NFL in London

National Football League in London

bill belichick

Super Bowl 57 Review

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Holy smokes, what a game that was on Sunday, as we look at what went down in our Super Bowl 57 Review.

The Kansas City Chiefs are the Super Bowl champions once again, after a 38-35 victory in Arizona.
It was a back and forth battle all game, but it was the heroics of Patrick Mahomes once again that did the work necessary to get the W and hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Eagles played valiantly, and Jalen Hurts would have been the game MVP with his touchdown performance had the game gone the other way.

Let’s take a look at some of the key takeaways from the big game in our Super Bowl 57 Review.

Kansas City Chiefs

All hail the Chiefs, who had to listen to the odes to Buffalo and Cincy all season, before getting the respect they demanded with a Super Duper performance.

Kansas City seemed to struggle a bit to get the right momentum in the first half.
The defence played fast and fierce on the line, shutting down anything that moved past it, but behind the Eagles O line, they struggled to contain Philly as the second half wore on.
Mahomes ill-fated ankle once again looked to be injured, sending the hopes of ChiefsKingdom everywhere into serious doubt.

Whatever happened in that locker room at half-time set the tone for the game, as the Chiefs changed the game in the second, making the Eagles play catch-up.
Andy Reid wisely switched to heavy run game that was able to find outside lanes for key yards, and Patty M was able to dissect the Eagles secondary for big gains.
Toney’s punt return also helped put the nail in a Philadelphia team that just couldn’t rally when it was time.

Philadelphia Eagles

You have to give to Philly for the road they took to get to Super Bowl 57, and there solid performance throughout the season and post. The Eagles may have lost, but they will be post season candidates for a while.

Jalen Hurts Wass truly a beast on Sunday, and if wasn’t for that sloppy drop that led to a pick 6, the game might have been very different.
While it took a while for Philly to find their stride in the first half, they seemed to be able to be on the right path to victory with a 10 point lead heading into the half.

The second half was another story for the Eagles, who much vaunted D left some pretty huge gaps for Mahomes and Kelce to fill. How they let so many zone holes with no one around was very perplexing. You know you’re playing against the best QB in the league right?

Heads held high Philly, if you would have won, you would still be cleaning up your broken city right now.

The Call

Penalties called in the final two minutes of the Super Bowl better be pretty damn important, or they are not worth calling.
It’s tough to say if this one was.

When now-hated ref Carl Cheffers flagged Eagles cornerback James Bradberry for holding on Juju Smith-Schuster, it allowed the Chiefs to not only get the first down, but shut down the game and clock.

Bradberry would later admit that the refs got it right, but that still doesn’t address the real issue, or an even bigger problem with refs this season.

The last two minutes of the Super Bowl should only be penalties that are so damn obvious and egregious that you HAVE to call them. Otherwise, play on.

Rihanna

Let’s not forget about the half time show of Super Bowl 57, which many Super Bowl party attendees know, is only watched by about 30% of your crowd. Everyone else is either pissing, getting pissed, pissed off about the game, or doesn’t give a shit about the artist.
True NFL fans remember the class and dignity of ‘Up With People’ and like it gosh-nammit.

It was Rihanna’s halftime y’all, as she paid the NFL over $1million to karaoke shuffle some of her greatest hits, rub her crotch, sniff her fingers, and announced she was pregnant again.
Sorry was this a halftime show, or was there going to be a gender reveal, didn’t see that in the prop bets?

The performance was anchored by some very Squid Game looking backing dancers, which gave some the impression that perhaps they might be sacrificed in some ritualistic contest to fed Rihanna’s unborn.
‘When bitch better have my money comes on, jump off the elevated platform!’

The real star of Super Bowl 57 was ASL interpreter Justina Miles, whose performance certainly shone like a diamond, and whose lip-synching was far better than Rihanna’s.

Gronk’s Kick

The much touted field goal attempt by Rob Gronkowski turned out to be a turd, as Gronk shanked it left.

Gronk blamed a ‘sudden change in wind’ as the cause of his mistake, which sounds like a line he and his brothers bring out a lot when it’s chilli night.

Although it was billed as ‘live’, it looked like the thing was pre-recorded in an Arby’s parking lot.

The real winner was no one, especially Gronk.

End in the end, it was an amazing Super Bowl 57, and the third highest watched ever with over 113 million people in America tuning in.

The season is done, and us NFL fans have no entertainment for the next 8 months, and that is it for our Super Bowl 57 Review.
Or until the XFL..or USFL..or CFL…give us football!!!

 

 

 

Bears in London

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The NFL tickled us with a treat this week, as Chicago took advantage of the new international marketing areas to host the Bears in London on Sunday.

What a fun night of action, and thanks for hosting us!

