Author: anthonywootton78

The Dallas Cowboys came and conquered at Wembley. Tony Romo returned from injury to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-17 and end their two-game losing streak.

It started so well for the Jags. They held Dallas to a Field Goal on their opening play. Jacksonville responded by scoring a touchdown on their first drive.

Running Backs DeMarco Murray and Denard Robinson were electric for their respective teams.

Things turned sour for the Jaguars when they fluffed a punt return as Ace Sanders dropped the catch and the Cowboys recovered deep in Jacksonville territory. The scene was set for Romo as he picked out Jason Witten for a 2yd TD.

Open the floodgates

Romo then hit Dez Bryant with a short pass and the big receiver ran it home for a 35yd touchdown. It could have been closer, but Robinson fumbled after rookie QB Blake Bortles carried his team down the field.

Tony Romo picked out Bryant again, who was wide open and raced down the sideline for another touchdown, this one 68yds.

Dallas were feeling comfortable going in 24-7 up at half time. The Jags came out and were forced to punt at the start of the second half. Dallas then carried the ball 87yds down the field for a touchdown in six plays.

As the game entered the 4^th quarter many of the Wembley crowd headed towards the exits to get their early trains home. The Jags, however, did manage a couple more scores – including a safety and another Denard Robinson TD. UK fans were even given a glimpse of Brandon Weeden when Jason Garrett hauled off his star QB.

It was an electric atmosphere as London embraced the boys from the Lone Star State. There was also huge support for our adopted team, the Jaguars. Gus Bradley is building something special in Florida and we look forward to seeing their development next year when they host the Buffalo Bills. It’s a shame about the wait.

UK gridiron fans have a lot to look forward to in Week 10. We’ve got our third International Series game of the season and we’re being spoiled as America’s team tackles London’s adopted side. All eyes this week have been on Tony Romo and it looks like he’s going to play. That’s exciting news for the neutral because, having missed out on seeing Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush last time out, we want to see the NFL’s best players on the Wembley turf.

If Romo plays it’ll be difficult to predict anything other than a Cowboys win. But, if Brandon Weeden starts it can be a different story altogether. The back-up QB looked poor in practice, consistently missing passes. He struggles to read the field and can’t spot the open receivers because he’s too locked in on a single target. Fantasy owners should expect big points from running backs DeMarco Murray and Denard Robinson.

The big battle in the NFC is between the two .500 teams at the Superdome. The Saints and 49ers are both 4&4 and San Francisco travel two thirds of the country off the back of a disappointing loss at home to the Rams. The 9ers were a fumble away from victory last week, but their division is so tight that a loss in New Orleans would most likely end their season.

Apart from their humiliating defeat to Denver the 49ers’ losses have been marginal and the Saints haven’t been too hot. Don’t forget that San Francisco should have won in the Dome last year, but a poor refereeing decision cost them. Revenge is sweet so expect Colin Kaepernick to clock up a few fantasy points on Sunday. Frank Gore is convinced that his team will make the play-offs. Will he carry them there? Also, Jim harbaugh has never lost three games on the bounce with this team.

The in-form Dolphins travel to Detroit to face a Lions team coming off their bye week. Stafford and co will be buoyant after their last-gasp victory at Wembley last time out. Ryan Tannehill has been on fire in Miami’s three-game winning streak, but he struggles in domes. This will be an interesting contest with Detroit getting some key men back onto their offense.

Jamaal Charles has been in excellent form recently. He’s one of fantasy football’s biggest hitters. This weekend he faces stiff opposition in one of the league’s best defences. Rain’s expected in Buffalo so it’ll be interesting to see how rookie Sammy Watkins copes with the conditions.

Can Ben Roethlisberger make it a hat-trick of 6 TD games? He faces the perfect opposition for it in the Jets. The Steelers will be desperate for the win to stay in the hunt in the AFC North. The Browns sit pretty at the summit after their win in Cincinnati on Thursday night. Also, expect nothing less than a Ravens victory at home to the struggling Titans.

If you’ve got Peyton Manning, Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas and Wes Welker in your fantasy team then you will be expecting big points this weekend. The Broncos face the 0&8 Oakland Raiders.

The Rams will be looking to make it a hat-trick of divisional scalps against the Cardinals. The struggling Giants have a daunting trip to Seattle, whilst one of the oldest rivalries in football continues at Lambeau. The 3&5 Bears will have to stop Aaron Rodgers and the 5&3 Packers if they want to maintain any hopes of making the post season.

