Wednesday 5 October 2016 11:20, UK
In his latest Pick Six column, Neil Reynolds takes a look at the impact of the International Series, the surprise starters and those who have struggled out of the gate .
It was another great weekend for British fans as the NFL came to town and the Jacksonville Jaguars left with a 30-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
That close finish was just one of several remarkable games on a Sunday that offered up drama in bundles and more than a few outstanding performances.
This is what caught my eye after six hours on stage at Regent Street, three hours hosting the pre-game Tailgate Party at Wembley followed by eight hours of live TV on Sky Sports on Sunday evening - when it was nice to finally have a sit down!
The rumour mill was swirling furiously over the weekend and I genuinely think Gus Bradley was in jeopardy of losing his job if the Jaguars had dropped to 0-4 with a loss to the Colts. There were even unsubstantiated rumours that the Jags were already looking at replacements with some of them being quite high profile!
That's why even though everyone knows I am a big Andrew Luck fan, I was glad the Jags hung on and got that win.
They deserve to be better than 1-3 right now and could very easily be 3-1. They finally found a way to get a close win under their belts and the defence really found a way to come together against a porous offensive front, recording six sacks and pressuring Luck into an interception after his pass was batted into the air.
After the weekend's festivities on Regent Street and at Wembley Stadium, I remain convinced that the NFL is going to bring a franchise to London within the next five years.
I hosted a Fan Forum with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Saturday morning and he spoke at some length about how a London franchise is a genuine possibility. He even got into talking about taxation of players and how a team might be based in America in order to accommodate the necessary free agent try-outs that occur every week. So there is some serious level of detail being put into preparations for a London team.
It was not a brilliant weather day on Saturday yet Regent Street was packed once again with British NFL fans and images such as those do way more than some powerpoint presentation could ever wish to achieve.
The British NFL fans certainly made an impression on the visiting teams, the Commissioner and Colts owner Jim Irsay, who said he is going to work hard to bring the British fans their very own franchise.
I have long been a fan of Julio Jones and think he is now firmly entrenched on the top table of NFL wide receivers. In fact, you can narrow it down to him and Antonio Brown as to who is the best in the game.
The tight end-sized receiver caught 12 passes for 300 yards and one touchdown in Atlanta's 48-33 hammering of the struggling Carolina Panthers. It was like Jones and quarterback Matt Ryan (503 yards and four touchdowns) were playing the Madden computer game!
What makes Jones' effort all the more impressive is the fact that defences know he is the go-to guy on offence and would have gone into that game looking to shut him down. Oh, and this was not the New Orleans Saints defence - this was the reigning NFC champion Carolina Panthers.
When I watched Derek Carr in one of his very first NFL practices - during mini camps in his rookie year - he stood out to me and I have been a big fan of his game ever since. I like the way he carries himself and he is developing year on year into a top-level NFL quarterback.
He made some big-time throws in the second half of Oakland's thrilling 28-27 win at Baltimore at a time when the shine had come off his team after a good first half. His defence-splitting touchdown pass over the middle to Michael Crabtree was only topped when the pair teamed up again for the match-winner from 23 yards out, which was a thing of beauty to the back of the end zone.
Carr can make every throw in the book and passes the eyeball test as a true star. But what is really exciting for the Raiders is that he has this young team 3-0 on the road this year and he has now won five of his last six starts away from home.
Don't look now but the Los Angeles Rams, Oakland Raiders, Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys are 3-1. I'm not sure too many of us would have had those teams down for such records this season after a month of action.
The Rams were atrocious on opening weekend and did not score a point. They were barely better in Week 2 but have scrapped and fought to three successive wins to top the NFC West. Atlanta have been a pleasant surprise just as I was about to write off quarterback Matt Ryan.
I've spoken about the Raiders a bit already and I love their mental toughness under Jack Del Rio. But perhaps the happiest of those 3-1 teams I mentioned would be the Cowboys, who literally imploded without Tony Romo last year.
Dallas are surviving and, dare I say it, thriving under Dak Prescott and are 3-1. Their defence is playing well, the running game is rounding into shape and Dak is avoiding big mistakes. This is still Romo's team when he returns, but the Cowboys are coping with his absence much better this time around.
Hands up if you predicted that Carolina and Arizona - the two teams from last year's NFC Championship Game - would both be 1-3 after four weeks of play? Well if you did, I hope you had a couple of quid on it.
With offensive co-ordinator Mike Shula determined to stick to long-developing five and seven-step drop passing plays, Cam Newton is taking a beating and he is not doing a good job of protecting himself, which is why he left the game with a possible concussion after an ill-fated two point run against the Falcons.
There is now another worry in Carolina after their defence was torched for close to 600 yards.
As for the Cardinals? I don't know what the answer is there but I can tell you they are playing a sloppy brand of football not typical of Bruce Arians' teams. And their quarterback, Carson Palmer, is also being treated for a concussion so tougher times may lie ahead for both these clubs.