Home Marketing

With the NFL going fully international this year, the league announced last year that they would allow certain teams to market directly to global fans.

The United Kingdom had six teams granted rights to perform this, with the Jaguars, Vikings, Dolphins, Jets, 49ers and Bears getting the royal treatment here.

This was the Bears first attempt at hosting one of these parties, and they did a lot of things right.

Flat Iron Party

The Bears opted to host the party in London’s Flat Iron area, just round the corner from London Bridge station.

While the area was popular when the NFL was in town, it did seem like a rather odd location given how quickly the area empties on a Sunday, as well as being hosted underneath the train tracks.

The hype was obvious at entry, as cheery marketing folk handed out raffle tickets, and encouraged fans to participate in some of the many trivia and cheer games they had prepared.
Some of the games were funny, some cheesy, and there were times fans just wanted the game back on as they battled the Lions, but the good nature of the event and £7 pints had Bears fans rollicking.

Bringing in the Bears hype man to host the event did bring a deep dish authenticity to the event, and he was genuinely surprised at just how damn knowledgeable UK Bears fans are at trivia.
The only wrong answers seemed to be displayed in the Bears game play.

The Game

Heading into the game, the Bears were a three point favourite over a Lions team bolstered by a win over the Packers last weekend.

The awkward tension was palatable in the room, as the Lions erased the Bears lead, despite the gutsy and emotional play of Justin Fields.

Despite the loss, UK Bears fans were playful to the few Lions fans who snuck in, possibly bouyed by beers, Bears and Bears swag.

Speaking of swag, while it looked like they brought plenty, it didn’t seem like it reached many of the fans, as Bears loyals were seen packing branded, paper drinks coasters into their pockets for a little bit of take home legacy.

Or maybe people just didn’t want to be reminded of a one point loss.

Bear Down Future

Scrolling the Bears forums, the main complaints from fans around the event stemmed from it being last minutes, and in London, alienating many UK Bears fans who either can’t travel on Sunday nights, or can’t afford London prices.

Rumours from the Bears marketing staff on hand is that there could be more of these viewing events across the UK in the coming months.

Make sure to watch this space, and we will let you know where and when you can Beardown this NFL season.

All in all, it was a fun night of football, and a good sign of things to come.

 

Week 7 Tips

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It was another dump-pump-chump week in the NFL for week 6, as topsy turvy met the upside down world in the results, that’s why it’s called ‘Any Given Sunday’.

Wade and Ryan both took some chin-hits in their picks, but as Taylor says, ‘shake it off’, and they will , as they offer their Week 7 Tips.

To make sure that you hear all of our picks, check out our podcast this week, which you can also find on Spotify and iTunes.

Here are some of the top games that Wade & Ryan have lined up for Week 7.

Lions (1-4) vs -7 Cowboys (4-2) +49

Dak is back, whiggyity wack!
After injuring himself earlier in this season with a nasty wrist hamper, Dak has rushed himself through the pain to get himself back for Week 7. But is it too soon?
The Cowboys have survived on the back of their tough D, and ginger-ninja skills of Cooper Rush.
Four wins are great to have going into Week 7, but can they stave off a feisty Detroit team whose own D has led to multiple collapses?
The Lions have a Hard Knock hangover to start this season. After feasting on the hype, fans are now starting to see that a team with a couple wins last year isn’t going to suddenly go from grower to show-er.
Detroit has a few players back from injury, but their hapless D was still 9 players down heading into practice midweek.
Ryan likes Dak & Dem Boyz to feast on Dan Campbell’s ravaged corpse, easily covering the spread.
Wade is betting on the Lions, deducing that the return of Amon and the fast scoring Goff will come to play and get that second W.
Ryan-Cowboys 30 Lions 20
Wade-Lions 31 Cowboys 27

Giants (5-1) vs Jaguars -3 (2-4) +42.5

So the Giants have 5 wins, but the 2 win Jaguars are favoured at home?
What the hey heck is this malarky?
Perhaps Vegas believes that Daniel Jones and company might be a bit less of a squad than their record belies?
The Giants thundered the Pack-fanatics in London during a game that signalled the potential demise of the Green Bay decade long domination in the NFC.
Add to this wins over the Ravens and now people really believe that this team can be more than Saquon.
Apparently the bookies didn’t get the message, who pip Trevor Lawrence and the Jags as a better option.
The Jags were great in their first two games, then they kind of imploded.
Bolstered by two solid running backs, pretty okay receivers and D that blipped the Bills last season, and you wonder where the return is?
Can they string a bunch of wins together, or are they doomed to be tainted by the AFC dumpster fire.
Ryan is a Giant fan of New York, and sees the G-Men ripping a sixth win out of the beating heart of south Florida sun.
Wade likes the Jags, and sees Etienne getting the runs all over the Giants D.