The week ends with another NFC match-up. Monday Night Football comes from Lincoln Financial Field as Geno Smith makes his first start for the Eagles at home to a struggling Cam Newton and his 3-5-1 Panthers.

There are some tasty match-ups this week and we’ll have a clear indication of who will be in contention for the play-offs come Tuesday morning.

5thDownUK were at the Dallas Cowboys’ practice session on Friday. Tony Romo took part in training for the second consecutive day. Check out the gallery here.

America’s team have wowed the British fans and press during their visit to London this week. Make no mistake this is no publicity tour for the Dallas Cowboys; this team means business. When asked for his thoughts on bringing his team to London, Defensive Coordinator Rod Marinelli said, “The environment can change but we don’t.” Marinelli came to Wembley and won with the Chicago Bears in 2011. He added, “I don’t care where we’re at, just do your job”.

“It’s a Dallas Cowboys thing. It’s what we do”

Marinelli doesn’t take fools likely, “This job is about taking the opportunity when it comes. If you work hard and give your best, I like you. If you don’t, I don’t like you”.

Head Coach Jason Garrett has embraced his team’s trip to the UK and he’s using it as an opportunity to improve comradery. “We’re all going to see the Tower of London and the crown jewels”, said Garrett. “We’ll then go out and have a nice meal together (in London). It’s a Dallas Cowboys thing. It’s what we do”.

Garrett was looking confident on Friday and walked with a swagger. Romo took part in his second practice session and worked on routes with the first team. They’ll be hoping to end their two-game losing streak against the 1&8 Jaguars. A lot will depend on whether their star signal caller can play.

Jack Crawford is enjoying showing off his native city to his Dallas team mates. Speaking on Friday, he admitted that the Cowboys’ schedule in the UK has limited how much his team could see, but he did take his defensive line out for a meal on Thursday.

“I’m not a fan of English food, but if you know where the top places are there’s no doubt our cuisine is far better than theirs”, said the former Oakland Defensive End.

It looks unlikely that Crawford will play as he remains sidelined with a calf injury.

When asked who he thinks the potential London should be called, the Londoner said “It’s got to be the London Royals”.

We’ve seen three British players return to our capital with their respective teams in the last two years. With the sport becoming increasingly popular in the UK, any dreams of a British superstar in the NFL look they might come true.

Fri – 1:25am: Browns @ Bengals (Sky Sports 1)

Sun – 6pm: Cowboys @ Jaguars (C4 & Sky Sports 2)

Sun – 9:25pm: Giants @ Seahawks (Sky Sports 2)

Mon – 1:30am: Bears @ Packers (C4)

Tues – 1:30am: Panthers @ Eagles (Eurosport 2)

We had the big clash between the two AFC giants in Boston and Brady came out on top against Peyton. Manning completed 34 of 57 passes for 438yds, two touchdowns and two interceptions, in the Broncos’ 43-21 loss against New England. His stats were marginally better than his rival, Brady completed 33 of 53 passes for 333yds with four touchdowns and an interception.

This was the 16th duel between the pair and New England outfoxed Denver on both sides of the ball. The defense was in Manning’s face so much his offense struggled on numerous occasions to get the snap off on time. Edelman was the star in this game, catching 9 of 10 targets for 89yds and a touchdown. He also scored on an impressive long punt return.

It was also a case of deja vu for Ben Roethlisberger as he helped the Steelers pick apart Baltimore in their important AFC North contest. Big Ben completed 25 of 37 passes for 340yds and six touchdowns in their 43-23 win. Pittsburgh are now 6&3 and they’re looking hot in their three-game winning streak. The pressure is on Andy Dalton and the 5&2 Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals welcomed back A.J. Green to the fold, scoring a touchdown on his return against the London-bound Jaguars. Cincinnati had their rookie RB to thank in their 33-23 victory on Sunday. Jeremy Hill ran for a career-high 154yds and a pair of touchdowns. He added a bit of guile in an otherwise sloppy performance by the AFC North leaders.

The shock of the week came in San Francisco. 49ers fans must be worried about their weak O-line. Colin Kaepernick was sacked eight times against the Rams. This was the 9ers’ second straight loss and they’re now 4&4 for the season. More worryingly is that they’re 1&2 against division rivals and it looks like Arizona are running away with the NFC West. Harbaugh has key men to return in the coming weeks as his side prepare to face Seattle twice and travel to New Orleans this week. We’ll see how they’re set up for that play-off push at the end of a tricky November.

