superbowl

Hypothetical Showdown: 2004 New England Patriots vs 1995 Dallas Cowboys – Who Reigns Supreme?

July 9, 2025 by nflinlondon

What if two of the greatest NFL dynasties clashed on the gridiron? In this epic battle of eras, the 2004 New England Patriots take on the 1995 Dallas Cowboys in a high-octane hypothetical matchup that delivers drama, star power, and iconic moments. Let’s dive into the ultimate fantasy faceoff between Tom Brady’s disciplined dynasty and Troy Aikman’s star-studded Cowboys.

🕵️‍♂️ Game Preview: A Battle of Greatness

The 2004 Patriots come in riding the wave of their back-to-back Super Bowl dominance, led by a young but unshakeable Tom Brady, a stifling defense anchored by Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, and Rodney Harrison, and the tactical genius of Bill Belichick.

On the flip side, the 1995 Cowboys were a powerhouse — a juggernaut built on a Hall of Fame trio: quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith, and wide receiver Michael Irvin. With a dominant offensive line and a menacing defense, this Dallas squad steamrolled the NFL en route to their third Super Bowl in four years.

Venue: Wembley Stadium, London
Conditions: Mild 16°C, overcast, light drizzle
Halftime Show: “Legends of the ’90s & 2000s” featuring Eminem and Oasis

1995 – Dallas Cowboys (L-R) Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin celebrate after Smith scored. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) jnpcowbook dl0830 09042011xSPORTS 12272014xALDIA 01112015xSPORTS

📖 First Quarter: Defense Sets the Tone

The opening frame saw both defenses flex their muscle. Willie McGinest opened the game with a sack on Aikman, setting the tempo. On the other side, Charles Haley forced a strip-sack fumble on Brady, recovered by Darren Woodson at midfield.

Key Play: Aikman hits Irvin on a 28-yard post, setting up a 1-yard Emmitt Smith touchdown plunge.
Score: Cowboys 7, Patriots 0

🔥 Second Quarter: Momentum Swings

The Patriots adjusted, with Corey Dillon grinding out key yards. Brady found Deion Branch on a crucial 3rd-and-8, then capped the drive with a 14-yard touchdown to David Givens. The Pats defense responded with a Bruschi interception that flipped the field.

Key Play: Adam Vinatieri nails a 47-yard field goal to close the half.
Score at Half: Patriots 10, Cowboys 7

🎤 Halftime Show: Legends Collide

The Wembley crowd erupts as Eminem performs “Lose Yourself” followed by a surprise collaboration with Oasis on “Wonderwall.” The show blends gritty energy with Britpop nostalgia, mirroring the game’s clash of cultures and eras.

⚔️ Third Quarter: Air Raid

The Cowboys return aggressive. Aikman finds tight end Jay Novacek for a 22-yard score after a play-action fake. But Brady isn’t rattled. He counters with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, culminating in a TD strike to tight end Daniel Graham.

Key Injury: Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown exits with a hamstring issue, exposing the secondary.
Score: Patriots 17, Cowboys 14

🧨 Fourth Quarter: Clutch Moments & Controversy

Emmitt Smith grinds out tough yards to help Dallas burn clock, eventually punching in his second TD from the goal line. With 4:21 left, the Cowboys lead 21-17.

But Brady, with his legendary calm, engineers a textbook 2-minute drill. Key completions to Branch and Brown set up a game-winning, toe-tap TD in the back corner by Givens with 0:26 left.

Key Play: Rodney Harrison intercepts Aikman’s last-gasp Hail Mary to seal the win.
Final Score: Patriots 24, Cowboys 21

🏆 Game MVP: Tom Brady

Brady finishes with 278 yards, 3 TDs, and 0 INTs, orchestrating a surgical late-game drive. His poise under pressure outshined even the great Troy Aikman, earning him MVP honors in this dream matchup.

🧠 Game Summary

Final Score: Patriots 24, Cowboys 21
MVP: Tom Brady
Top Performers:
- Tom Brady: 24/32, 278 yards, 3 TDs
- Emmitt Smith: 21 carries, 98 yards, 2 TDs
- Deion Branch: 7 receptions, 101 yards
- Michael Irvin: 6 receptions, 89 yards
- Tedy Bruschi: 7 tackles, 1 INT

The game highlighted two eras of football mastery — the Cowboys’ raw athletic dominance vs the Patriots’ precision and strategy. While Emmitt Smith and Irvin dazzled, Brady’s calm leadership and Belichick’s adjustments proved the difference.

This fantasy matchup is a celebration of NFL greatness — a collision of grit, glory, and gridiron history. In a contest where every inch mattered, the Patriots’ late-game brilliance narrowly edged out the Cowboys’ legacy of power. Would the result be the same in Dallas? That’s a debate for another day.

