NFL in London

National Football League in London

Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 5 Upsets

by

Week 5 in the NFL has some games that are teetering on their own odds. But which games should you pick if you want to get maximum value from the Vegas spread? Luckily I have no real life, so I have analysed some of the games that I think will help you make some money from Week 5 in the NFL.

UPDATE-As of Sunday, the game between the Broncos and the Patriots has been postponed due to another positive test from the Patriots. Bill Belichick must be a bit pissed as that uses up one of their bye weeks, leaving them vulnerable to forfeits going forward.

Panthers (2-2) vs Falcons (0-4)
Falcons -1.5 +54.5

No one seems to give the Panthers credit for being able to win a few games despite losing their top running back. Teddy Bridgewater has been solid as his debut as the starting QB, and their receivers have been gelling more with every game. Their defence also seems over-looked, as they have kept the team in close during their two losses.
Sure, Matt Ryan can score at will with Calvin Ridley, but as soon as they do they get punched in the nose by the opposing offence. The Falcons O-line is atrocious and their secondary isn’t much better.
Las Vegas must really believe in them to win at home despite their oh and four woes.
I really like the Panthers to win here and push for number one in the south.
Prediction: Panthers 31 Falcons 26

Dolphins (1-3) vs 49ers (2-2)
49ers -8.5  +47

Do you believe in Fitzmagic? I do, and this looks like it is going to be a magical weekend in San Francisco.
For everyone who thought that Miami was going to ‘Tank for Trevor’ they have surely silenced all talk of that.
Miami is one of the few teams that look like that they are actually having fun in the year of Covid.
Meanwhile Miami’s defence is no joke, and they have kept themselves close in pretty much every game.
The 49ers are coming off a loss to Philly, which is more dramatic than people think. Sure, they were without Jimmy G, but there were more glaring problems on D and special teams. They haven’t taken a magic pill in the week since the game, but they could be force fed a dose of Fitzmagic in week 5.
Prediction: Dolphins 23 49ers 20

Giants (0-4) vs Cowboys (1-3)
Cowboys -9.5  +54

America’s team is starting to look like America itself these days, lacking direction, focus and responsibility.
Dak continues to put up ridiculous numbers, but those don’t really matter if you let the opposition score just as many and more. Elliot hasn’t really gotten his running groove going thus far, and the O-line is so injured they’re on to practise squad players.
New York is a hot steaming dump of sadness. As much as Daniel Jones can shoulder the burden, this all comes down to coaching. Losing one of the top running backs in the game hurts, but they should be able to adapt to the ever evolving NFL.
The Giants have kept games relatively close this season, and while they might not have the firepower of the Cowboys, they still have a solid receiving corp which has the wheels to score.
Favouring the Cowboys by 9.5 points seems like malarky, and I like the Giants to cover.
Prediction: Cowboys 34 Giants 31

We don’t have a sports betting partner (yet), but I do recommend Bet365 as an app if you’re looking to make some bets. It’s fairly straight forward and best of all, it allows you to watch NFL games not on Sky. That’s right, you don’t need gamepass to watch the games as long as you put a small bet on games.

Make sure you also join our DraftKings League, so that you can play for free or win cash every Sunday.
https://dkn.gs/r/kwxDR0JIokKPkA6cPjCtNA

Stay safe, have fun, and happy betting!

TNF-Bucs vs Bears

by

Thursday Night Football (TNF) is back for week 5, with an exciting matchup between Tom Brady and the Bucs versus Nick Foles and the Bears. This game could be very good, if Chicago bothers to deliver their a-game.

Most Thursday night football games have been a massive bore, and the hatred of these games is well documented by the players. These games are even tougher to watch in the UK, where the games start at 1:30am and finish around the time the tube opens. Unless you are a total diehard fan, a cokehead or a shift worker, these can be difficult to watch when you have a ‘life’.
Of course, it’s the age of Covid 19, who has the time to have a life?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tom Brady is 3-1 to start the season, despite an early beating by the Saints. In week 4, TB12 and crew looked human, as Justin Herbert was able to march down the field with ease, hitting numerous receivers & making the Bucs D look pedestrian. This is no easy feat, as the Bucs boast one of the best defensive lines in the league.
Brady was also on fire, throwing for 5 touchdowns to 5 different receivers. Most of this action came in the second half, when the Bucs were able to catch their breath and mount an attack, even without Chris Godwin.
Chicago’s D will pose a new challenge for TB12, but after seeing what Philip Rivers was able to do last week against the Bears, Brady should have no problem picking holes in a secondary that got gashed in mid field passes.
OJ Howard will be out again, which means that pitiful Rob Gronkowski should be able to see more touches in this one. Gronk has been dropped by numerous fantasy teams, so the faith in the big man has waned over the past few weeks.
Both teams have only had 4 days to prepare, but you would have to give the edge to Tom & Bruce for being able to pull it together for this one.

