Week 8 sees Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers meet on SNF, and the Jacksonville Jaguars return to London
1. Russell Wilson will start for the Broncos against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley
Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson is good to go on Sunday in London, after missing last week’s home game against the New York Jets with a hamstring injury.
Both the Broncos and the Jaguars are 2-5 but aren’t out of the playoff hunt just yet, one win may be the catapult needed to make a late push.
For the first time in years, the Jets-Patriots rivalry is meaningful, 2022 is the first time since 2001 that the Jets have had more wins than their rivals over in Boston at this point in the season.
New England has got a QB competition on its hands after Bailey Zappe’s impressive play whilst Mac Jones was injured, the latter is expected to start again, but don’t be surprised to see the former when things are going south, like on Monday night.
All signs are pointing towards a tight, low-scoring affair, exactly as the in-form Jets like it, their defense has been one of the best in the league so far this season.
3. Reigning Super Bowl Champions looking to get right against a division rival
Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams come back from their bye at 3-3 but are in desperate need of a win against the 49ers if they want to be crowned NFC West champions, for the second season running.
The 49ers currently hold the tie-breaker over the Rams having already beaten them this season back in Week 4, if they drop another loss in this one it may come back to bite them in a tight division race.
Kyle Shanahan has beaten McVay’s Rams in eight of the twelve meetings since both became head coaches in 2017, last year the Rams were swept by the Niners, but won in the NFC Championship game.
4. Will Geno continue his outstanding season against the 6-1 Giants?
Every single New York Giants game has finished within one score this year, expect that to continue as they visit the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
Both Geno Smith (SEA), and Daniel Jones (NYG), have been impressive so far this season, especially when helped out by both teams’ efficient rushing attacks, being two of the best teams to watch in the NFC.
Two top 10 picks in the 2022 NFL Draft will collide in this game as Kayvon Thibodeaux and Charles Cross battle in the trenches.
Aaron Rodgers’ Packers completing the London set, and a huge AFC North clash on SNF are standouts in an extra-long NFL Sunday
1. Green Bay Packers become 32nd team to play in London
Aaron Rodgers, Saquon Barkley, Aaron Jones, Rashan Gary, and Jaire Alexander are some of the superstar players on display as the Packers host the New York Giants at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Giants QB Daniel Jones is set to start, after initial fears he’d be out for a while after suffering an ankle injury in Sunday’s win over the Bears.
This matchup will be the first ever London game to feature two teams with winning records.
Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins team has had an excellent start to the season, going 3-1 with the second toughest schedule so far in 2022.
They’re without their starting QB, Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered a concussion on TNF against the Bengals, just days after stumbling in the win against Buffalo, right now when exactly he’ll be back is unclear.
Their opponent, the New York Jets, had an impressive win over the Steelers on Sunday, Zach Wilson in particular inspired the win in the fourth quarter, another win will see both teams move to 3-2, a great start for New York.
3. 2-2 Falcons and Bucs fight for lead of NFC South
Somehow both of these teams are 2-2, Arthur Smith’s Falcons have a knack of winning games they shouldn’t.
Tampa Bay has played the league’s toughest schedule through four weeks, losing to KC last week, although their offense did get going, scoring more than 20 points for the first time this season.
Atlanta will be without their two best offensive pieces in Kyle Pitts and Cordarelle Patterson.
The league’s only 4-0 team plays PFF’s 30th ranked defense in Sunday’s late window.
Arizona has looked awful these past few weeks, but sit 2-2 due to the individual brilliance of Kyler Murray, he’ll keep this one close.
Jalen Hurts has been a top 5 quarterback so far this season, the battle between him and Murray, two of the league’s most mobile QB’s should be thrilling.
Cincinnati looks like a different team from the first two weeks of the year, the offensive line is protecting Burrow and the defense has stepped up.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has been lights out this season, but his defense has let him down in the fourth quarter twice.
They’re yet to win at home this season, suffering heartbreaking losses to Miami and Buffalo, whilst a loss for the Bengals will see them go 0-2 in the division.
It’s the end of an era in Cincinnati as the Bengals become the 30th NFL team with a stadium carrying the name of a corporate sponsor. Just Lambeau Field and Soldier Field remain as outliers…
A partnership for the future
The list of NFL stadia for the coming 2022 season was updated twice in the last week. The Pittsburgh Steelers found a new corporate sponsor, with Heinz Field morphing into Acrisure Stadium after a $10 million per year deal was struck with the Michigan-based insurance company. But arguably more newsworthy was the decision by their AFC North rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals, to finally sell the naming rights to Paul Brown Stadium, which has honoured the franchise’s legendary founder since it opened in 2000.