SB55 Review

February 13, 2021 by nflinlondon

The game is done and dusted, the Bucs are the new SuperBowl champions, and we have another 6 months until we see the NFL again. Sigh. It’s time for our SB55 Review!

General consensus amongst fans is that this one of the better SuperBowl’s, but those fans tend to be Chiefs or AFC fans, while another large chunk of the population thinks is was a damn fine game indeed. There was action, excitement, and we got to see Tom Brady add another jewel to his hand of seven victories. Love him or hate him, the GOAT gap keeps widening.

Let’s take a look at the big key takeaways from SuperBowl 55 to define the big moments of the final game of the season.

Defense

D wins the big games, and the Bucs sure as hell brought theirs for SuperBowl 55. Patrick Mahomes not only didn’t record a TD, but he ran for over 400 yards in escape from the relentless attack.
The saying is that defences win SuperBowl’s and that sure was the case on February 7th.
Kansas City just didn’t have a response from their offence, and the injuries up front were not only apparent, but easily exposed.
Tampa might not have had the best overall D for the NFL season, but that doesn’t matter.
They had the best one in the big game.

Tom Brady

Tb12 is Super cool. He’s been here 10 times in the past, and his unflappable appearance in the game was the steadying rock to glide the Bucs down the ice. Brady never hit his 300 yard mark, but it didn’t really factor given that he had a solid running game to rely on.
He spread the ball around to his faves, as if he was rewarding them with post season bonuses on every pass.
Everybody got paid, and Tommy was the banker.
Perhaps the best Tom Brady pass was with the Lombardi trophy when he drunk-tossed it to Cameron Brate off a boat.
Drunk Brady might be the best Brady of all.

Gronk

If you bet on Gronk to score in the SuperBowl, congrats-you made a smart call. Rob has scored in 3 previous SuperBowl’s, and it was only logical that Tom would find a slant route of open field to hit Gronk for big gains. One TD was expected, but 2 was just the icing on that big Gronk cake.
Like Brady, Gronk really showed a different flair in the big game thanks to the more relaxed Buccaneers attitude. Patriots wins felt stuffy and corporate, but this victory was sweet.
Gronk will be back.

Mahomes

Patrick Mahomes is a hell of an athlete, a smart young man, and a guy with a huge future. Sure, he got bottled in the big one, but that was the point.
If you choke Kermit, then there’s no Muppet Show.
Gonzo, Scooter, Fozzie and Miss Piggy were all flumuxed once Mahomes couldn’t get a ball off.
He surely tried with some spectacular efforts, but all was nought when it came to the pirate invasion that continued to break through the lines.
Mahomes and the Chiefs will be back here again soon, they are the team to fear.

Britt Reid

Always somber when touching on accidents involving children, but this incident had a big effect on the game. When the coaches troubled son D&D plows into a family, that kind of trauma hits the family of the team. Teams feed off emotions during a SuperBowl, and having one of your family do something so stupid and selfish before an important occasion is something that the whole family hurts with.
Yes it can be shaken off, but it lingers because players feel for the coach and they don’t want him to hurt.
That’s what loses focus in a big game, especially on a young team.

If you want more NFL fun, then check out our Facebook Group. Since it’s a group, we encourage chat and member postings, provided they aren’t spam or porn, or porn spam.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NFLinLondon

Super Memes

February 12, 2021 by nflinlondon

What a heck of a SuperBowl! Sure, it wasn’t that great if you hated Tom Brady, or if you were a Patrick Mahomes fan, but what a game! Ready for some Super Memes?

Every Monday morning QB went through the motions of what ‘went wrong’ for the Chiefs, and how they were able to get blown out so much.
The answer to this is defence and coaching-something that the Chiefs were unable to counter with.

Of course the best way to enjoy the aftermath of the SuperBowl is to reflect on all of the memes that were flying around afterwards. Bless all of you out there who take the time and energy to make these little creative nuggets.

In keeping with this, we offer you some of the best memes we have found since the Super Bowl.
Enjoy!

Super Bowl Food

February 7, 2021 by nflinlondon

Game day is here, and we’re all stuck at home getting fat.
So what do you have on tap for Sunday in terms of food and fixins?
Since we all can’t gather in public, it’s time to consider your nosh options for watching SuperBowl 55 in the UK. So here are some ideas for some Super Bowl food to make your Sunday Funday.
It’s great, it’s on real late, it’s Covid times.