Chicago Bears

The Bears are 3-1, but are they really. Pundits were quick to jump on the Bears as imposters, as the first 3 wins came from Mitch Trubisky rallies in the second half.
Nick Foles has done what Foles does. He is able to muster a comeback, but put him in a starting role, and he is inconsistent and awkward.
Perhaps the Bears should look at starting Mitch, then bringing in Foles in when the game starts to go awry. At least this way opposing defensives would have to prepare for two different quarterbacks, which is some advantage.
The Bucs have the best run D in the league right now, so Montgomery will be facing loads of walls in this one. Hopefully the Bears stop trying to use Cordarelle Patterson in a RB role up the middle. It has not worked once this season, and he ends up getting smashed into a wall of opposition. They have yet to effectively use him in a slant or option role, and should explore that before the dude gets busted.
Foles looked ineffective last week against the Colts, and missed on numerous easy passes.
If he can’t find room in a defence that was ripped apart by Justin Herbert last week, we will quickly find ourselves in a new quarterback controversy.

Prediction

The Bucs will establish themselves quickly, with Mike Evans swamping the hapless Bears with his size and speed. The Bears will continue to go 3 and out in their initial drives until they finally get some scores in the second half. By then, it will be too late.

Bucs 30 Bears 20

 

Sky NFL Week 5

by

Sky Sports have released their Week 5 NFL viewing schedule, so get ready to make plans…and then potentially have them change. Last week the schedules were shuffled due to a Covid outbreak on both the Titans and Patriots (damn you Cam!), so it seems likely that the same might happen again this week.

TNF

Thursday the Chicago Bears host TB12 and the high flying Bucs. The Bears whimpered to the Colts last week, as Nick Foles showed his prowess once again as a starter. Tampa Bay was almost upset by the kid Herbert, but was able to outperform and outlast to win, but not cover the spread.
This game has all the signs of a TB12 beat down. Will Gronk finally score?
Available on Sky Sports and Amazon Prime.

Sunday

Sky has brought back some familiar teams from previous weeks to play again on Sunday, with the Chiefs hosting the Raiders at 6pm, and the Colts visiting the Browns at 9:25pm.
Again, these games could change if someone decides to sneeze in another dudes face, but this is the lineup so far.
The Chiefs should savage the helpless Raiders, while Baker Mayfield is up against one of his biggest defensive challenges all year.
The late game has a whiff of stink on it, as the Vikings visit Seattle in which should be another big L for Minnesota.
If you’re staying up late to watch this, you’re probably on something.

Monday

Monday night football (technically Tuesday morning in the UK) is back again with an interesting match up. The Chargers have played some great D, whereas the Saints have struggled to keep up with other teams this season. Will Drew Noodle-Arm be able to contain Justin the kid?
Available on Sky Sports and Channel 5.

Make sure you keep in touch for all NFL News. Sign up to our mailing list, and make sure that you follow us on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/nflinlondon/

 

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

Week 4 Preview

by

Week 4 of the NFL is here, and oh what a doozy it is. Or is it dizzy? Number 19 Covid has lined up in this weeks formation, and things just got a whole lot virusy.

Wade & Ryan are at the hot mike mess, breaking down some of the games from last week as well as offering some top tips to help you win this week in fantasy and on your bets.
Wade bested last week with an 11-5 record against the spread, while Ryan potted a nice 7-9.
We learned that the Jets suck, Giants suck, hell most of the east coast of the US is sucking a big one. It’s going to be tough for some teams to turn it around down 4 games to start a season.

Colts vs Bears
Colts -2.5  +45

The 0 and 3 Bears are underdogs to an inconsistent Indianapolis team led by Philip Rivers. Is it fair to up the Colts when they have shown that they can beat by teams like the Jags? The Colts have shown a solid D and fast paced running game, but playing the Bears is not like playing the Jets. Chicago are swelling with pride after Foles came in to save the game, so a home game should be factored in their favour.
This should be either be really low scoring, or really high scoring, but given recent weeks look to the latter.
Ryan-Colts 27-23
Wade-Bears 28 Colts 24

Jaguars vs Bengals
Bengals -3  +48

Minshew versus Burrow in an important home game for Cinci. Minshew looks lost without DJ Chark, so his absence will put all the heat on Robinson. Jacksonville has played some tighter D, and some of their injured players will be back to bolster the secondary. Tyler Eifert might look to offer a ‘screw you’ touchdown to his former club.
Ryan-Bengals 24 Jags 16
Wade-Jags 24  Bengals 21

Browns vs Cowboys
Cowboys -4.5  +56

Oh Dem Boyz are off to a weird start of 1-2 despite chucking up loads of points every game. They have comebacks and beat downs, so the Browns will offer an interesting contest. Cleveland has some injured players returning on D who will be much needed in the pass rush to help Miles get to Dak. Baker has to prove himself in this one as he hasn’t really shown the zip he use to. Maybe playing in his collegiate state will help fire the loins of his youth.
Ryan Cowboys 34 Browns 24
Wade Cowboys 28 Browns 26

Patriots vs Chiefs
Postponed

Bill Belichick plays his best player this week, sending #19 Covid onto the field to take down all of the best players. It was a bold move for Belichick.

DraftKings

Love to play fantasy NFL? Then join our NFL in London league and play this Sunday. Play for free or join some of our small money games.
It’s fun, and we sometimes throw live parties with them across the UK. The more we play, the more they pay.
https://dkn.gs/r/kwxDR0JIokKPkA6cPjCtNA

Listen to the podcast and get in touch