Dallas head over here hoping to get their season back on track after the wheels appear to have come off their play-off wagon. They missed Romo as Bradon Weedon completed 18 of 33 passes for 183yds and a touchdown with two interceptions against the Cardinals. The Cowboys are now 6&3 after their 28-17 loss on Sunday.

People will be holding onto their MVP nominations for Philip Rivers. The Chargers QB completed 12 of 23 passes for 138yds with three interceptions and a loss fumble before exiting the game in the third quarter in Miami. San Diego were shut out in the 37-0 defeat. Rivers injured his throwing hand during the game, so he’ll be hoping for a quick recovery during his bye week this week. The Dolphins have now won their last three.

Teddy Bridgewater outplayed RGIII, who made his return from injury. The rookie completed 26 of 42 passes for 268yds. Giffin was sacked five times and went 18 for 28 for 251yds, a touchdown and an interception. Minnesota went 4&5 in what was a rough day for Washington who started it with a crash between their two buses on the way to the stadium.

Oakland remain without a win, although they came within a touchdown of beating Seattle in the North West. The Raiders appear to be in the race with Tampa Bay for the first round pick in 2015. The Bucs lost again, this time to Cleveland as Brian Hoyer helped the Browns grind out a 22-17 win.

The week ended with another superb performance from Andrew Luck. The Colts went to New York on Monday night and defeated the Giants 40-24. Luck completed 25 of 45 passes for 354yds and four touchdowns. He’s now on pace to make a run at the single season marks for passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions and pass attempts.

How did your team do with so many of the professional sides on a bye week? Click here to check out Week 9’s top 5 point scorers.

UK TV Schedule:

Sun, 6pm kick-off: Arizona @ Dallas (Sky Sports 2)

Sun, 9:25pm kick-off: Denver @ New England (Sky Sports 2)

Mon, 1:30am kick-off: Baltimore @ Pittsburgh (C4)

Tues, 1:30am kick-off: Indianapolis @ New York Giants (Eurosport 2)

Can you believe we’re more than half way through the regular season? Gaps are starting to appear as teams prepare themselves for their assault on the play-offs.

There are two big games with play-off implications tonight. In the AFC, New England host Denver in the battle of two of the league’s greatest signal-callers. Manning vs Brady, the winner of whom is likely to get top seeding come January.

Then we head over to the Lone Star State for Arizona vs Dallas. Is it too early to consider these two as major contenders? They keep grinding out results, so they must be taken seriously. A lot of tonight’s game will depend on whether Romo plays. The Cowboys’ QB has suffered two fractures in his back, but he still might feature. Dr (Jerry) Jones will no doubt do all he can to get his main man on the field – you would too if your other option was Brandon Weeden! If America’s Team can halt Andre Ellington then they could go a long way to getting the result.

We might see fewer fantasy points on the board this weekend because a lot of the big scorers are on bye weeks. The Bears, Bills, Falcons, Lions, Packers and Titans all have a week off and many teams have a core of players from those franchises. The likes of Rodgers, Forte and Stafford, regular 20+ scorers, are going to be big misses.

Elsewhere, life doesn’t get any easier for Jets fans. They’ll soon be starting their own form of “Suck for Luck” campaign to give any light to their season from hell. Today they travel to the Mid-West to try and stop a Chiefs side who are on an impressive little run. Kansas know they’ll need to keep their winning streak going to stay in the race in the AFC West. It looks like Denver are walking it, but the Chargers have lost their last two and they have a tricky trip across the country to Miami.

49ers fans were hoping to see Aldon Smith make a welcomed early return from suspension this week for good behaviour, but they’re going to have to wait a bit longer. San Francisco have a divisional game against the Rams in The Bay. It’s a game even the most loyal St Louis fan will mark as a home win.

There will also be implications in the huge AFC North clash between the Ravens and Steelers. The C4 game could be a tasty one with Big Ben coming off that huge game last week. Both teams are 5&3, but the Steelers have a losing record in the division. They need a win tonight to maintain any real hope of making it into January.

How did your fantasy team do in Week 8? Click here to see who this week’s top 5 fantasy performers were.