NFL in London

National Football League in London

Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 3 Preview

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Week 3 is upon us and what an injury prone season it has been thus far! Wade McElwain & Ryan Cull are here in the latest podcast to chat about the week that was in two, as well as they look ahead to all the games in week 3. Sure, we don’t know who will be fully or half back from injuries, but at least he have a steer on the teams as a whole. Our lines might change leading up to kickoff, so watch this space.
The boys also talk about:

London Viewings

Can we watch the games? Can we watch half a game? How many people can we watch with?
No idea here. The rules keep changing, but as it stands you can only watch in the UK until 10pm.
Given that the Premier League games now go until 8:40pm, it is unlikely many bars will show the NFL in entirety.

Injuries

5 teams took a lickin’ from a chicken in week 2, with the 49ers being gaslighted, trash bagged, and Cleveland steamed all in one. The Giants lost big with Saquon being out, and the Colts took a big D loss as well. If this trend keeps coming, there will be a lot of teams missing key personal by week 5. Heck by week 10, it might all be practice squad players.

Week 3 Picks

Rams (2-0) vs Bills (2-0)
Bills -2.5 +47.5

Buffalo faces a feisty Rams squad at home after a narrow victory over Fitzmagic and the fins. The Rams are on good form with Goff finding his rhythm of 2 years ago. This will be a fantastic battle of D’s, and both QBs will need to impress to find the W in this one. Josh Allen is the scramble king, using his legs and quick vision to spread it around the field. He’s going to face the toughest defence thus far, so the score should be fairly tight.
Ryan likes his Bills to barely cover the Rams, while Wade sees them winning by a nudge more.
Ryan-Bills 27 Rams 24
Wade-Bills 27 Rams 23

Titans (2-0) vs Vikings (0-2)
Titans -2.5 +47.5

The Titans are rolling at 2-0, but one of those came at a lucky break against the Jaguars. The Vikings are a woeful oh and poo, and they haven’t really shown any signs of life after being pummelled by both the Packers and Colts.
Ryan likes Tannehill and Henry to roll over the Vikings in a hometown beat down.
Wade is fond of the Vikings finally getting their shit together and putting together a victory.
Ryan-Titans 31 Vikings 13
Wade-Vikings 30 Titans 27

Bengals (0-2) vs Eagles (0-2)
Eagles -6 +46.5

Sure the Bengals are bad, but 6 points against Philly bad? This game will be a stinker, but Burrow and his footwork should make this one exciting enough. Philly has looked limp and lame, & will need to get their running game going full speed. The Bengals need to keep Joey alive, as they offer less protection than a homemade condom.
Ryan sees the Eagles getting a tough victory, while Wade has the Bengals taking their first win.
Ryan-Eagles 23 Bengals 20
Wade-Bengals 28 Eagles 26

Want all of our picks without listening to the podcast? Then get in touch & we can set you up with a season long picks package for £20!

Also thanks to these guys who compiled a list of the top 100 NFL Podcasts in the world. We came in at #90 which is nice, but also disappointing since we are way better than the others.
https://blog.feedspot.com/nfl_podcasts/

Stay in touch, stay safe and good luck for the rest of the season.

Rushing Leaders-Week 3

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The real star of the 2020 season thus far seems to be injuries, as it’s taken down more teams than expected. Of course, we did expect a few injuries due to a lack of preseason and the physical and mental tolls of Covid 19, but this is pretty huge.

Saquon Barkley’s injury was horribly impactful on the Giants, although it looked like he wasn’t fully healthy in that game even prior to the ACL. Devonta Freeman has been picked up, but it’s doubtful if he can make a real impact on the season ahead.

Looking at the top RBs thus far, it’s Aaron Jones in the lead, after a monstrous beatdown of the hapless Lions. Rodgers has used him effectively in pass and run situations, despite the team not really drafting any help on offence.

Henry has been another boom for the Titans, as they take their undefeated record further in week 3. Tannehill has looked better, which takes the heat off of Henry in third down situations. Not sure if he can keep up the pace, but a good start to the season.

Zeke has been instrumental in the Cowboys big start, although he looked like a toy in week 1 when Aaron Donald used him to smack Dak. They will need Zeke to keep up the big numbers if they want to done and dust the NFC East.

