NFL in London

National Football League in London

2022 London NFL Wembley

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 13 Picks Podcast

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It’s December you snowflakes, as we bring you our Week 13 Picks Podcast.

Wade & Ryan have been busy in the toy shed making their predictions for this next slate of games as the ground starts to harden in the league and around us all.

To say it’s been a bizarre season would be an understatement, as legends have faltered, new heroes have emerged, and the Eagles are 10-1. Who would have thunk?

With that in mind, the boys look at the more interesting matchups for Week 13 in the 2022 NFL season, with fun anticipation that anything can happen.

Here’s the link so that you can get the full Week 13 Picks Podcast.

 

Jets (7-4) vs -1.5 Vikings (9-2)  +44.5

The Jets and Vikings have surprised us all with their stellar start to the 2022 season.
Despite being Zach Wilson’d with a solid core, New York has found their way with a flash of Mike White.
Minnesota is shining bright under the light of one Justin Jefferson, while Cousins still shirks like a vampire in the shine of primetime.

New York has brought back Mike to lead the way after a beatdown of the Bears worthy of an Aaron Rodgers belt.
It’s the Jets D that has really kept them in games, and with 7 wins and the Patriots taking one on the chin from the Bills, a W here could start to set some separation.

No one believes in the Vikings, as if their wins are somehow as mythical in tally.
Kirk Cousins can still make some bonehead moves, but with a offence like his, he can pretty much fail to win.

Ryan likes Minnesota to swing their Viking hammer at home, knocking back the White-ness to reality with a display of scoring. He believes that the hype will be enough to beat the Jets.

Wade is backing the Jets here to upstart the shaky Minnesota miracles. The D will shake up the cousin flicking festival, and use their running game to keep themselves competitive.

Ryan- Vikings 29 Jets 24
Wade- Jets 30 Vikings 28

-1 Jaguars (4-8) vs Lions (4-7)  57.5

With a game boasting a 57 plus point total, Las Vegas knows that this match is gone to be a slugfest.
Both teams lack the D to deliver, and they’re both on an upward ascent of winning time.

Trevor Lawrence finally looked like an NFL star, leading his team down the field like a real leader.
Finally. It’s been along time coming, but can he sling together a series of wins after too many years of rebuilding?

Detroit has been hard-knocking their way back to the wins, as Dan Campbell has got his Lions ready to roar in this battle of the big cats.

Ryan likes Detroit here to upset the Jaguars at home, and bite out a chunk from the Jacksonville junkies.

Wade is also big on the Lions, betting that the running game and speedy receiver match-ups will be a sure source of fantasy picks.

Ryan- Lions 30 Jaguars 27
Wade- Lions 33 Jaguars 26

-5.5 Browns (4-7) vs Texans (1-9-1)  +47.5

Let’s talk about the Deshaun in the room shall we?

Buried beneath the big games, the NFL snuck us back the return of disgraced quarterback Deshaun Watson to face the team we wanted to leave.
You don’t mess with Texas.

Whatever the boo’s or shenanigans organised to shame this young man, it’s still an NFL game so show some respect.

Respect is something the Browns don’t have for themselves as they have blundered their way through some pretty easy picks and opportunities over the past few years.
Watson has a chance to at least hobble together a team that has Amari Cooper, and an underused running duo in Chubb and Hunt.

No respect at all for the Texans. Only Rodney Dangerfield could run a team with no respect all the way down.  Davis Mills is gone, so its on Pearce to run the ball up the line.

Ryan likes the Browns to get through the boo’s and get the win, although he thinks that the hometown Texas faithful will rally them to cover.

Wade has the Browns coming together to support Watson, and Cleveland getting a win to save some face.

Ryan- Browns 24 Texans 22
Wade- Browns 27 Texans 21 

Make sure that you check us out on all our social media, and listen to our podcast.

 

 

Giants-Packers London

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Wowza! What a heck of a game that was between the Saints and Vikings last Sunday, as the sun came out to bring London one beauty of a game!

And guess what? We do it all again this week, as it’s Giants-Packers London this weekend!

To help you figure out what to do, where to do, and all the latest news, we have a packed little diary of ‘to-do’s’ to make your trip extra special.

Here’s what you need to know for the weekend of October 7th to 9th.

Transit Strike

Get ready to go nowhere, as the transit union is once again using this weekend to try to shame a Tory Party Conference with stagnation, catching NFL fans in the crossfire.

A national rail strike is due to go ahead on Sat Oct 8th, meaning that trains into London, out of London and some of the national rail lines will be affected.
Tubes and buses should be fine, but you might experience a knockoff affect of noticeable gaps.

If you are planning on travelling this weekend, make sure you plan ahead, as it will be a slow start on Sunday before the trains are up and running again at full tilt.

Getting to the Game

There are quick a few ways to get to the game, with the tube, overground and parking nearby all being options.

Direct trains from Liverpool street will have you at Tottenham within 25 minutes, and the busy Victoria line will take you to Seven Sisters or Tottenham Hale where you have easy access to the stadium.

Some folks also like to park a few Overground stops away, and just zip south to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

UK vs USA

It’s America versus the United Kingdom in Women’s Football (soccer), with a high profile friendly game kicking off on Friday October 7th at Wembley stadium.

The last time these two teams played was in 2020, when America delivered a 2-0 victory over the Lionesses.

