First and Ten

Steve Ovenden (@happyhappysteve)  looks at what could be a decisive match in the AFC South

Week 11 has arrived and it is a big week for the AFC South. The Colts play host to the Jacksonville Jaguars and is a must win for both teams.  A win for wither team keeps playoff hopes alive and will keep the division close. The Jags would move to an even 5 – 5 record and the Colts would move to 6 – 4 level with the Texans.  That would be short lived as Houston return from their bye week to play the in form Baltimore Ravens. A Texans win will put them firmly in control of the AFC South but a loss will see the Colts take back control should they beat the Jags.  The Tennessee Titans have a bye this week but moved up to 5 – 5 after a massive win against AFC South whipping boys Kansas City. This win closed the division right up and makes for an entertaining week. read more

Josh Capps (@JCapps_) looks at the rematch of the 2018 Super Bowl

The Superbowl defeat from two years ago will still be in the back of Tom Brady’s head going into this one, even thought the Patriots bounced back for another ring last year. This is the first time the team’s have met since that thrilling Superbowl of 2018, but the Eagles hold QB Carson Went at the helm and not Foles who is now in Jacksonville. read more

Steven Ovenden (@HappyHappySteve) looks back at the Texans visit to the UK

The last International Series game in the UK of 2019 saw the Jacksonville Jaguars host AFC South division rivals the Houston Texans.  Before the weekend the division was quite close with the Jags and Titans on 4-4, Houston on 5-3 and the Colts top on 5-2. Being how tight the division was, this match had the makings of a very close and competitive game. Unfortunately this was not to be the case and the Texans brushed the Jags aside with a 26-3 victory. read more

Steve Ovenden (@Happyhappysteve) looked in depth at Deshaun Watson after his appearance in London

All images from Steve where he attended Texans practice and press conferences for First and Ten

Name – Deshaun Watson (6’2”/220lbs)

Team – Houston Texans (2 years)

Position – Quarterback (Jersey 4) read more

Damien Newman (@Datboinwmn) looks back at the Dolphins surprise win over the Colts

Week 10 produced a fair few upsets throughout the NFL, with Tennessee beating Kansas City, Atlanta blowing out New Orleans and the New York Jets and Giants putting on a show, but nothing came as more of a surprise than the 1-7 Miami Dolphins beating the play-off hopeful 5-3 Indianapolis Colts 16-12 in Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Steve Ovenden (@happyhappysteve)  believes the Colts can get back to winning ways against the Dolphins

Week 10 brings the 1-7 Miami Dolphins to Lucas Oil to play the 5-3 Colts. This game has potential banana skin game for the Colts written all over it. Miami have got their tail fins up coming into this after getting their first win of the season last week against the Jets. The Colts will need to get their horseshoes going as they return home from Pittsburgh after a closely fought loss. read more

Josh Capps (@JCapps_) believes the Cowboys will have a little too much for the Vikings

The Vikings will travel to Texas looking to bounce back quickly from a disappointing loss in Kansas, in a game they possibly believe they should have won. The Cowboys will be bolstered by a convincing victory on Monday night against the Giants and will be hoping they can push for a sixth victory of the season. read more

Mark Ross believes that Aaron Rodgers can continue his fin run and lead the Packers past the Panthers

The Green Bay Packers return to Lambeau and are the favourites heading into their match-up with the Carolina Panthers. After two weeks on the  road the Packers are coming home having lost to the rather disappointing Los Angeles Chargers, a game the Packers were also the favourites in. So just because they are favourites this week doesn’t mean they will get that win.

Aaron Rodgers is having an MVP worthy season so far. He has thrown for 2485 yards, 17 touchdowns and only two interceptions. This has given him a passer rating of 104.4 up until now. What should also be remembered is that Rodgers has done this with his star wide receiver, DaVante Adams missing the entire month of October. This didn’t slow down number
12 at all, in fact during that spell he had one game where he threw for over 400 yards and five touchdowns. He then followed that game with another great outing at arrowhead where he defeated the Kansas City Chiefs with 309 passing yards and three touchdowns. When you’re as good as Rodgers is it doesn’t matter who he’s throwing to.

Normally you would think this game would be the great Aaron Rodgers going up against the biggest quarterback threat in the red zone arguably ever in Cam Newton. However Batman showed us all that even Superman can get hurt. The Panthers may have found their replacement for Superman in Kyle Allen. In week three Kyle Allen got his first start of the season
and he looked excellent. He threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns against the Cardinals. Things continued well for Allen. He won his opening four games and now has the Panthers sitting with a record of 5-3 and second in the NFC South behind the Saints. If nothing else Kyle
Allen has given the Panthers front office a decision to make in the off season.

Carolina will look to take advantage of Green Bay run defence. A defence that has struggled all season. The Packers’ struggles in this category have left them ranked just 26th in total defence. But going up against the Chargers 28th ranked rushing offence last week things got even
worse. Los Angeles obliterated Green Bay for a season-high 159 rushing yards and they averaged 4.2 yards per carry. With a front-runner in the MVP race in Christian McCaffrey rolling into Lambeau Field this week the Packers will need to find a way to shore up that defence and find a way to stop the run.

As good as Aaron Rodgers is his offensive line is also giving him plenty of time to throw the ball. Rodgers is taking on average 2.89 seconds to throw the ball after receiving the snap. This is the fourth longest time in the league just now. The Carolina defence can’t allow arguably the most
talented quarterback ever that amount to time to sit in the pocket and find the perfect pass. They need to get pressure on him to allow their secondary to continue their impressive season and keep getting the ball back for their offence. Luckily for Carolina they have managed to get pressure and lead the league with 27 sacks. The Panthers are also leading the league in points
scored by their defence with 54. They are second only to the New England Patriots in interceptions with nine, albeit five of them came against the turnover machine Jameis Winston.

Score Prediction

Panthers 21 Packers 34

Damien Newman (@Datboinwmn)looks at some of the key match-ups as the Colts take on the Dolphins

In a year where it seemed like the Miami Dolphins looked to orchestrate a tank for a potential generational talent at quarterback, a slight issue may have come up in the plan, after a spirited performance through the air by Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Dolphins have a win in the 2019 season. Next up for the Dolphins however isn’t a game against a free-falling New York Jets team, but is the rising Indianapolis Colts, currently 5-3 on the season after a 2 point road loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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