The rights have gone to Paycor, a payroll and human resources software provider. Paycor has been headquartered in the city for more than 30 years and the 16-year arrangement is an extension of an existing business relationship.
Even though the Bengals’ owner and president, 86-year-old Mike Brown, is Paul Brown’s son, the switch to Paycor Stadium wasn’t a total bolt out of the blue. He told reporters last month that selling the naming rights was necessary for his team to be able to compete.
“This is a move that I think my father would have agreed to. He was always for what’s best for the football team. This partnership allows the Bengals to continue to compete at the highest level in the NFL and exemplifies our long-term commitment to the community.” Mike Brown, President, Cincinnati Bengals
Paul Brown died three decades ago, when the Bengals were still playing at their former home (Riverfront Stadium), so he never saw the arena that would bear his name. I guess we have to believe Mike Brown’s assertion that his father wouldn’t mind being usurped by a HR software business.
It’s all about the money, money, money
Despite their unexpected run to Super Bowl LVI, the Bengals generated “just” $458 million in revenue in 2021 – a league low. The franchise is apparently worth $2.8 billion, which is also the lowest in the NFL. Plus Mike Brown doesn’t have any outside business interests and therefore hasn’t got the same financial clout as his peers.
While the terms of the Paycor/Bengals deal haven’t been disclosed, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincy will receive the first $60.5 million and then 70% of the remaining revenue, with Hamilton County receiving the other 30%. Whatever the absolute value of the deal, it won’t be anywhere near the $31.2 million per year being paid by fintech company SoFi for the rights to the Rams’ and Chargers’ stadium in Los Angeles for the next 20 years, or the $25 million a year that Allegiant Airlines is forking out in Las Vegas. But, as they say, every little helps.
“We’re a small-market team, we need the revenue streams that we can obtain. The fact that about 30 teams have naming rights and a revenue stream from that, and they have more revenue than we do to begin with. We have to do some things just to keep up.” Mike Brown, President, Cincinnati Bengals
Why now for Cincinnati?
The move comes as the Bengals are looking to capitalise on one of the best seasons in their history. The team reached the Super Bowl for the first time 31 years and the front office clearly wants to keep this young, exciting and improving team together for years to come.
As part of a general drive by the franchise to generate much-needed income, this deal could help to fund contract extensions coming down the track for the likes of Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase (hence some initial social media fun about “PayJoe Stadium”). It might also contribute to the financing of a new indoor practice facility and some recently revealed renovation plans.
Similarly, Paycor has been increasing its profile since the company went public. Cincy’s Super Bowl run was perfect timing and the team’s on-field success was clearly attractive to the HR company.
“NFL stadium naming rights are a scarce asset. There are only 30 stadiums with naming rights in the U.S. and Paycor is now one of those 30. That was a unique opportunity, coupled with being a hometown team and a team on the rise, that we felt we had to take advantage of.” Raul Villar Jr., CEO, Paycor
Sports Business Journal
And then there were two…
There are now just two NFL stadia remaining without naming rights deals with a corporate sponsor: Green Bay’s Lambeau Field and Chicago’s Soldier Field. So is either franchise likely to follow the Bengals and sell the name of their stadium?
The short answer is no.
The Packers are actually owned by local residents through a community-based model that is unique in the NFL. Back in 2015, team president Mark Murphy told shareholders that the naming rights to Lambeau Field (much like Paul Brown Stadium, named after the team’s founder and long-time coach Curly Lambeau) would never be sold.
“We will not sell the naming rights to the stadium. We will never do that. It will always be Lambeau Field.” Mark Murphy, President, Green Bay Packers
Well, that seems fairly unequivocal.
As for the Bears, Soldier Field is more likely to change name at some point, but it’s far from a given. The league’s oldest home field is likely to undergo some major renovations in the near future, with proposals to make it a domed stadium for year-round use on the table. But those plans come with a hefty price tag of up to $2.2 billion, which increases the appeal of securing new revenue via sponsorship and naming rights agreements.
Even if the Soldier Field name is retained and a corporate sponsor added (along the lines of the Denver Broncos’ Empower Field at Mile High Stadium), there would be resistance. That’s because it was named in honour of those who fought and died during World War I and is considered by many to be a war memorial as well as a sporting arena.
