NFL in London

National Football League in London

Chicago Bears

Conference Sunday

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What a wild weekend in the NFL Wildcard Playoffs! The Bills, Chiefs, Packers and Buccaneers all meet next week for Conference Sunday. Are you ready for some football?

The game lines for Sunday’s AFC and NFC championship have been released, with the Chiefs and Packers holding a narrow spread over their opponents. The Packers are favoured by 4 points over the Bucs at Lambeau, while the Chiefs are a scant 3 points favoured over the powerful Buffalo Bills.
Which two teams will be heading to the Super Bowl in Tampa Bay this season?

Here in the UK, those watching the Conference Sunday finals will have to wait until 20:05 for the NFC contest, while the AFC final follows directly after with a 23:40 kickoff. All of the games will be on NFL Gamepass.

Here are some thoughts heading into the final week of NFL playoffs before the SuperBowl.

Packers Offence

Aaron Rodgers continue to blister on at an MVP pace. The neigh sayers who bemoaned the Packers for not drafting a rookie WR to help Rodgers out have been silenced by the fact that he continues to spread the ball around relentlessly. Let’s not forget that the Packers have had the easiest route to the finals, so they will have much more to prove.

So Raven

Baltimore was smothered by the Bills defence on Saturday, forcing Lamar Jackson out of the game, and propelling them into the dank post season. Buffalo sure showed the blueprint to beat Lamar Jackson’s legs, and the Ravens will need a long hard look at what missing pieces they need to pick up in the offseason if they want to have any hope of making a longer playoff push next season.

Buffalo is Warming Up

The Ravens did what they could to throttle Josh Allen and the high flying Bills offence, but just don’t have enough to get it down. Buffalo is really starting to find their confidence now, which should be scary for a Chiefs team that barely escaped a bolstered Browns squad. Allen is also now starting to spread the ball out beyond Diggs, which will cause problems in KC.

We’re Secretly Brownies

As Patrick Mahomes made his way to the blue tent on Sunday night, a feeling started to roll across America ‘I might like the Browns’. Everyone started to root for this team as they showed their pluck and guile under the foot of the Chiefs presence. Cleveland didn’t play that bad. The Browns screwed up 2 HUGE chances in the redzone that would have made the game a totally different beast. Baker’s ill timed cross field interception took the momentum out of a huge drive, while Higgins leap into the end zone only to lose the ball to a touchback was a crappy way to end out the half. The fact that the refs missed a blatant helmet hit in the process means that the league still has work to do.

Henne Ain’t Great

Oooh everyone! Did you see the heroics of Henne? Yes, the 35 year old veteran back up had a few sneaky drives to keep the Chiefs in the win, but he also made some stoopid plays as well. How quickly everyone forgets the lame floater he tossed to a Browns player in the end zone. Not even Johnny Manziel would throw a lame duck like that. Any team that wants to sign Henne after that 2 quarters of mediocre play might be interested in some swamp land in Florida.

Reid’s Balls

Andy Reid has some pretty big balls. Going for it on 4th down with a backup QB, Reid decides to run a shotgun play quickly instead of letting the clock run and try to catch the D offside. The play worked, and sent the Browns packing. Thanks to the gonads of Andy Reid, there might be some big plays ahead.
Here is the play again.

Buc Up

Whoever keeps pissing in Tom Brady’s ‘Wheaties’, please stop. You’re giving him the motivation to star playing angry. While TB12 didn’t look amazing during the Saints game, he was facing one of the best D’s in the league. Tampa made some great adjustments to keep Tom safe, only allowing 1 sack as opposed to 10. Let’s also not forget that it was the Bucs who spanked the Packers huge this season, and with Tommy’s growing confidence, there could be trouble in Wisconsin this Sunday.

Brees Out

Well it looks like Drew Brees will be riding off into the sunset. Despite not officially saying this, every pundit and their uncle made their prediction that this would be Brees’ last game in New Orleans before taking a cushy broadcasting job. Brees has been a hell of a player, and such an ambassador for the city of New Orleans. There will be a big gap to fill after Brees leaves the swamp, and doubtful in Jameis Winston has being enough feet to fill those shoes.
The really classy moment came at the end, with footage of Brady and Brees talking to his family. TB12 throws a touchdown pass to little Brees…and no…you’re crying.

Have a great week, and let’s go Sunday!

Divisional Preview

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The wet and wacky NFL Wildcard weekend is now behind us, as we head into the final stretch with our Divisional Preview podcast.
Very few people correctly predicted the winners last weekend thanks to the plucky play of the Rams, and the vroom vroom of the Browns ‘Corvette.’
Wade & Ryan both chose the Steelers to topple the Browns (as did many) thus screwing their perfect playoff pools.

In this podcast the guys reflect on the all of the scores from the Wild-Wildcard Weekend that was for the first week of January 2021 in the NFL. The go through all of the scores, as well as lament some of the bonehead plays that got us there.
Wade spends a bit of time bitching about his Bears, and how close they kept it, although never within the reach of noodle-arm Trubisky.

Among some of the other news the boys discuss in this podcast includes:

Deshaun Watson

DW wants out of Houston, and who can blame him. Despite being the leader of the franchise, at times the organisation treats him like a ginger step-kid who abused the family dog. There is an utter lack of respect for a club that was going to do everything in their power to support him. Now that Deshaun wants to leave the Texans, loads of other teams are lining up to sign up to his services. Is it too late for the Texans to keep him happy, or will he be on his way?

Nagy & Pace

The Bears have brought back their GM and HC for another bash at the NFC North. It was felt that although the Bears did slip into 6 straight losses, the way that these guys recovered was enough to show that they have the skills to manage the team in the future. Tell that to thousands of angry residents of Chicago.

