Tuesday 30 October 2018 20:49, UK
Wembley and the NFL are done for another year.
Three weeks and three more games of gripping football action are in the book, moving the total number of matches played in London to 24 since that first game back in 2007.
Over a decade on from when the New York Giants beat the Miami Dolphins 13-10 in that first contest, how much closer are we to a permanent NFL franchise in the UK?
Seahawks 27-3 Raiders
Titans 19-20 Chargers
Eagles 24-18 Jaguars
A wonderful three weeks of NFL action came to an end in the best way possible, with a record crowd of 85,870 in attendance to see the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles beat London's adopted home team of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Both have been struggling this year, despite such successful 2017 seasons, but that only added to the playoff-like atmosphere, with both desperate for a win. The game was closely fought until the very end, but ultimately Carson Wentz guided the Eagles to victory with a three-touchdown strong showing.
That followed on the back of the late, gripping drama of the previous week when the Los Angeles Chargers edged out the Tennessee Titans by a solitary point. The Chargers raced ahead courtesy of two stunning, deep touchdown strikes thrown by Philip Rivers, but Tennessee scored a touchdown in the dying seconds, giving them the chance to tie the game and take it into overtime with a successful extra point attempt. Incredibly, they decided to risk it all and go for a two-point conversion to win it instead and, when Marcus Mariota's pass fell incomplete, it was the Chargers who claimed bragging rights.
The thrilling contests of the last fortnight at Wembley were a much-needed remedy for a trend of increasingly one-sided contests played out in London of late. 2016 saw two games decided by seven points or fewer, and one tied but, in 2017, four blowout victories were recorded - a 17-point margin was the closest of the lot. Sadly, that theme continued with the opening contest of 2018, as the Seattle Seahawks blew away the struggling Oakland Raiders 27-3, restricting their opponents to just 185 yards of total offense on the night.
While the number of games decreased from four to three this year, they were held on consecutive weekends for the first time. The reason, to test the fan interest could be sustained over a condensed period and also to work through the logistics of hosting NFL games weekly.
If and when a London NFL franchise comes to fruition, it is likely that the home games will be played in a block on consecutive weekends, so that constant travel back to the US wouldn't adversely affect the home team. As such, this season's efforts go some way to another box ticked on the NFL's list of requirements.
However, sadly, a setback came when Shahid Khan pulled out of a potential deal to buy Wembley. The Jaguars owner has long-been committed to bringing the NFL to London, with Jacksonville hosting one game a year on these shores since 2013.
Unfortunately, a lack of support from Football Association council members saw him withdraw his bid. Had he been successful, it may well have sped up the process of a more permanent UK home for a franchise.
NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell: "I feel this market without question could have an NFL team. There's no question a team could be successful here."
NFL executive vice-president, Mark Waller: "I feel great about the time frame. Everything we've seen from the demand on the fan side, to the stadium infrastructure that exists, the government support that we have. All of the indicators are incredibly positive.
"The one thing we can never test for is whether a team based here would be able to cope with the incremental travel back and forwards. If and when it happens. But I think the great thing here is that the market is ready, the fans are ready, the stadiums are ready. As and when our ownership decide that's a move they would like to make, we're ready to go."
Jacksonville Jaguars owner, Shahid Khan: "When I got the Jaguars, we had a very small fanbase. The logical thing was to grow it overseas.
"At that time, we were 31st out of 32 teams on fan recognition outside of the US. In last year's survey we were between second and seventh. We have grown dramatically. When people heard we we playing in London, playing regularly, they adopted us."
Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Russell Wilson: "In terms of a franchise coming out here playing NFL, the game has grown so much it's a worldwide game now. Taking it worldwide, London is probably the best place to do it, if you're going to go anywhere.
"The financial and media market here, the energy here around sports, and it's relatively easy to get to in terms of coming from America. It would be a great place to play, so I think that's a definite possibility for sure."
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback, Philip Rivers: "I really enjoyed the short time we were here. The people in London have been great - I've enjoyed the conversations with the fans at the various different events. The atmosphere at the game was unbelievable! I remember it being good 10 years ago, but not this good. It was awesome."
Khan has suggested he is willing to revisit his bid but, for now, his and Wembley's loss could well be Daniel Levy and Tottenham's gain. The Spurs chairman was a vocal opponent to the sale of Wembley, knowing it would likely adversely affect his own ambition of an NFL franchise taking up residence in their new purpose-built stadium.
Tottenham already have a deal in place to host at least two NFL games per season under a 10-year plan. With the ongoing delay of the construction of the stadium though, Spurs reduced that to one game in 2018, before ultimately handing over the hosting of the Seahawks-Raiders game to Wembley also.
The stadium will no doubt be ready to host NFL action in 2019 and the NFL have since confirmed four games are to be held in the capital next year - two at Wembley and two at Tottenham - to further accelerate the arrival of an NFL franchise to the UK.
Only three teams have yet to play in London and so could be contenders for one of those spots in 2019 - the Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers.
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