Sunday 26 October 2014 13:51, UK
The NFL returns to Wembley as the Atlanta Falcons face the Detroit Lions on Sunday in the second of three 2014 London contests.
When this year’s Wembley fixtures were announced the showdown between the Lions and Falcons looked on paper to be the most exciting of the three.
However, Atlanta (2-5) have suffered four straight losses since thrashing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week Three and need a dramatic turnaround if they are to avoid missing the playoffs for a second straight year.
The Lions, in contrast, are sitting pretty at 5-2 and, if recent form is anything to go by, should be too strong for their opponents in the British capital. However, it would be foolish to write off a team with the offensive talent of Atlanta. Here are the major talking points ahead of the game…
Wembley new boys
Neither side have competed at Wembley before so travelling to and playing in London is unchartered territory for both. The Falcons and Lions play their home matches in domes and the Falcons, who are the designated hosts, are giving up one of the most prominent home-field advantages in the NFL. The Falcons have not won away from the Georgia Dome this year and the cool, outdoor conditions are more likely to favour the Lions, who are used to playing in such weather against their NFC North rivals. Even though the Falcons are officially the home team, Wembley is likely to be more of an advantage for the Lions.
Early risers
For the first time ever, the Wembley contest is not taking place within the usual US schedule of of early kick-offs. Instead, the game will start at 1.30pm UK time, which will be 9.30am in the United States’ Eastern Time Zone, which both Detroit and Atlanta are a part of. The earlier kick-off is likely the reason that both teams have been based in London all week, rather than travelling over the Atlantic in the days immediately prior to the game. Although the week spent in London should be ample time to adjust to the time difference, it will be interesting to see if there are any sluggish performers due to the ‘morning’ start.
Flagging Falcons
The Falcons looked set for another tilt at the NFC South title when they demolished the Buccaneers on Thursday night in Week Three but Mike Smith’s side have not tasted victory since that game. The reason for the decline is clear – Atlanta’s defence has given up more yards than any team in the NFL. Although they are not ranked as the worst defence by the yards per game metric, they are ranked very close to the bottom against both the run and the pass. In addition their injury-plagued offensive line gave up five sacks in last weekend’s defeat to the Baltimore Ravens and has been weakened further by the loss of centre Peter Konz to a season-ending injury.
Deadly defence
While the Falcons are struggling mightily on the defensive side of the ball, the Lions are sitting pretty at the top of the NFL’s defensive rankings. The Lions’ stop unit has been consistently good against both the pass and run and is third in sacks, meaning their pass rush should have a good amount of success against that patchwork offensive line of Atlanta. There is no doubt that Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is one of the top passers in the league and that Julio Jones and Roddy White are a pair of fine wide receivers, but Ryan may find himself under too much pressure to locate his dangerous downfield targets.
Main attraction
It is always an extra special occasion when a true superstar of the NFL makes his way over to Wembley to compete in front of the UK crowd. The likes of Tom Brady, Adrian Peterson and Ben Roethlisberger have previously competed on the Wembley turf and now Calvin Johnson – widely regarded as the best wide receiver in the NFL – is set to appear. The only problem is that ‘Megatron’ is listed as questionable for the contest due to an ankle injury. Johnson has missed the last two games and it is touch-and-go whether the London crowd will even be able to see him play. It goes without saying that the return of Johnson – as long as it is not as a mere decoy – will be a huge boost to the Detroit offense.
What they said...
"We're not afraid to go anywhere, anyplace and go out there and play and execute what we need to get done," Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh on playing in London.
"There are no excuses. You can talk about losing players, but everybody loses players. It's got to be the 'next man up' mentality," Falcons head coach Mike Smith on his team's injury woes.
"(The pizza) here is great... I shared it with Quizz (Jacquizz Rodgers) and told the guys they need to order them some. The rest of the food is not as great, so pizza is the way for me the rest of the weekend," Falcons running back Antone Smith on the culinary delights of London.
