starting to pile up on Dan Campbell and Detroit.

The Bears are coming off an exciting loss, which sounds weird. Yes, they lost to the Cowboys last week, but Bears fans saw something they haven’t seen in a while…points be scored.
Justin Fields lit up the grass, setting QB records Chicago hasn’t seen in ages.

Ryan is Bearing down on Chicago in this one, as he doesn’t see the Lions being able to shoot out against Fields.

Bears fan Wade is happy that they are favoured over the divisional Lions, but still thinks that Detroit has the tools to keep it close at Soldier Field.

Ryan-Bears 27 Lions 20
Wade-Bears 24 Lions 23

Vikings (7-1) vs -3.5 Bills (6-2)  +44

Finally a match-up between two winning teams, but will they have their rosters in tack to make this one a shootout?

The Vikings are fresh off a win, and bolstered by trading TJ Hockenson in to help them with some muscle and yardage. Dalvin Cook continues to be a threat, while Kirk Cousins is feeling fine as his team cruises to an unchallenged domination of the NFC North.

Hello Josh? Are you there? Bills fans saw worry last week as Josh Allen went down to injury, as the Bills took one on the chin from the Jets.
Can the Bills rally at home to get a big W, and stop a two game losing skid?

Ryan likes his Bills to win in a tight one. The crowd could be the deciding factor here, as it looks to be a blustery one in Buffalo.

Wade too likes the Bills, but will be watching the injury status. He thinks that Case Keenum can also get the job done, and might be a sneaky fantasy add.

Ryan-Bills 23 Vikings 20
Wade-Bills 27 Vikings 23

That’s it for our week 10 picks! Hope you make some money this weekend.

 

 

What the Week?

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Even the most ardent NFL supporter will tell you that this is ‘one heck of a year’ in terms of playability, and Week 6 sure showed us why.

Somehow the New York teams are all killing it, while perennial favourites are struggling to get out of the first weeks’ mud.
And that’s not even mentioning the injuries!

Let’s take a look at some of the cray-cray storylines as we look at What the Week?

Tommy Boy

TB12 is sure trailing a bucket of drama as he heads into this season, with divorce, depleted squads and AB all piling on to make Tommy’s woes even bigger.

Despite losing one of their Watt’s, the Steelers D gave Tom Brady all kinds of headaches in Pittsburgh, and showed Tommy yelling it up on the sidelines at his teammates.

No one should lose to the tandem Mitch Trubisky & Kenny Pickett, but the Bucs took one on the chin from an AFC chump.

The Bucs are going to need to start stringing something together soon if they want to have any hope of pipping the Atlanta Falcons (whelp) to secure the NFC South title.

A Week 7 match-up between the Panthers should get them right, although Tommy sure would have liked to have snagged Robbie Anderson before he left for the Cards.

New York!

The Jets, Bills and Giants all have winning records…and get this…the Jets just walloped the Green Bay Packers.
What kind of bizarre multiverse is this?

The Jets are 4-2, the Bills are 5-1, and the Giants are also 5-1 in a patchwork that no one would thought we would see in decades, but here we are.

The Giants seem like that they are going to be ‘found out’ every week, yet Daboll and the boys keep finding new ways to beat tough opponents. And get this, they still do it with Daniel Jones and few receivers to speak of.

The New York Jets laid a beating on the Green Bay Packers in week 6, making the O-line of the Pack seem more like swiss cheese, than the fine cheddar it use to be.

The Bills are the one team that might bring some worry. Although they were feted to have top honours to take the title this season, there have been signs of weakness that this ride might get bumpy.

Pack Hack

If you were to tell Green Bay fans that they would be sitting at 3-3 after week 6 at the start of the season, they would have been severely ‘cheesed off’.
Surely their beloved Aaron Rodgers would never let the team sink that low…maybe Matt LaFleur…just not A-A-Ron!

The Packers have had a rough start to the season, with their 3 wins not coming easy, and their 3 losses coming effortlessly.

With no O-Line, and a scant supply of receivers, Rodgers like Brady is kind of wishing that this ends up another Covid year.

Green Bay has upcoming matches between the Bills, Eagles, Cowboys, Lions and Titans…with a few L’s anticipated in these tough contests.

Rhule the World

The Panthers took a massive squat on the state of South Carolina this season, by bring in Baker Mayfield and keeping the unpopular Matt Rhule.

After going a pathetic 1-4, the Panthers let go of Rhule, allowing him to collect $800k+ per week to sit on his butt, and field offers from college football teams.

Carolina is in trouble, and will need to unload C Mc if they can find anyone willing to swallow such a massive load.

Salmonella Russ

Russ has been cooking this season, unfortunately all the dishes keep coming out raw, and with no taste, or texture.

Russ has almost single-handedly ruined prime time NFL this season, putting in performances that more likely gift him a ‘Razzie’, than any football award.

The Seahawks are happy-clapping this season, having the weight of Russ lifted off their shoulders, not to mention the nice pay chunk in their pockets.

Will Russ get any better? Is he injured? Did he also get injured on MNF?

It’s tough to be a Broncos fan!

London Game

We still have another NFL game in London, as the Broncos and Jaguars face off at Wembley on Oct 30th in what is being billed as ‘an AFC match-up’.

Given how Russ has been performing as of late, and the sudden scoring demise of Jacksonville, we might expect some baseball like scores in this one.