NFL in London

National Football League in London

Wade McElwain

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!

New York Jokes

by

The New York Jets have had such an abysmal season thus far, you wonder how far they can fall before they become full on jokes.
Adam Gase has all the Bill O’Brien like qualities to put his head on the chopping block, but for some reason he has hung on thus far.
Will this be the week of his demise.

Looking at Jets players, they have the same zest and zeal for the game as an 80 year old man working in an Amazon fulfilment centre. Frank Gore looks a shell of his former 40, 30 and 20 year old self, while Le’veon Bell sits and counts his Benjamins on the bench while he dreams about opening his own Chipotle.
Word is that Sam Darnold has reached out to movie star Bruce Willis this week to help him solve his ‘ghost-seeing’ problem.

It’s not just the state of New York that is having NFL performance issues this year, as Philly & Washington add to the overall ‘suck’ of the NFC East. This was a division that people feared in the 90s’, but just like frosted tips, things can fall out of fashion quickly.
Russell Wilson has more touchdowns that the collective quarterbacks in the NFC East combined.

Ambassador Woody Johnson seems oblivious to the whole situation. Granted an Ambassador can’t really step in as he performs his duties to the nation, but he might want to look to deport Adam Gase somewhere to stop the freefall of this once great team.
Curtis Martin would be spitting in his grave. Fortunately he’s not dead, so he just spits into social media.

It’s not even like they are ‘Tanking for Trevor’, as Sam Darnold was supposed to be the man of their salvation. Will the go 0-16 this year, or hope that the Corona-Fairy intervenes on their behalf?

New Week 5 Schedule

by

It’s been a topsy-turvy week in the NFL, as they tweak the schedule due to Covid 19 tests. It turns out that those pesky Tennessee Titans were practising without masks, and in close contact throwing the whole damn mess into the air.
So what will happen Week 5 in the NFL?

Broncos vs Patriots
Tues Oct 13/ 12am GMT

Stefon Gilmore tested positive for Covid, so they dumped him in a trailer out back until he gets himself fixed. There was a picture of Stefon in week 4 hugging Patrick Mahomes after their loss, and you can only image that Bill Belichick ordered this to get some favourable games in the future.
This game was originally slated for Sunday, but has now been moved to Monday at 5pm EST, or 12am GMT.
Yes, this makes it tough for fans to watch the games in the UK, but given the amount of people being made redundant, late nights have become the new normal.

Bills vs Titans
Wed Oct 14/ 12am GMT

Damn those Titans and their dirty play. Sadly this could really come back to bite them in the butt, as they have had to lose one of their bye weeks as a result of the positive Corona test. If the Titans can’t play this game, then they will have to forfeit the game. This also sucks for Bills players, because they won’t get paid if Tennessee forfeits.
This also makes things even trickier for the Bills, as they were due to play the Chiefs on the following Thursday. That would mean that Buffalo would play on Tuesday night, then play the defending Super Bowl champions 2 nights later.
Luckily the NFL has said that the Week 6 TNF game would be moved to another time on Sunday.
It’s a good thing that fans aren’t being issued tickets, as we would be hearing from a whole whack of Karen’s and Ken’s moaning to speak to a manager.

Watch this space for more NFL news. We have no idea what will go down, but we will keep our finger on the button of all news and post it all here.
Imagine what this will be all like if the virus hits hard in the winter?
Eesh.

 

Draftkings Week 5

by

Week 5 in the NFL is here, and what a sloppy mess of the schedule it is. Covid 19 is running rampant on the games, and we still don’t really know what games have officially been slated for Sunday. Hopefully all of this will be sorted soon.

Week 4 had some big scores and upsets in it, not to mention some HUGE value from some of the top players in DFS. Joe Mixon was a beast, running for 3 TDs and crushing everyone in fantasy who went against him. Dak Prescott was on the ball with 5 TDs, too bad he couldn’t turn it into a win. Odell Beckham and Amari Cooper were also beasts, cruising for loads of yards. The big man of the upset was the Packers TE Robert Tonyan who pulled in 3 TDs and was relatively cheap on Draftkings.
So who do I like in Week 5?

QBs

You’re always going to do ok taking QBs like Dak and Lamar, but it’s also about finding value in some of good DraftKings player combinations, and of course anyone playing the Giants or the Jets.

Kyler Murray $7200

Kyler has been up and down in recent weeks, having moments of brilliance followed by moments of true idiocy. Luckily Kyler is playing the Jets this week, so he will have time to redeem himself. The only thing that could work to his disadvantage is the field at Met Life stadium which at times looks to be in worse condition than the field in Batman-Dark Knight Rises which Bane blows up. Kyler likewise should blow up this field.

Teddy Bridgewater $5900

Teddy has been playing ok football since the loss of Christian McCaffery thanks to his D keeping him in the games. Atlanta is known to allow gaping holes in their secondary, which should give him time to link up with Robbie Anderson on some slant routes through the middle, not to mention the deep ball. Good value at $5900.

RB

Clyde Edwards-Helaire $6800

Clyde the Glide will be taking on a Las Vegas D which has allowed some of the biggest runs of any NFL team. Once the Chiefs get moving, there will be very little the Raiders will be able to do to slow him down. C E-H should be on point for 100 yards and at least 1 TD.

Le’Veon Bell $5100

Le’Veon who? This impact player has been absent this season as Adam Gase runs the Jets down to Tankville. While it’s up in the air if he will play at all, you can imagine that if he is, they will use him as much as possible given that the rest of the team is injured/ sucks. Keep an eye on the injury report on Sunday as you might have to swap him out, but deffo worth a punt.

James Conner $6900

Conner has been having an increasingly big season, as he improves week on week. Playing their state rival Philly should not only inspire him, but given the putrid state of the Eagles defence, he should have a big day. The Eagles will struggle to stop him all day.

WR

Christian Kirk $4700

Kirk & Kyler are facing the Jets on Sunday which means that there will be loads of points to go around. If the Jets try to thwart Hopkins in this match, then Kirk will get lots of looks. He’s a great value for $4700 as he has the wheels to get loads of yards after the catch. He will be a pain in New York’s butt all game.

Robbie Anderson $5900

The Panthers have had a surprisingly successful season without C McC, and the game on Sunday should be a big one as the Falcons struggle in freefall. Anderson has the speed and moves to confuse the Falcons D, so expect him to find some big holes and even bigger scores.

TE

Dalton Schultz $4800

Schultz has been a favourite of Dak since the start of the season. He is one of the go to guys when they try to mount their numerous comebacks. Dak will go to him often, so at $4800 he is a good choice for a solid TE.

Evan Engram $4600

On the other side of the field is Engram, who has been very useful to the Daniel Jones all season when he needs short yardage. This will be a slugfest between two sucky D’s, so either of these guys will do well for you.

DEF

Steelers $3800

The Steel curtain is hosting the Eagles this weekend, and the Watt boys are out for a rumble. Wentz and company are going to be on their back feet all day, so expect Pittsburgh to take him down and pick him off often.

DraftKings League

Want to play DraftKings for free, or even win cash? Then join our League ‘NFL in London’ and join a community of NFL fans in the UK who love fantasy football.
Link here:
https://dkn.gs/r/kwxDR0JIokKPkA6cPjCtNA

Good luck on Sunday!

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