Nick Chubb and the Browns started out slow thanks to a drubbing at the hands of the Ravens, but his week 2 performance against the Bengals was smashing. The 1-2 punch of Chubb and Hunt make them formidable for when Baker Mayfield is fromage.

Josh Jacobs is simmering to a good start to the season, and looked good in the Raiders win over the Saints. Gruden has orchestrated some good drives this season for the Raiders, so if he keeps it up, Jacobs will stay in the top 5.

Who do you like this week? Who have you picked up on the waiver wire? It’s a big week ahead, stay healthy everyone.

DraftKings-Week 2 Picks

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It’s time to pick some Fantasy fellas for Week 2, after some of the amazing performances (& ridiculous injuries) in Week 1, I am a little more prepared for this week.
If you want to play along with us, join our DraftKings League ‘NFL in London’, it’s a fun group with free and paid contests to whet your fantasy appetite.
Join here:

https://dkn.gs/r/kwxDR0JIokKPkA6cPjCtNA

Here are some of my picks to look at for Week 2 in DraftKings.

QB

Aaron Rodgers $6900

After the smokeshow he laid on the Vikings, it’s hard to imagine Rodgers dropping his numbers against the Lions. After the Bears and Trubisky laid on multiple 4th quarter touchdowns last week, AR should have a good 4 TD game. Compared to Mahomes, he’s a pretty good value.

Josh Allen $6700

He can throw, he can run, he is the Buffalo chicken wing. Allen is facing the woeful Dolphins this week, which means that he should be able to feast on their dolphin meat like Cam Newton did last week. If Cam can run the fins ragged by using his feet, Allen will also look to have a pretty good ground day. Unlike Cam, Allen has some great receivers who will turn and burn the field all day. The only worry I have is Miami plays unusually well at home in September with humidity and hurricane season working to their advantage.

RBs

Nyheim Hines $5300

With Marlon Mack going down last week, Nyheim Hines & Jonathan Taylor jump up the ranks to 1 & 2. Look for Rivers to use them both effectively against the Vikings defence. Minnesota was weak against the run last week against the Packers, so look for this 1-2 punch of guys to punch the Vikes in the face. Hines should get a couple of short run TDs.

Todd Gurley $6100

Gurley was able to find success against the Seahawks last week, so he should be able to continue grabbing points against the Cowboys this week. Gurley is a great distraction for Matt Ryan as he can be used effectively on the run and in short passing situations.

Miles Sanders $6000

Will he play or will he stay now? Sanders practised this week fully, which is a good sign for any fantasy fans. The Eagles will need him against the fierce front of the Rams who threw Zeke around last week. He still might not be fully used, but if he is, he will be good value for short yard TDs.

WRs

Robby Anderson $5200

Anderson has his groove back thanks to Teddy B and the Panthers. He was wicked last week going 6/8 114 yards and a touchdown. The Bucs were torched by the Saints receivers last week, so Robby could get a few yards while Tampa figures out how to stop McCaffery.

Darius Slayton $5000

Slayton was on fire in Week 1 against the Steelers, going 6/9, 102 yards and 2 touchdowns. If he can get that against Pittsburgh, then the Bears will have to look out. They got burned hard by Stafford last week, and Slayton will carve them up if they don’t figure out how to stop him.

Davante Adams $8100

Rodgers number one guy will be his number one target against the Lions on Sunday, and he will be poised for another big performance. Even if they double team Adams, he still finds ways to make ridiculous catches. He had 156 yards and 2 TDs last week, he can probably top that this week.

TE

Tyley Higbee $4700

The big man on the Rams was an often target for Goff last week for some pretty nifty catches. He is bound to make some bigger plays against an Eagles team that struggles to contain good tight ends.

Zach Ertz $5600

And on the other side of the ball, the guy the Eagles will look to in short and long yard situations. Heck, Wentz will look for him all day. He’s a little pricier, but he’s sure to get at least one TD on Sunday.

DEF

Buccaneers $2900

Sure, they got torched by the Saints last week, but they were able to put some pressure on Brees to be able to stay in the game. The Panthers have a very weak O-line, so look for the Bucs D to get to Teddy B and disrupt some big plays.

If you want to join us and play for FREE, we have our Sunday Funday Contest. It rolls on every week. You can join that here.
https://www.draftkings.co.uk/draft/contest/92158034

Enjoy your Sunday and let us know if you want to play in any of our Fantasy Leagues. The more the merrier!

