Shout-outs for Drew Brees, the Chiefs and even Sid Waddell!
Tuesday 10 November 2015 16:32, UK
The third and final International Series regular-season game was played in London on Sunday afternoon and while the game was one-sided, it made for another very special day for British NFL fans.
But the beauty of the NFL is that any given slate of games is about much more than one contest. And that was the case on Sunday as headlines were made around the league.
Here are six talking points that caught my eye...
Lions tamed at Wembley
I'll get onto the winning Kansas City Chiefs in a moment but first I want to express how majorly disappointed I was with the Detroit Lions during their 45-10 embarrassment in London.
Unlike other teams that got their coaches fired after the London game (Oakland and Miami), I'm not sure the Lions gave up trying. But they were truly terrible and reached a new low for their season. And the problems all start up front and show that you can have a wealth of skill position talent and still fail if you neglect your offensive line.
I think the Lions kept trying on Sunday, even if the scoreline wouldn't suggest as much. But they're just terrible along the offensive and defensive lines. They cannot win the battle in the trenches and that is why Matthew Stafford was sacked six times and the Chiefs rushed for more than 200 yards and four scores.
Chiefs on the warpath
The Chiefs took one drive to wake up at Wembley as they allowed Detroit to march down the field and kick a field goal on the opening possession. But after that, it was one way traffic and then some!
The Chiefs ran all over the Lions to the tune of 206 yards and four touchdowns but, for me, the star of the show was quarterback Alex Smith. His numbers were not off the charts but he did a great job of managing the game - in a good way - and keeping the Chiefs ticking over.
Smith hit on 18 of 26 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns. He has now gone five games without throwing an interception and proved he is a better athlete than some give him credit for as he ran five times for 78 yards and one score. It was impressive stuff and after a tough start, the Chiefs are very much back in the race for a wild card spot in the AFC.
Aerial supremacy for Brees
What a ridiculously entertaining and historic game between the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants - unless you like to watch teams play good and stingy defence.
The Saints won 52-49 on a dramatic last-second 50-yard field goal by Kai Forbath. But this game had so much drama it needed the late, great Sid Waddell on the commentary team! Drew Brees threw for 511 yards and an NFL record-tying seven touchdowns, while New York's Eli Manning was the gallant loser on this occasion after throwing for 350 yards and six touchdowns.
I would go into some long-winded rant here about how defences are not allowed to hit receivers any more and the middle of the field is wide open, but I remember a game like this in 1986 when the New York Jets beat the Miami Dolphins 51-45. So I'll just keep quiet and enjoy the highlights of this one again - which should take me about an hour!
Bengals dig deep
The Cincinnati Bengals had a bad day at the office when they took on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Very little went their way as the Steelers produced a very impressive defensive effort against one of the best attacks in the NFL.
But the Cincinnati Bengals somehow ran out 16-10 winners and are now 7-0 for the first time in franchise history. I think that speaks volumes for how much they can contend for Super Bowl honours when the playoffs begin in January.
As for the Steelers, they self-destructed with Ben Roethlisberger throwing interceptions on back-to-back passes and they now have to overcome the loss of star running back LeVeon Bell for the season with torn knee ligaments.
Rams show some consistency
The St. Louis Rams have often been accused of playing up to the level of higher competition and down to the teams they should be beating on a regular basis. They now appear to have turned a corner on that front with Sunday's 27-6 defeat of the San Francisco 49ers.
And isn't rookie running back Todd Gurley a joy to watch? He was my favourite player coming out of the 2015 NFL Draft and has certainly lived up to the hype.
Gurley has rushed for 566 yards in his first four starts and that is the most of any player in his first four NFL starts in the Super Bowl era. Gurley can become the foundation back in St. Louis for years to come and his growth over the remainder of the season is going to be fun to watch as he gets healthier and healthier.
Manning tops Rodgers
I should really be leading with this game as the Denver Broncos won the battle of the unbeaten sides 29-10 on Sunday night. But, to be honest, I was sleeping while Denver were doing the business after a monster Sunday covering the NFL at Wembley from 9am and back in the studios until 2am.
But it looked like Peyton Manning was in fine form in the first half action I did see - that was the best he has looked on the physical front this season and his defence once again appeared to be playing at a Super Bowl-calibre level.
The Broncos are currently on a collision course with the undefeated New England Patriots in the playoffs (although the Bengals might have something to say about that) and their defence will relish the challenge of taking on Tom Brady. I didn't think Manning would be up to that task given his early season form, but it's hard to complain about his showing on Sunday against the Packers.
