Category: 2014 NFL Season

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.

What a week that was! We were treated to one of the most exciting endings to a game, right here in our own backyard. I was a great advert for the sport.

83,000 UK football fans were glued to their Wembley seats as the Lions fought back from the brink. Matt Stafford said it was the most emotional he’s been around a game – just keep them coming.

If you kept Big Ben Roethlisberger on your bench you must be reeling. The QB completed a whopping 40 of 49 passes for a career-high 522yds and six TDs in the Steelers’ 51-34 win over the Colts. He joined Roger Staubach and Tom Brady as just the third signal-caller in the Super Bowl era to win at least 100 games from their first 150 starts. Big Ben appears to be in total sync with Antonio Brown, who had ten receptions for 133yds and two touchdowns. I had Heath Miller on my bench. To be fair he’s done nothing all season, but his seven receptions on eight targets saw him claim a season-high 112yds + TD in that Colts win, clocking him 20.20 points in the process.

The rookie wideout, Sammy Watkins, had another big day. He had three catches on six targets for 157 yards and a touchdown on Sunday as his Bills side defeated the disappointing Jets 43-23. The Jets, who saw Percy Harvin start his first game, pulled Geno Smith at the end of the first quarter after he threw interceptions on three consecutive possessions. Enter Michael Vick. He didn’t do much better with one pick and two lost fumbles. Coach Rex Ryan said after the game, “Let me tell you, I’m getting sick and tired of the losing, that’s for sure”. They’ve now lost seven in a row for the first time since 2005 and Week 9 doesn’t get much easier for them with a trip to KC.

The Chiefs are unlucky to be in their division. Alex Smith is having a strong season, he completed 24 of 28 passes, in Week 8, for 226yds in Sunday’s 34-7 win over the Rams. Jamaal Charles lived up to his 1st Round pick once again, clocking up 23.70 points for me as he rushed for 73yds from 13 carries and four catches on four targets for 44yds. He’s my only standout RB, although I’ve waivered Carlos Hyde in time for Week 9. It’s difficult to see past the Broncos and Chargers in the AFC West, though.

Drew Brees and the Saints kept their play-off hopes alive in their impressive 44-23 win over the in-form Packers. Brees completed 27 of 32 passes for 311yds and three touchdowns. The QB enjoys the primetime spotlight. He lead the the Saints to points on eight of their nine competitive drives, including a run of four consecutive touchdowns in the second half. It was his best performance this season and Brandin Cooks also had his first big game since Week 1. He caught six of seven targets for 94yds and a touchdown. They’ll be primetime again on Thursday, so Saints fans will be hoping for more of the same.

Yet again we saw another standout performance from J.J. Watt. The DE had three tackles, two sacks, one batted pass and forced one fumble in Sunday’s win over the Titans. He’s up to seven sacks for the season, including five in the past three games. He’s one of my most consistent performers and deserves to be amongst the front runners for this year’s MVP.

Were you at Wembley on Sunday for the Detroit Lions vs Atlanta Falcons game? Check out our gallery here