 

 

 

Week 1 BBQ

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Where did you watch week 1 of the NFL? Normally we would be organising NFL viewing parties across London & the UK, but then a thing called 2020 happened.
With all the rules changing, with pubs closing early and fans wary of heading out in public, we opted to host our Week 1 viewing party at Wade’s house.

Wade was up early on Sunday morning, smoking 3 yummy briskets for 11 hours in time for kickoff. If that wasn’t enough, he also cooked 100 chicken wings for the NFL in London gang. Add to that homemade cheese dip, blue cheese dressing and loads of flavours, everyone went home a winner. (and with a doggy bag).

Thanks to the magic of NFL Gamepass, we were able to watch 4 games at once, with the inside and outside rocking the NFL for all fans in attendance. Everyone was safe distanced, and quite drunk once the night was over.

We will look to host more live NFL events in the future, but as of right now, it’s just too tricky to pull off. With the rules changing weekly in terms of fan attendance, and the potential of another lockdown or curfew looming, it’s a rather uphill battle for us at the moment. Bars would also rather not show the first 30 minutes of NFL games to satisfy Premier League fans in attendance. Who wants to miss the first quarter?

Watch this space, we’ll be back with more live events as the season continues.

Week 1 Results

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What a topsy turvy weekend in the NFL! Some of the biggest winners lost, and some of the teams that looked to live in Loserville for a long time actually showed some spunk. It was nice to have the game back & to feel a bit of normal again.

Picking Week 1 results against the spread can often be tough given all the time off, but 2020 has made that even more difficult by trashing the preseason and the growth/ injuries that go with it.
Wade & Ryan both took a stab at week 1, with Wade hitting out a respectable 10-5-1, while Ryan managed a more modest 4-11-1.

Let’s take a look at some of the games they got right/ wrong.

Seahawks 38 vs Falcons 25

Wade got this one wrong, siding with past numbers that have Pete Carroll not usually performing well in week 1 since 2013. Of course it was Russell Wilson who performed like a champ, spreading the ball to nine different receivers and running the ball a few times himself. Atlanta didn’t help themselves, dropping balls and getting costly penalties. Atlanta showed rally, but were also very inept on D. Ryan liked the Seahawks to cover, and they were able to do just that.

Bears 27 Lions 23

Who wrote off Trubisky? Wade and other Bears fans did, so it was surprising to see him launch a 4 TD push to overcome the pesky Lions. Mitch was off in the first half, hitting guys on the numbers who should have made some easy catches. Luckily for Bears fans, the biggest drop came in the 4th when the Lions dropped a huge catch which would have been a pretty gimme TD. Wade had the Bears to win, and they came out with a big one. Trubisky played pretty good.

LA Chargers 16 Bengals 13

Wade called a Bengals upset, giving them their first win of the season at home…and it almost happened. Another bad miss from a kicker on  Week 1 (have they all gotten worse) could have sent this game to OT, but alas the football Gods had other plans. Burrow looked good, and Tyrod looked marginal in this low scoring affair. Bengals should be proud of how they played, even if this did end in betting push.

LA Rams 20 Cowboys 17

Wade was a big believer in a Rams upset in this game, and they really came out pumping all cylinders. Goff was on fire, and Robert Woods was an easy target in a game that really underscored the D problems that Dallas has going forward. If the Rams can bully them around like this, then the Cowboys are up for a tough season of potential blowouts. CeeDee Lamb had a respectable first outing, but Zeke looked a bit flat, especially after Aaron Donald picked him up to hit Dak.

Bucs 23 Saints 34

This was the game that everyone was waiting for, and both Wade & Ryan predicted a 33-30 victory for TB12 and the Bucs. In hindsight, not a good call. Tom Brady was picked off 2 times and he couldn’t muster any offence in a game that showed that he still makes some pretty blinding errors. Brees didn’t play great, but looked a lot better than his 40 something counter. New Orleans also made a lot of costly defensive pass interference plays that gouged them for 100 yards+ in penalties. Everyone learned a valuable lesson in this one. The Bucs and Saints both look to roll next week.

Make sure you listen to our podcast so you can hear Wade & Ryan make all of their weekly picks. We will also be starting to promote venues across the UK who would be up for showing NFL games this season.
We know that this new rule of 6 will make things more difficult, but it’s better than a 9pm curfew which would essentially cancel the viewings for an entire season.