NFL gameday guide: Jayden Daniels vs Lamar Jackson, Mike Evans vs Marshon Lattimore, Hurricane Milton, Tottenham Hotspur and New York drama
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Sunday 13 October 2024 23:40, UK
NFL gameday guide: Jayden Daniels vs Lamar Jackson, Mike Evans vs Marshon Lattimore, Hurricane Milton, Tottenham Hotspur and New York drama
The 2024 NFL London games continue, Jayden Daniels resumes his scintillating rise, the New York Jets start life without Robert Saleh and the Drake Maye era begins in New England. We look ahead to Week Six...
Yes, Caleb Williams and Trevor Lawrence are in town. And yes, Jayden Daniels and Lamar Jackson are poised for fireworks. But first allow us to introduce you to the sibling rivalry you have never heard of!
Brother and sister collide as the NFL London games continue at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend. Ashton Washington arrives in town as the Chicago Bears' Player Personnel Coordinator and Parker Washington features among Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars' wide receiver options.
Sure, they will not meet on the field, but it is another feel-good sub-plot to the league's annual UK business trip, and fuel to bragging rights come festive family get-togethers. Ashton had made NFL history in August 2021 when she was hired by the Bears as the first full-time female scout following an internship with the organisation.
From a sibling storm to the real storm disrupting America. Hurricane Milton, the victims of which our thoughts go out to, has proven a major thorn to preparations for sports teams in Florida, forcing the Jaguars to delay their flight to London and seeing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers relocate to New Orleans ahead of their matchup with the Saints. As a result, the Jaguars rescheduled their media day from Friday to Saturday, introducing a new logistical challenge to a London game week, not to mention a fierce test to sleep patterns.
It is in New Orleans where an on-field storm potentially beckons as Saints cornerback Marshon and Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans reignite their long-time feud, which has seen the duo clash on three separate occasions over recent years. Rarely in the modern era does the league see such a rivalry of intense dislike continue, the two teasing their own NHL-esque segment of spite-filled fury.
Evans, who has been ejected once and faced two one-game suspensions for his altercations with Lattimore, admitted this week he could have suppressed his emotions better.
"Long as, you know, it's within the play,'' said Evans. "I've done a bad job in the past of making it go over the play when I shouldn't have. But I'm more mature now and our team is focused on playing winning ball, and you can't play winning ball when you get kicked out and things like that. But I definitely want to have that fire and be physical and a little chirping never hurts. But you definitely have got to be smart. You can't play winning ball when you get kicked out and things like that."
The Jets have incited a storm of their own following the decision to fire head coach Robert Saleh, the social media sphere pondering Aaron Rodgers' potential role in the decision and the four-time MVP quarterback strongly quashing said claims. And, of course, the first head coaching vacancy of the season has resurfaced the question over where Bill Belichick might land... a quarter of a century after he penned his Jets resignation on a napkin.
Tottenham will play stage to its 10th regular-season game this weekend as Williams and Lawrence meet in a duel of two quarterbacks touted as consensus No 1 picks since childhood, before rookie sensation Daniels goes toe-to-toe with Super Bowl-chasing Baltimore. Elsewhere a limping Philadephia Eagles defense face the perfect get-well game against a shoddy Cleveland Browns offense, for whom the end of Deshaun Watson's days as starter feel in sight, while Sean Payton's Denver Broncos seek an unforeseen four-game win streak and the Houston Texans look to cope without their star wide receiver.
Neil Reynolds, Phoebe Schecter and NFL Daily's Gregg Rosenthal look ahead to the NFL's Week Six fixtures and make their predictions...
Sunday, 2.30pm - Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4) @ Chicago Bears (3-2): Matt Eberflus' Bears defense ranks among the best and most efficient through five weeks this season, within which has been a starring role for Andrew Billings. The veteran defensive tackle, who signed with the Bears in March 2023, arrived primarily as a run-stuffing asset for Chicago's frontline, but has exceeded that value this season with key contributions as a club-and-swim pass rusher on the interior, as well as even dropping into coverage and hustling sideline-to-sideline against the Carolina Panthers last week. Eric Washington has put an emphasis on the importance of a four-man rush, the success of which has been matched by one of the NFL's top secondaries. The Bears are ranked third in the league with 11 takeaways this season, with five different players having recorded interceptions, though faces challenges this week with starting corner Tyrique Stevenson and starting safety Jaquan Brisker both ruled out.