“The people of Chicago don’t want their war memorial attached to a corporate name for money. It’s just not right. We’re Chicago and we’re Soldier Field, we’re not Jacksonville. There’s no tasteful way of attaching a corporate name to a war memorial. It’s a desecration.” Pat Quinn, former Illinois Governor
So, there you have it. The Bengals have finally joined the fold and we now have 28 NFL arenas (SoFi Stadium and MetLife Stadium are shared) bearing the names of banks and financial institutions, car manufacturers, logistics businesses, energy companies, telecoms providers, even Hard Rock Café, all in pursuit of the almighty dollar. And given the unique situations in Green Bay and Chicago, I suspect that’s how it will stay for the foreseeable future.
It seems like an age has passed since the end of minicamp, but the light at the end of the tunnel is finally in sight. July 18th sees the rookies from the Buffalo Bills and the Las Vegas Raiders as the first players to report for preseason training camp, with all players, both rookies and veterans, reporting by July 26th.All rookies will need to maximise the opportunities they are given this preseason, with rosters needing to be trimmed from 90 players at the beginning of camp down to the final 53 on the 30th of August.
As always, there will be a selection of rookies that had starting jobs from the moment their names were announced on draft day. However, there will be a few on the cusp of a starting role or trying to work their way onto the first team depth chart.
Let’s look at six rookies who, after their showings at OTA’s and minicamps in May and June, may have already started to force their way into contention.
Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers (Round 2, Pick 2)
Wide receivers are frequently overlooked by the Green Bay Packers in the first two rounds. In fact, Watson was the first they have taken since Devante Adams, the man he could potentially have been drafted to replace. He hasn’t shown any signs of the pressure getting to him, however, as he quickly built a connection with the current MVP, Aaron Rogers, by catching a deep ball during their first practise together, before continuing his trial by fire by lining up opposite Pro Bowler Jaire Alexander. It’s a promising start that, should it continue during training camp and preseason, could result in a starting position.
Mafe looks like he will be continuing the upward trajectory his career has taken so far. After starting at Minnesota with limited opportunities, he ended his collegiate tenure with an outstanding performance in the Senior Bowl in which he had three tackles for loss and a pair of sacks, one of which included forcing a fumble. Mafe has picked up where he left off and is already starting to catch the eyes of the Seahawks coaching staff, including Coach Carroll, who said, “He’s really talented. He’s the closest looking fit to Cliff Avril that we’ve seen. ” High praise indeed, being compared to the ex-Superbowl champion and Pro Bowler, and all this before he has put on the pads yet.
George Pickens, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (Round 2, Pick 20)
With Pickens only being able to play 4 games in his final season at college due to an ACL injury and given that multiple teams were apparently turned off by stories questioning his maturity and lack of discipline prior to the draft, it wouldn’t have surprised anyone if Pickens entered OTAs with a chip on his shoulder. Instead, he put his head down and got to work, making sure he could line up wherever the Steelers wanted him, something he did constantly during his tenure with the Bulldogs. It didn’t take long for him to show the Steelers coaching staff what he could do, making a spectacular bobbled catch on a pass that would have likely been too high for most receivers.
Nakobe Dean, LB, Philadelphia Eagles (Round 3, Pick 19)
In what could end up being the steal of the draft, the Eagles were able to pick up the free-falling Dean after concerns regarding injuries and his perceived undersized body. Dean has immediately shown off both his versatility and football IQ by learning both the MIKE and WILL positions to ensure that he can contribute straight away. There has even been chatter amongst the local reporters that the rookie will end up wearing the green dot on his helmet, taking up the responsibility of communicating with the coaches and replaying the plays, which would also suggest he will be spending a lot of time on the field.
Daniel Bellinger, TE, New York Giants (Round 4, Pick 7)
It is very rare to see a midround pick spend extended time with the starters, but that is exactly what has happened to Bellinger, and by all accounts, he has grasped his opportunity with both hands (pun intended). After being used as more of an extra offensive lineman at San Diego State and with the Giants’ signing veterans Seals-Jones and Akins in the offseason, it appeared that Bellinger would have to battle just to get a depth spot. However, he immediately impressed tight end coach Andy Bischoff. “He’s one of those rare guys today that can really do it all. He can block, he can protect, and what we want him to do is get open against man coverage. He can do all those things.”
Standing out amongst a class of 11 rookies was always going to be a tall task, but that is exactly what the fourth-round tight end has done. Likely was the second tight end the Ravens drafted on day three and was taken only 11 picks after Charlie Kolar, but he seems to have separated himself from the pack by displaying his large catch radius and ability to get open. In the last minicamp session, Likely caught multiple touchdowns in red zone drills, but one, an incredible one-handed touchdown, caught the eye of Lamar Jackson, who remarked, “It was a tremendous catch, so the sky’s the limit.”
