It’s one other 12 months, one other milestone for the NFL’s development within the UK.
Two games at Tottenham final 12 months made it 30 to be performed in London for the reason that first in 2007.
Only one of many NFL’s 32 groups is but to make the journey throughout the Atlantic.
But this 12 months London is lastly calling for the Green Bay Packers, winners of a file 13 NFL championships, together with the pre-Super Bowl period.
Their recreation with the New York Giants is the choose of this 12 months’s line-up, with two sell-out games at Tottenham adopted by one other at Wembley.
They start with a well-matched contest between two play-off regulars and finish with a mouth-watering conflict between two very totally different star quarterbacks.
And after a muted return final 12 months following the Covid-19 pandemic, the NFL’s conventional pre-game festivities are again throughout the English capital.
Saints make early arrival for Vikings conflict
To kick-off this 12 months’s sequence, the NFL is staging a ‘takeover’ of London’s South Bank, with fan occasions at 4 areas before this Sunday’s recreation, the place Yungblud will carry out the half-time present.
The Minnesota Vikings face the New Orleans Saints and each groups hope to attain this season’s play-offs after narrowly lacking out final 12 months.
The Saints have misplaced Drew Brees and Sean Payton – their Super Bowl-winning quarterback and coach from 2010 – within the house of 12 months.
And they could have began the season with a 1-2 file however new coach Dennis Allen has reiterated his help for quarterback Jameis Winston, who nonetheless has some big-name offensive threats at his disposal in Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas.
The Saints flew straight to London after Sunday’s defeat on the Carolina Panthers, whereas Minnesota are 2-1 underneath their new coach Kevin O’Connell, who was offensive coordinator for last season’s Super Bowl winners, the Los Angeles Rams.
Kirk Cousins has been one of many NFL’s most constant quarterbacks in recent times, whereas huge receiver Justin Jefferson and working again Dalvin Cook have been two of one of the best of their positions, so there will likely be loads of attacking expertise on present at Tottenham.
Rodgers primed for second Super Bowl win?
Just like final season, there will be games on back-to-back Sundays at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the one purpose-built NFL stadium outdoors North America.
And it appears becoming that Green Bay’s British bow comes towards the Giants on 9 October. Not solely are they one other of the NFL’s best-known groups but it surely was they who gained that first London recreation again in 2007.
Since the Packers final gained the Super Bowl in 2011, Aaron Rodgers has been the league’s MVP 4 instances, including the last two seasons. Yet a second Super Bowl ring continues to elude the 38-year-old.
He’s getting nearer. Matt LaFleur has had essentially the most wins by a head coach of their first three seasons within the NFL, with the Packers having fun with three straight 13-win seasons, however they’ve come up brief within the play-offs.
Although Green Bay let their top receiver Davante Adams leave and misplaced their season opener to the Vikings, they’re now 2-1 after beating the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prior to now two weeks.
The Giants have reached the play-offs simply as soon as since successful their fourth Super Bowl in 2012, however issues are trying up for the Big Blue.
They gained their first two games underneath new coach Brian Daboll before losing to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, and working again Saquon Barkley now appears to have totally recovered from the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered in 2020.
Future star faces Super Bowl-winning veteran at Wembley
The Jacksonville Jaguars are common guests to the UK. They have performed in each London sequence since 2013 and have dedicated to enjoying a home game at Wembley each year through to 2024.
This 12 months’s recreation is towards the Denver Broncos on 30 October and UK followers will likely be anticipating one other cracker after final 12 months’s journey.
The Jaguars fought again to beat the Miami Dolphins with the last kick of the game and provides their number one draft pick Trevor Lawrence the primary win of his profession.
Seen as a ‘generational talent’, the 22-year-old quarterback had a tough rookie 12 months, with the Jaguars sacking coach Urban Meyer after simply 13 games and once more ending with the league’s worst file, 3-14.
But underneath new coach Doug Pederson, who led the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl glory in 2018, they give the impression of being to be turning the nook as they’re presently 2-1, with Lawrence having already thrown half as many landing passes as final season (six).
After calling time on his spell with the Seahawks to be part of the Broncos in one of the crucial helpful trades in NFL historical past, Russell Wilson might need anticipated a frosty reception when he returned to Seattle for his Denver debut.
But additionally getting booed before half-time of Denver’s residence opener positively wasn’t within the script. The Broncos laboured to a win over the Houston Texans, then one other over the San Francisco 49ers final Sunday.
Wilson, 33, is a Super Bowl-winning quarterback and if he can get the Denver offence firing, he may lead the Broncos to the play-offs for the primary time since successful their third Super Bowl in 2016 and eventually give them a long-term successor to Peyton Manning.
And the milestones maintain coming for the NFL as this 12 months’s worldwide games do not finish there.
As the league continues its world enlargement, a regular season game will be played in Germany for the primary time, with Tom Brady’s Buccaneers dealing with the Seahawks in Munich on 13 November.
The NFL then returns to Mexico for the primary time in three years, because the 49ers face the Arizona Cardinals on 21 November, taking the worldwide sequence again up to its pre-pandemic peak of 5 games in 2019.