Ryan-Giants 23 Jaguars 20
Wade-Jaguars 26 Giants 20

Colts (3-2-1) vs -2.5 Titans (3-2)

It’s the rematch from Week 4 that no one asked for! But that’s what you get in the AFC South.
Matty Ice looked like he was still frozen at the start of the season, as Indianapolis played their first few games like they were still in preseason.
Now the Colts are starting to win, and Matt Ryan is second in the league in overall passing yards.
Taylor and Hines are probables, as the Colts are able to get a few healthy bodies back to avenge their October 2 loss.
Tennessee is a mess, with Henry well below his perceived yards, and Tannehill lacking any real targets.
The Titans have 3 wins though, which in AFC South terms is akin to having a full set of teeth on the bayou.
Speaking of byes, the Titans are fresh off of one, although some players consider an early bye a future curse of health.
Ryan likes the Titans at home, and sees Henry having a good rushing day to secure the W.
Wade thinks that the thaw is over, and Matt Ryan and the healthy Colts are about to start an AFC push, which aside from the Bills, is a mess.
Ryan-Titans 27 Colts 23
Wade-Colts 24 Titans 20
That’s it for our Week 7 Tips, If you want to hear more of our picks, just listen to podcast and get all the feels.

DraftKings League

We have our own NFL in London DraftKings League! Why not play along in our contests and you can play for FREE or win big.
Here’s the link to join us here!

London Games 2022

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‘Whomp there it is’, in the words of the immortal ‘Tag Team’ we now know the full dealio for the NFL London games 2022.

Who’s coming? Where are they playing? Is Antonio Brown coming?
All of these questions answered and more in a ‘too early to tell’ about what’s going to actually go down for these games.
We are fuelled by excitement at this point.

Germany

Raise up your steins and scream out a ‘Prosit!’, as the NFL makes its way to southern Germany for a great 2022 game, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Seattle Seahawks in Munich.

Slated for November 13th at 2:30 pm GMT (9:30am EST)-this is the penultimate game in the international series this season.

Everyone in Europe knows that the Germans have a HUGE love for the NFL, and are some of the nicest, coolest fans to pop to London when the games are in the UK.

German fans deserve this game, although they may not deserve a Drew Lock led Seattle team that will probably get blitzed by the Bucs D all day, every day.

Todd Bowles will be at the reigns for the Bucs this season, with Tom Brady being the best dang sports ambassador for the league in decades.

Who knows, maybe TB12 will jump behind the FOX booth to throw down a little broadcasting while he’s at it too?

Wembley

Once the most prestigious stadium in Europe, Wembley is back once again to panhandle a game from the Jags for the series.

Wembley is a far cry from its early 2000s’ NFL games, when there was nothing around the stadium, and fans found their own tailgating options-often gooning back tinnies in the Curry’s parking lot before kickoff.

This October sees the return of Russ, as Russell Wilson and his new look Broncos will be ready to rock the Urban Meyer-less Jacksonville Jaguars.

October 30th sees the Jacksonville Jaguars hosting the Denver Broncos for a 1:30pm (9:30amEST) kickoff in northwest London.

Chances are both teams will already have a losing record heading to London, but that’s the momentum they’ll need to head home and kick some ass.

Tottenham Stadium

Welcome to the jungle, as north London gets two beauties of games at the brand spanking newish stadium in Tottenham.

Sure, there is nothing to do around the stadium-and some of the side streets look pretty dodgy, but what a stadium!

White Hart Lane will be banging for two straight weeks of NFL games, as early October brings us our own harvest of gridiron feasts.

Sunday October 2 sees the New Orleans Saints hosting the Minnesota Vikings in a miracle rematch that will have NFC fans frothing.
With a 2:30pm (GMT) kickoff, this will be the first of our international games, and will harken back to 2017 when these two teams faced off in the playoffs.

It will be the Kirk Cousins led speedsters versus the punishing D of the Saints, in what should be a very exciting NFL game to start our journey.

Sunday October 9th is the day that Cheeseheads in UK will be sniffing their fingers, as Aaron Rodgers and the Pack make their first appearance ever in Europe, when the Green Bay Packers host the New York Giants at Tottenham.

It’s been a long wait for Wiconsinites in the UK, as the heralded Packers are finally playing their first game in Britain.

This game will sell out very quickly, and will be as tight as the Packers cap space for this season.

Going to be a great game!

Mexico

Ola! Welcome to Mexico City-please put your laser pointers in the bin-as the Arizona Cardinals host the San Francisco 49ers Sunday May 21st in Estadio Azteca at 1:30am GMT.

Will Jimmy G be leading the charge, or will they Trey Lance the boil that is the 49ers QB situation?

This game will have major divisional consequences, and it’s too bad it will be too late to watch.