Dead Doug

Doug Pederson is dead. Not literally, just to Philly fans. Turns out his little exercise at trying out his backups during the last game of the season might not have been so wise after all. Doug is out, and you wonder who the heck wants the Philly coaching job? You have to eat Carson’s bloated contract and live up to the hype of a Super Bowl win within a decades reach.

Divisional Games

LA Rams vs Packers
Packers -7  +45.5

It’s Aaron vs Aaron as the boys can talk about how much they were teased as children with an ambiguous name. Kidding aside, this will be a good ole snow fight, as the Packers look to feast on LA after a relaxing bye week off.
How did LA get here? No…really. The Rams beat a hyped up Seahawks team with no QB. Sure, Goff was there, but he wasn’t that effective, although he was more so than Russell Wilson. LA was able to use their superior defence and big brain of Sean McVay to keep them in the game. Doing this against the Packers is another matter.
There are a few teams that have the players to be able to knock the Packers out of the playoffs. Watching the Bucs lay a beating on GB earlier this season showed exactly what needs to be done to keep Rodgers on the sideline. Keeping pressure on him, and shutting down Adams will be key.
Wade & Ryan both like this as an exciting start to the weekend, but sadly this one is going to be pretty predictable. With no real QB, the Rams will continue to struggle on first downs. If the Rams start to really fall behind, Goff will be chucking balls into heavy coverage that leads to picks.
Ryan- Packers 30 Rams 24
Wade- Packers 26 Rams 18

If you want the rest of our scores and predictions, have a laugh and a listen to the podcast. We want to thank all of you for listening, and keeping the podcast a moving up the charts.
Good luck to everyone this weekend, and we look forward when we can all get together soon.

Ryan & Romo

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It’s time for a little ‘throwback Thursday’ as we take a trip back to 2014 during one of the NFL in London games in a little video we call ‘Ryan & Romo.’

Tony Romo was not only a pretty good QB, but we know now that Tony is probably one of the best former player/ commentators in the game. Tony is so good, coaches actually get mad at him the next day for exposing their plays through his nonchalant style of examining play style.

In November 2014, NFL in London was invited by the NFLUK to attend one of the London training camps. (we miss these!). Tony Romo made the trip to London, but it was doubtful if he would play given he had been injured for 2 weeks prior. Coincidentally, the Cowboys had also lost 2 games in a row, so Jason Garrett was keen to get Romo back in for the London game.

Our guy Ryan Cull was determined to get Romo to laugh, and wanted to wait to ask the perfect question. After all, Wade had just got a big chuckle out of Jerry Jones, which led Jones on a strange dovetail story about Elizabeth Taylor (which was awesome).
As you can tell by the footage, both of them had a good time with the question.

Some of the players interviewed by our team have been absolute gems, while a few of them have left a permanent stain on our psyche’s.

As for the game, the Cowboys would go on to snap their two game losing streak and beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-17 in an uneven affair on November 9, 2014.
Tony Romo did indeed play in this game, going 20/27 with 246 yards and 3 whopping TDs. Two of these TDs went to Dez Bryant, who also had one heck of a game. DeMarco Murray (remember him) also had a TD in this game.
83600 London fans had a great time at the game (and an even better time with us all afterwards).

We really miss hosting these parties for you guys, as well as getting together with players and fans alike to celebrate all of us in the UK who love this sport.
Hopefully, we will all be together again soon.

Do you have any footage or great interviews from you fave NFL in London moments? Get in touch and fell free to reach out and we can help share them. We’re always looking for writers as well so get in touch.

Chad & Brandon

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Chad Johnson and Brandon Marshall are some of the most chatty and captivating NFL players who switched to punditry, so we’re proud to share this video of Chad & Brandon.
While both of these two men are known for some of their heroics on the field,  what comes out of their mouthes has also made these guys interesting.
So when Chad and Brandon both come together for a chat, along with fellow former players Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder for the ‘I Am Athlete’ YouTube series.

Have a listen to this, as these ‘older’ guys talk about the league today, as well as all of the social elements that new players have to deal with.

It’s no secret that Chad and Brandon are very smart cookies, and this comes through in the video, as the guys talk about some hilarious topics with great comedic timing.

This is the perfect video to get you though the cold of Covid. The guys explaining what ‘douching’ in will probably knock you off of you seat.

Truly hilarious.

Alabama Champ

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Another NCAA Football season is done and dusted as Nick Sabin and the Alabama Crimson Tide rolled over a shocked Ohio State, making Alabama Champ.
Alabama Champ actually sounds like a new strain of CBD or a 500lb jelly wrestler, but that’s aside the point.

Alabama never really looked back in this game, smacking Ohio State in the mouth 52-24. It’s the 14th consecutive victory for Bama, as they rolled onto an undefeated season during the year of Covid. Sure, and asterix could be placed the 2020 season as not all of the teams had a fair shot at the title, although to be honest…that is America.

DeVonta Smith was an absolute monster in this game, hauling in 3 TDs, and 12 catches for 215 yards. The Heisman Trophy winner was on fine form for the final match, thoroughly impressing all of the scouts and NFL teams who now have a draft conundrum ahead of them. Smith wasn’t really focused in many top 5 predictions, but you have to imagine that the Miami Dolphins who draft 3rd, would be interested in pairing this speedy youngster with Tua.

The NFL Draft is only 4 months away, and we’ll see what the league thinks of the speedster, as well as his Ohio State QB counterpoint Justin Fields. Fields was overmatched by a stiff Bama D in this game, but that shouldn’t affect his overall NFL stock.

This was a tough game for any of us to watch in the UK given the time difference, so here are the highlights for your consideration.