Our American counter parts often make us jealous of their hormone laden food choice pairings, meal deals, influence & indulgence, but we’re alone in the UK, so make your own Sunday Funday menu.
I’m a Canadian farm boy, Bears fan, bbq geek, lazy ass, who loves to throw NFL parties, so I’m going to offer my best Super Bowl Food tips for Sunday.
These recipes are based on parties of less than 6, so none of us get arrested.

Delivery

Seriously the best option for the lazy Super Bowl watcher. Pop & lock your phone to Grease Street and Delivepoo or Must Eat yourself to ease. Problem is that kickoff is 11:30pm GMT, so you won’t really get something warm and ready.
Consider the indie. There are loads of great independent restaurants that are offering eat in options of their food. This makes it easy for anyone to follow instructions and heat up when needed.
Timing is everything, so make sure that you balance the warming times of your meats and sides.
Don’t try to pull off the fact you didn’t make it though. In a game of transparency, call out the teammates of delivery.

Wings

Chicken wings are easy to do, and a staple for NFL viewing. Wings are full of fat, so it’s good to boil them first for a few minutes to render it off for a crispy result. Throw them in heavily salted boiling water until white, then dab, and oven dry at 30c with a few pats of a towel to get all the water out. Put the wings in a bag of seasoning to rope up the goodness & put in the fridge to cool before cooking. Baked wings work best with this method, but make sure you get the air flow going to circulate the meat. As soon as they’re crispy to your liking, pull them out and shake them in a bowl of your best sauce. Serve hot.

Nachos

Nachos are a tough treat in the UK, because we lack some of the basics to make them really cook.
A proper corn tortilla is key to nachos, as well as knowing what stays dry and what stays wet.
Nacho amateurs will be quick to splooge the nachos in salsa, dips and juices prior to cooking, but you need to be patient. We all have our ideal nachos, so listen to your crew who is going to eat it.
As for chips, Marks & Spencer sells a close to authentic Cantina Tortillas which are more viable than the UK Dorito options. Salty, crispy and a solid balance.
Nacho reminder…
It’s better to basic and cheese first…then to toss a bunch of shit on and piss everyone off.

Chili

I’m doing a beef short rib chili for Super Bowl Sunday, and a slow cooker/ crock pot is key here. A good chili ideally takes at least 8 hours to cook, 24 if you want full flavour, and 48 hrs if you’re cooking human (wikipedia).
If you’re cooking ribs get a butcher to help you out. Trim all the fat first as it makes for greasy chili, then braise the meat by either a bbq or in an oily pan. Don’t cook it fully, just give it a crisp then trim the fat again and put in in the slow cooker. Add beans, tomatoes, lentils, whatever the flock you want for a chili. Have fun with it. The idea of a chili is to cook all the crap you couldn’t eat before, but you boiled it down with some stuff.
As a Bears fan, that’s my season.

BBQ

Cook meat like you want to eat it, not like you want to hurt it. Living in Britain for 15 years have shown me how mean some foodies can be to their potential next course. Chicken is supposed to have moisture after being on the bbq, not to look like it’s a chimney sweep apprentice.
If you want to eat it, watch it, and give it time to rest.

If you’re going to Super Bowl BBQ, keep it quick and focused. All beef hot dogs are a great treat if you can find them in the UK, although a package of 5 cost me £10, so be prepared to pay. They’re good quality too, not just regular old lips and assholes

Enjoy your Super Bowl and reach out for any menu tips.
If you want to learn how to cook any other greasy, comfort food, let me know.

Good eating everyone, and enjoy Super Bowl 55. We’ll all be back eating with each other again soon.

Tom Brady-Mean Tweets

February 5, 2021 by nflinlondon

SuperBowl media frenzy is here, which means all of the players are run through the hoops of late night TV hosts, and goofy foreign press who have a whole host of wacky games ready for the players. One of the more consistent is Jimmy Fallon’s Mean Tweets, which gets the Tom Brady version here.

It’s always fun to make fun of ole TB12, and you can imagine that there were thousands of tweets that were either omitted because they were too rude, too mean, or too personal.
Sunday nights and Monday mornings have to be a treasure trove of Tommy hate, as he would have just ruined the weekend of some punter and solidified his status as the GOAT.

Florida must be treating Tommy nicely, as that tan brings out the fact that he is still ridiculously handsome, making him even more of a target of jealousy.
Being that insanely good-looking must bring with it a world that most of the world will never know, add to that being the best player in the most popular sport in America, and you get Tom Brady.

Many people will want Tom and the Bucs to fail for being so gosh darn good, and taking a losing team then running it into the SuperBowl in the very next year.
Whatever happens on Sunday, everyone needs to appreciate what a feat it is for a guy of his age in a smash-em-up sport.
Go Tommy, go.

In the spirit though, here are some ‘Mean Tweets’ that Tom could have read out.