Fun Things

We are already very excited about the games, and are working on some tailgating, after parties, as well as regular season events to entertain our loyal fans.

Watch this space as we drip feed some of the exciting things we will be doing for 2022!

 

 

London 2022 Games

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Smell that in the air?
That’s freedom…a bit of petrol…and the return of the NFL.
It’s coming back to London again soon, and boy are we tickled.

So here are our predictions for the London 2022 Games.

Draft Days

The NFL Draft is now done and dusted, as teams watch the offseason to witness which one of these prospects burns and turns their own future after Las Vegas, making bad lifestyle choices that ultimately leads to leaving the game.

Or…they have a bright and lustrous future, without any incidents.
That’s the hope anyway.

The NFL Draft also heralds the beginning of the international adventure, as the league announces who will be headed across the shores to bring the beautiful game to hungry global audiences.

London gets 3 games, Germany gets one, as does Mexico.

So how does it all play out?

London Schedule

The NFL announced that they will be releasing the full international schedule on May 4th, 2022 (evening).

We will then get to know who will be making a passport application for the first time, so that they come visit us at either Tottenham or Wembley stadium(s) for an autumn jaunt.

Who will it be?
Well, we make our yearly predictions prior to the NFL officially announcing the REAL teams that will be visiting.
It’s a fun little exercise that helps build hope to those of us who haven’t seen our teams hit the UK in years.

And so without further adieu, we present our predictions for the 2022 London International Games.

Baltimore Ravens vs Jacksonville Jaguars

Sunday September 25th-Week 3
Wembley Stadium

Jacksonville is back (again), as they shed their Urban skin, and have returned with fresh faces and feelings as the Trevor Lawrence era has finally sputtered out of the gate.

As for the Jags home opponents this season, they face the following: Colts, Texans, Titans, Broncos, Raiders, Ravens, Cowboys, Giants.

Given that many of these teams have been here in the past few years, the most obvious team to come would be the New York Giants, who haven’t played in London since they beat the Rams in 2016.

The Ravens however last played in London in 2017, where they took a 44-7 blowout to the face.

There are rumblings and rumours out of Poe-town, that the dirty birds would once again be flocking our way.
We’ll jump on this rumour!

Minnesota Vikings vs New Orleans Saints

Sunday October 2, 2022-Week 4
Tottenham Stadium

Of all the rumours that have been circling as to who would most likely be playing, this game is the most solid to bet on.

Minnesota and New Orleans are scheduled to play each other this year, and reports out of Minneapolis point to the fact that the team is preparing for an international adventure for the 2022 season.

The miracle moments between these two teams are many, and it seems to be the most likely scenario for both teams.

As per the date, Week 4 has been persistent in both reports from New Orleans and the Vikes, so we will also double down on the intel we are getting stateside.

This will be a great game for fans of both teams, who last appeared on our shores in 2017, beating the Dolphins and Browns respectively.

We’re quite confident in this one.

Tennessee Titans vs Green Bay Packers

Sunday October 9th-Week 5
Tottenham Stadium

The Pack is finally making a trek to London, as British fans finally get a whiff of the mane of Aaron Rodgers and company.

Green Bay is the ONLY team to have NEVER made the trip to London, so this will be a massive game for all the cheeseheads here who have missed out on NFL action in the past.

As for the Packers home opponents, they have the Bears, Lions, Vikings, Cowboys, Giants, Patriots, Jets, Titans, & Rams.

While the LA Rams are rumoured to be another team playing in an international game, they are more likely to play the Arizona Cardinals in the Mexico City contest.

Bill Belichick and the Patriots are also an interesting possibility for Rodgers and the boys to play-since they haven’t been here since 2012, but the Titan in the room keeps popping up its head.

We like Tannehill and Tennessee as they combatant in the Packers contest, making their way to north London for week 5, in an exciting match.

Considerations

There are some other factors that we looked at in determining not only the teams, but the dates of the London games.

Ukraine is most likely still going to be burning in the autumn of 2022, and many Americans are not likely to travel as they believe that anywhere in Europe is a war zone.

London & European visitors dropped by 8% during the Gulf War, and plummeted after the terror attacks here.  As long as Russia keeps acting like dicks, the situation in the area will be tenuous.

The World Cup will also play a factor in the scheduling of NFL games, as the league will want to avoid any clashes with ‘soccer’ for the end of the year.

Kicking off on November 21st in Qatar, the World Cup will overlap much of the NFL schedule, as many major games are happening on NFL Sundays.
Spain faces Germany on Sunday Nov 27th at 7pm GMT-running smack into the NFL for many fans who will be looking to catch the games.

Caveat

Once again, these are only guesses by our team.

We will all know the true teams heading our way when the NFL officially announces it next week.