NFL in London

National Football League in London

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TNF-Bucs vs Bears

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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

 

TNF-Prediction

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Google ‘Florida Fight’ and see what kind of results come back, in many cases it will feature a man in a moustache versus a man in a beard. Or a meth head twerking in the streets before she tries to tackle an Uber Eats driver.
This Thursday Night match-up will not be as entertaining as any of those videos.

Thursday night NFL is always difficult to watch in the UK as the games don’t start until 1:30, and finish at 5am. Unless you are actually on meth, it is difficult to stay up that late unless they’re your team and it’s a must see game. This is not.

Florida is always a tough place to play in during September & October. This is when hurricane season is starting to wind down, so the whole place is wetter than the front row of a Justin Bieber concert. This was evident in week 2 when the Bills struggled to move the chains in the moist.
The Thursday night game has a weather prediction of 83% humidity, something we never really get in the UK.

All eyes are on the facial hair in this one, as it is being hyped as the moustache vs the beard, for lack of a better rivalry.
Minshew has been playing some tough football as of late. Sure, his defence was decimated last year, and most of his top talent has been traded away, still Gardner keeps moving the ball.
Fitzmagic has been playing great football as well in the first two games. Yes he’s old, and yes he will regress as the season goes on, but this is classic football for him.
While both of these teams were in the running for ‘Tanking for Trevor’, it seems that both are focused on winning this season, which is nice.

Neither team really holds a strong advantage here, as they are both pretty weak across the board.
Jacksonville’s D played extremely well against the Titans, so it will be tough for the Dolphins to run in this one, as they were very tough on Henry. Fitz’s only hope is to air it out to whoever is left in hopes that can find soft spots in the secondary.

Miami will need to put pressure on Minshew, which they were able to do last week against the Bills. Fortunately last week the Bills were hit by defensive injuries, allowing them a bit more time to spread the ball. Fitz will also need to light up the field to get a good lead, as the Jags have been staying in the past two games.

I don’t really see this happening, as the Jags are feeling pretty good despite the player liquidation sale they held before the season began. There will be home fans at this one, which should provide the punch that they need.
Miami could be feeling let down after letting the Bills get away last week, so this might not be fully motivated in the battle of the swamp.

I like Minshew and the Jags to win again, covering the 3 point spread. I like the under here, as the Florida weather will make it sticky, and anyone who is out of shape will struggle.
Luckily they are both Florida teams, so they should be use to it.

Prediction: Jaguars 24 Dolphins 20

TNF-Chiefs vs Broncos

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Ruh roh ‘Raggy, the Chiefs have lost 2 in a row, will they lose again?
Let’s jump in the Mystery Machine & figure out how this game is going to hurt the Chiefs.

The Chiefs have shown their weaknesses, & the heat they brought last year is now more of a simmer.
His ankle looks to be weak, and his O-line has been replaced to the point they don’t have the full ability to protect him.
Remember when he would juke, junk, and then left side toss a ball for a gain of 8?
That doesn’t happen anymore.
Austerity is here.

The Broncos are at home, which only matters because of the thin air, that is also packed with weed smoke.
(most of the crowd are on edibles)
But, the Broncos can defend at home, and their D looks much improved and focused, with Von Miller packing on the pressure.
Win this game, and the Broncos are in the hunt.
Lose it, and Denver might start looking to sell the parts.

Denver needs to run the ball.
The Chiefs have struggled here, and Phillip Lindsay should tear through the Chiefs D like a Japanese wall.

Denver has the aggression and home stance, and the Chiefs just lost at home 4 days earlier.
Will their new QB rally them to victory?
Probably not.
The Chiefs should take an early lead, but the second half will be all horsey.
Watch the Broncos tighten the D, switch more to the running game, and check down each drive to punts.

Chiefs might win, but the Broncos should cover.

TNF-Giants vs Pats

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Thursday Night football is usually a craptastic affair with low scores, and disgruntled players.
But the past few Thursdays have brought us some thrills and chills.
Will this one be different?

In short-yes.

Look for Tom Brady to thrash the lowly Giants who will be crushed under the weight of the struggling G-men.
Their D will swarm poor Daniel Jones and feast upon his flesh.
Tommy will light up his receivers and Sony Michel will have literal field day.

Our pundit Wade McElwain picks the Patriots to easily cover their 17 point spread, as well as the 41.5 point over.
www.us-odds.com

Make sure you join us every Sunday at the Princess Alexandra pub in Crouch End for NFL shenanigans.
See you Sunday!