Spirits have meanwhile been lifted in Jacksonville after Doug Pederson's side ended their winless start to the campaign by holding on to beat the Indianapolis Colts in Week Five. Trevor Lawrence had his best game of the year by throwing for 371 yards and two touchdowns, while again the spotlight turned to standout rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr as he managed a season-high five catches for 122 yards and a score. More signs of life for the Jags offense came courtesy of running back Tank Bigsby, who put up 13 carries for 101 yards and two scores while taking on the bulk of the workload amid Travis Etienne's return to full fitness.
Sunday, 6pm - Washington Commanders (4-1) @ Baltimore Ravens (3-2): It could not be set up more beautifully. Two electrifying dual-threat quarterbacks in Lamar Jackson and Jayden Daniels and two of the NFL's most potent and sophisticated rushing attacks. The Ravens arrived ranked No 1 in rushing offense this season thanks to 572 yards on the ground from Derrick Henry alongside 363 from Jackson through five weeks, while the Commanders are ranked No 2 thanks to almost 888 combined yards from Daniels, Brian Robinson Jr, Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols. With the presence of Jackson-Henry and Daniels-Robinson backfield tandems comes a nightmare for defensive keys as they seek to decipher not only the intended ball carrier but also the run-pass design. That being said, Baltimore's defense is ranked No 1 against the run in comparison to a Commanders down in 21st.
Sunday, 9.25pm - Detroit Lions (3-1) @ Dallas Cowboys (3-2): Running the rock could remain a theme into the 9.25pm kickoff, live on Sky Sports. Ben Johnson continues to have a blast with his Detroit Lions offense, which only seems to be gathering momentum by the week after a slow start by its 2023 standards. Detroit's rushing offense is ranked seventh in the league in yards and third in rush EPA behind its two-pronged attack Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery as they prepare to face a Cowboys defense 10th-worst against the run. Dallas meanwhile continue their hunt for greater production outside of the obvious candidate in CeeDee Lamb, with Jalen Tolbert beginning to answer that call with a team-high seven catches for 87 yards and a touchdown in the absence of Brandin Cooks against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Sunday Night Football, 1.20am - Cincinnati Bengals (1-4) @ New York Giants (2-3): Come on down, Dexter Lawrence! The New York Giants nose tackle can never be spoken about enough, for while his team may be a chasm away from contention Lawrence remains one of the NFL's elite interior defensive forces. He reminded as much with three sacks against the Seattle Seahawks in Week Five, lifting his tally on the year to a tied-second-most in the league behind only Detroit's Aidan Hutchinson. Success in the trenches was mirrored on the Giants offensive line (something of a rarity), with Jermaine Eluemunor continuing his fine start to the season having recorded the most pass-blocking snaps with zero sacks allowed among all offensive tackles.
Little has gone the way of Cincinnati so far this season. They rank fourth in the league in scoring offense, having seen Joe Burrow throw five touchdown passes while connecting with an ignited Ja'Marr Chase for 193 yards and two scores against the Ravens in Week Five, only to lose 41-38 in overtime as they fell to 1-4. Their problems lie on a defense allowing 29 points per game, second most in the league behind only the Carolina Panthers. Such has been their inability to stop opponents, the Bengals defenders called a players-only meeting earlier this week, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Monday Night Football, 1.15am - Buffalo Bills (3-2) @ New York Jets (2-3): Quiet week in New York, said nobody ever. If there was already a spotlight shining on the Aaron Rodgers era with the Jets, then it just got a whole lot more blinding in the wake of Saleh's shock firing. Perplexity over Saleh's dismissal largely stemmed from the reality that HIS defense ranked second in total yards, second in passing, 14th in rushing and seventh in scoring as one of the league's best units - in contrast a Rodgers and Hackett offense ranked bottom 10 in total yards, rushing and scoring. Brian Flores put Rodgers and the Jets in a blender on the Tottenham turf last week, and yet with that came a fine day for Garrett Wilson as he led the team with 13 catches for 101 yards and a touchdown. Five weeks in, it feels about time the Jets started to see more from Mike Williams, who remains a problem for any defender stuck on an island one-on-one with the former Los Angeles Chargers man.