Kickoff will be at 8pm on Friday night, and coverage will be available on ITV.

The game is SOLD OUT, so if you are looking for tickets, make sure you find someone who isn’t going to steal from you.

Football (soccer)

If you’re looking to watch football (soccer) this weekend, you’re in luck!
If you’re looking to watch college football this weekend…you’re kind of SOL.

It’s another big weekend in the Premier League, with some massive London derbys to check out if you can find the time.

Saturday kicks of with some major matches, as posh club Chelsea host Wolverhampton at 15:00GMT, and if you fancy a trip to the coast-Brighton and Hove host Tottenham in the 17:30 match.

There are some great traditional pubs to watch the games in, so make sure you explore the neighbourhoods to find a lovely local boozer.

Sunday might be the NFL, but it’s also a major day in English football, with games on all day-but it’s the later games that might be a problem.

Arsenal host Liverpool in an exciting 16:00GMT match, that will be on most tvs in most pubs across the country.

Later, Everton play host to Manchester United in a 19:00 GMT corker than will also predominate TVs in pubs and bars across the capital.

Comedy

London loves to laugh, so why not check out some of the great comedy on this weekend to laugh it up?

The Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green has a great line-up on this weekend, and it’s one of the places Dave Chappelle likes to warm up before destroying larger venues.
Get your tickets here.

https://backyardcomedyclub.co.uk/event/backyard-comedy-club-saturday-night-427/

American comedy fans will have no idea British comedy icon Stewart Lee is, but they can find out as Lee performs in a series of intimate London comedy dates.
There are still some tickets available, and American comedy fans will be pleasantly surprised at the different stylings of Lee.
Tickets here:

https://www.stewartlee.co.uk/live-dates/

Fair Time

The fall fair is a classic of Americana, with rides, fun games, and novelty foods sure to choke arteries.

South London is hosting its’ own, with Fairgame Funfair setting up in Canary Wharf.

Loads of games, digitally updated games from your past and plenty of booze to make this an all day fun day.

Tickets and info here:

https://www.wearefairgame.com/

Sundays

As we have mentioned in the past, London is not a late night city-and Sundays are the worst of the bunch.

Please be careful in areas like Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square, as they are very dangerous at night.

Areas like Shoreditch, Highbury & Islington, and Finsbury Park all have late night options.

Stay safe, and watch this space for more info!

 

 

Skoll London

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What a first day of the NFL in London, as the Minnesota Vikings pipped the New Orleans Saints just prior to OT to get their third London victory.
The hobbled down Saints made their best efforts, but couldn’t hold the Vikes off in the end, as it was a Skoll London victory.

Despite the slow start, both teams came alive in the second half, adding 33 points between them, and electrifying the London hometown crowd.

How did you enjoy the game between the Saints and Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?

Here are a few things we did notice that maybe you did, and some of the folks at home sure did.

Big Smoke

Pyrotechnics before kickoff is a rookie mistake, as the Tottenham crew soon found out with thick black smoke enveloping the centre of the field.

US TV announcers were quick to inform viewers at home that the picture might look dark and  cloudy not because it’s London, but because all those fireworks were just set off and it’s going to take a while to clear.

Be interesting to see if they let off that many fireworks prior to the Giants and Packers.

Fan Noise

Yes, it’s a London game, and yes, the fans comprise the whole league, not just the two teams playing.

It’s always interesting to get the perspective of US based fans who couldn’t believe how quiet it was, whereas many UK fans were bloody hoarse today from screaming all day.

Sure, you don’t get people screaming as hard at third down conversions, but they’re just happy to be at the game.

It’s not as loud as an American game, and that’s ok.

London Prices

‘Welcome to London, three pints will be £20.70.’

For anyone who doesn’t live in London, getting a pint in the capital sometimes requires a guarantor to make sure you can afford the debt.

With prices for regular pints hitting £6.90 at the stadium, many fans found it easier to quaff as many as they could before hand, or pop into the Tesco for a cheeky 4 pack.

Thanks to the pond taking a massive dump earlier in the week, American tourists must have felt that they hit the lottery with an almost par exchange rate.

Please-spend your money Yankee Doodle Dandies! We have gas bills to pay this winter.

Transit Strike

Despite the big bad warnings from the RMT and transit unions, travel on Sunday wasn’t as bad as could be expected.

Londoners bemoan the frequency of our transit woes, and it might seem malarky to foreigners, until you get here and wonder ‘how the heck do I get home.’

Thankfully fans were aware that Saturday and early Sunday would be nonsense on national rail, and made plans to get to the stadium early.

Hey guess what? There’s another strike this weekend, and this one could be even more of a doozy!

Sounds lovely! Travel smart and plan ahead.

NFL on Southbank

Well that’s pretty nifty neat-o huh?

For the first time, the NFLUK has brought the fan experience to the banks of the river Thames, with the adjustment to Southbank from Regent Street.
The result is a more fresh and invigorating stroll through the NFL.

While Westminster was nice to play host to the NFL for a few decades, the rot of Soho and surrounding area made it feel like it was stuck on the street like a piece of gum, and that the stores all secretly hated everyone in jerseys who would never shop in their stores.

It’s a whole different vibe now, make sure that you head down to Southbank and check out all of the activities that they have on this week as well.

Giants vs Packers

We have another game here in London this week!

More info to follow on all the exciting things to do in London this week!