THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
The third and final of this year’s NFL International London games took place this past Sunday at the historical home of NFL in the United Kingdom, Wembley Stadium.
The sport really has come a long way in the UK since those early skirmishes in the 1980s of preseason games and “American Bowl” outings. The whole landscape has changed, literally in the case of Wembley Stadium, with its modern facilities, although it has to be said that the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium, with its purpose-built design for the NFL, has now made Wembley seem, dare I say, dated. Nevertheless, Wembley is still a wondrous sight when all the fans are packed in and at kick-off time are at their flag waving loudest.
It was the Jacksonville Jaguars - still being marketed as London’s team, and who knows they could be just that in the future - up against the Denver Broncos, who have fallen upon hard times recently with some poor form. Both teams came into this game at 2-5, and with the rest of their divisions looking to have settled, this was a must win game for both - another loss and you’d already be thinking about next season, which given that we’re not even halfway through this one is a statement of both their struggles.
The opening salvos from both saw the punters (American for kickers, not British for the fans) enjoying early action, but then the Jaguars started to take over. After an interception of a Russell Wilson pass they soon opened the scoring, Trevor Lawrence finding Even Engram wide on the left of the end zone from 22 yards. Wilson, who once led the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl title, is having difficulty finding his identity with the Broncos and his struggles continued through the opening period, completing just two passes for 19 yards. In fact, the Broncos couldn’t get anything going and the Jaguars were taking what was given to them and aided by some penalties were on the 1-yard line.
Just when you think you can predict the game, the Broncos came up with their own pass interception, Justin Simmons stepping in front of a pass in the end zone. A reprieve, although it was short lived as on the next Jags drive Travis Etienne had a 49-yard run that led to a field goal, Riley Patterson hitting from 37 yards.
Jerry Jeudy proved to be the spark that Denver needed as he first caught a pass for 25 yards, to set up his own 6-yard run for a touchdown. Denver, after sleepwalking through most of the first half, now had a handle on the game. The second quarter came to a tame finish with neither side able to make any gains on offense. This combination of poor offense and stubborn defense on both sides was a reflection of what both teams had served up in the opening part of the season so far.
Melvin Gordon gave the Broncos their first lead of the game when he scampered in from a yard out. It was a far cry from the first quarter when Denver couldn’t get anything going, and now they had just marched 98 yards in 9 plays. That’s something that truly great teams achieve, proving we have a Jekyll and Hyde NFL team.
With just over 5 minutes left to play in the third quarter the game was coming to life, and as the sun was getting lower, the crowd were getting louder. Despite this being the only scoring play in the quarter, it was now edge of seat stuff, and with both teams so desperate for the win the game was starting to stretch. It wasn’t until late in the final period that the Jaguars went ahead again, this time Etienne got his reward for what would be a huge 156-yard rushing game when he went in from a yard. With just under 4 minutes left this looked a decisive score, but Wilson had regained his spark and the second half he was finding his receivers with ease and very soon had his men in field goal range which would tie the game up. But the Broncos were thinking ‘win’, and from the two yard line Latavius Murray once more took the Broncos ahead, this time for good as any lingering thoughts of a dramatic win were extinguished when Lawrence was again intercepted to ice the game.
After the game Wilson, who has had his fair share of critics this season, notably from his own team’s fanbase, was clearly happy with the win: "It's been a spectacular week for us, we prepared better than ever. Just to overcome, be resilient. The season hasn't gone how we wanted it to, it isn't over yet, every game counts. We kept swinging, it was kind of like a heavyweight fight. I think we've been in every game; this season could be completely flipped around. The thing we keep talking about is unwavering belief,” he said.
The Jaguars coach Doug Pederson knows that there is a long journey ahead, and that’s not just the trip home, “If we keep fighting, and working the way we're working, good things will pay off eventually. We're just looking for that one to get it kind of started, then we'll build off of that. That's kind of where we are."
There is one more International Series game this year, but not in the United Kingdom. The NFL spread their wings into Germany in two weeks’ time when the Seattle Seahawks play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Allianz Arena in Munich, the home of the Bayern Munich soccer team. It kicks off 2.30pm UK time on Sunday, November 13.