Josh Allen and the Bills are seeking another spike of their own in offensive production, which after some early promise has declined in the face of stronger opposition of late. They have slumped to 25th in passing offense heading into Sunday, Allen managing just nine of 30 for 131 yards and a touchdown in their defeat to the Texans last time out, during which Khalil Shakir's absence was felt.
Lamar Jackson on comparisons between himself and Jayden Daniels: "He's his own player, he's his own man, at the end of the day. We're just trying to make a name for ourselves, not anyone else."
Bears wide receiver DJ Moore on quarterback Caleb Williams: "He's been bossy lately, telling us that we need to be on the details. What I mean by bossy is, we don't hit something in practice, he's going to tell us how we need to run it. We just look at him and be like 'OK.' When we get out there in the game, you just better make sure it works because he's going to have some words for you if you don't. That's him being a leader."
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers speaking on The Pat McAfee Show following Robert Saleh's firing: "As far as any of the ridiculous allegations out there, I'm not going to spend more than one sentence in response to it, and that is I resent any of those accusations because they're patently false. It's interesting the amount of power people think I have, which I don't. But I love Robert."
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow on continuing to get back to full strength after his wrist injury: "I would say I'm still not quite throwing it the way that I would like. I'm making good decisions, I'm putting the ball where I want to. I still think there's another level of improvement I can get to coming back from injury on ball rotation and spin rate and all that."
Jets owner Woody Johnson's message to Haason Reddick amid edge rusher's holdout: "Haason, get in your car, drive down (I-)95 and come to the New York Jets, and we can meet you and give you an escort right in the building, and you'll fit right in and you're going to love it here and you're going to feel welcome and you're going to accomplish great things with us."
Caleb Williams and Trevor Lawrence will take to the Tottenham turf this week united by a mutual need-not-be explained understanding.
There are No 1 picks at the NFL Draft, and then there are Williams, Lawrence and the exclusive pool of Truman Show case studies from whom the cameras and eyeballs have never been too far as consensus No 1 pick quarterbacks since childhood.
Lawrence and his famously-marketable locks became the new face of the Jacksonville Jaguars as the long-awaited first overall pick out of Clemson in 2021, touted as the most accomplished quarterback prospect since the Andrew Lucks and Peyton Mannings of the world.
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There is that old 'you'll know' adage when it comes to the house-hunting process, the instant feel of belonging within a property ticking all the natural light, double-glazing and downstairs bathroom boxes - maybe even a kitchen island if you are extra plush. The NFL knew it had found its house, and didn't waste any time in making it a home.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has become the league's forever home of sorts, offering a retractable pitch and spacious locker rooms fit for hundreds of pounds of footballing brawn as its double-glazing box tickers, while sweetening the deal with a tourist-privy Skywalk as its conversation-piece kitchen island.
The powers that be have since also renovated with the instillation of a Formula 1-backed go-kart experience underneath the stadium. The house-warming party began in October 2019 and, nine NFL games later, refuses to turn down the music.
Is London red or blue? Arsenal and Chelsea fans may have wandered into the capital last weekend to realise it is a concoction of the two (we see you, art teachers!) For London is, in fact, purple - and so too, perhaps, is the UK.
How the NFL and its teams measure success can vary according to preference. Swarming four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers on the way to victory over the New York Jets at a sold-out Tottenham Hotspur Stadium leaves a lasting impression.
But convincing beautifully-grumpy, greeting-repellent Londoners to partake in SKOL chanting at 10am is quite the feat. Some may say miracle.
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Watch the Chicago Bears face the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday October 13, live on Sky Sports NFL, with kickoff at 2.30pm; followed by the Washington Commanders at the Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Lions at the Dallas Cowboys; Also stream with NOW.
