The future of the NFL in Dublin
While it isn't technically a talking point for week five, it is hard not to look back at such a memorable weekend in Dublin. The NFL took over Croke Park — and made history in the process.
Now, the question is when will it come back?
There is no doubt that the organisation was blown away by what Ireland had to offer. I saw that first hand. It’s never easy for the NFL to go into a city and start from scratch, but it looked seamless. A victory for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who enter this week on a bye, made a huge difference to the atmosphere.
NFL UK & Ireland general manager Henry Hodgson spoke at length about the potential future for Ireland on The Irish Steelers Podcast this week. "The answer is we all, the Steelers, the NFL, the Irish government, Dublin City Council, the GAA and Croke Park, we need to sit down together and say, did this achieve our goals? I think a lot of the elements…which have been talked about since the game would point to, yes, it did," he said.
"It was a successful game in a lot of ways. The commissioner himself stated that there's a desire to return to Ireland, and typically when he says things, those things happen."
Something tells me they will be back sooner rather than later.
London Calling
The next international city on tap is London, with the Cleveland Browns travelling to face the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
For the Vikings, they will become the first team to play as the "away" side in two different countries, after losing to the Steelers in Dublin last weekend. They flew to London on Monday and have had a base there since.
It's intriguing to see how this game is going to go. Minnesota entered Dublin on a high, with a positive 2-1 record through two weeks. They struggled at times offensively in Dublin and could not get a run together that we had seen in previous games this season. They wanted to try this two week away window out – and many will be watching to see how they perform.
The prospect of returning with two losses is certainly not a good one for Vikings fans.
On the other side of the ball, the Cleveland Browns enter London with a familiar new staple that we have seen in recent years – a new quarterback. Dillon Gabriel has been named the starter after a poor start to the season offensively for Joe Flacco and company.
With the Browns sitting at 1-3 entering Tottenham, the former Oklahoma and Oregon quarterback, who was selected in the fifth round of the draft earlier this year, will need to find a way to perform quickly with an offence that is ranked as one of the worst in the league so far this season.
A Giants return?
How fun is it to watch Jaxson Dart?
For many NFL fans, the Giants have always been a team that challenged through the years, but they have struggled for a considerable amount of time.
Last weekend, Dart became the first quarterback in NFL history to defeat a team with a 3-0 record in his first start in the league. Add in his movement and toughness and you have a seriously intriguing situation developing at the Meadowlands.
The Giants head to New Orleans this weekend to face a Saints team that are yet to win this season. Swatragh’s Jude McAtamney could also make another appearance on Sunday, with Giants special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial confirming that the decision in terms of who will start will be made on a week-to-week basis.
McAtamney kicked two field goals last weekend and converted an extra point kick as well.
Undefeated teams
As we enter the fifth week of the season, we only have two teams left who are yet to lose – the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills.
Both teams have looked very impressive through this period. The performance in close situations, such as the Bills performance against the Baltimore Ravens, or the Eagles ability to come back against a stout Los Angeles Rams team has shown that they are both in this battle for the long haul.
Frankly, the Eagles look like they could take it up a gear. Offensively, they need to work out the passing game more – according to AJ Brown, anyway.
This weekend, they welcome to the Denver Broncos to the City of Brotherly Love. Bo Nix and his side sit 2-2 after four weeks and will face the New York Jets in London next weekend. After two disappointing losses, Sean Payton's side have the chance to hand Philly its first loss, but it seems a difficult task on the road.
The Buffalo Bills will play a third straight home game this weekend when they welcome AFC East foes the New England Patriots to town. Yes, it's been a great start for Josh Allen and company, but the Patriots look intriguing. Through four weeks, Drake Maye leads the NFL in completion percentage with 74% and is in the top six in passing yards.
If New England can get the ball down the field, who knows what could happen?
Let’s see who is 5-0 by Monday
Titan Time
Finally, a quick one on the Tennessee Titans. It's fair to say that they are struggling – badly. They have an 0-4 record through four weeks and head coach Brian Callahan now has a 3-18 record in charge of the team overall, with the offence severely struggling.
If things don’t pick up quickly, there could be changes afoot for the Titans, and as early as next week.
