NFL London series 2019 review: Efe Obada and Cooper Kupp wow the crowds but Minshew Mania fizzles out

Efe Obada made an emotional return to London with the Carolina Panthers
Getty Images

After four games across five weeks and two venues entertaining hundreds of thousands of fans from across the globe, the 2019 NFL London series is now in the books.

It has been another memorable month, beginning with the debut of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as an American football venue as the Oakland Raiders outlasted the Chicago Bears.

The Carolina Panthers then beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a high-scoring NFC South showdown in N17, before the action moved onto Wembley and a Cooper Kupp-inspired triumph for the Los Angeles Rams over the winless Cincinnati Bengals.

In the final fixture, Deshaun Watson led the Houston Texans to an emphatic victory over fellow AFC South side the Jacksonville Jaguars, who struggled badly on their seventh consecutive trip across the Atlantic.

Here, Standard Sport's George Flood and Malik Ouzia select their top performers from the London games and pick out the best and worst moments of the series...

In Pictures | Texans vs Jaguars | 03/11/2019

1/27

Team of the London series

Quarterback - Deshaun Watson (Houston Texans)

Action Images via Reuters

There were two obvious candidates for the most important position of all.

Rams quarterback Jared Goff finished an error-free game against the Bengals with 372 yards and two touchdowns, while Watson completed 22 of 28 passes for 201 yards and two scores in the win over the Jaguars.

However, Watson added 37 yards on the ground while also displaying his sublime agility and elusiveness to wriggle and spin out of several potential sacks.

Few others players in the NFL offer as much sheer excitement and incredible highlight-reel moments. You can't take your eyes off him for a second.

Running back – Josh Jacobs (Oakland Raiders)

AP

It says quite something for the way Jacobs has taken the NFL by storm, that in a series that featured Todd Gurley, Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette, the rookie put in the best display of anyone in his position.

Jacobs's contribution was not only huge – 123 yards and two touchdowns – but crucial, as the Raiders edged the Bears by three points in the opener.

He also had the honour of scoring the first TD at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Running back - Christian McCaffrey (Carolina Panthers)

AP

'Run CMC' arrived in the UK as an early season MVP candidate and left with that reputation further enhanced.

McCaffrey took a short pass from Kyle Allen 25 yards to the house at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, showing off his incredible skill-set and determination as the Panthers eased past the Buccaneers 37-26.

That was after he had already capped a 99-yard, 12-play scoring drive by punching the ball in from close range as MVP chants rang out around the stadium.

A sublime talent who only seems to be getting better.

Wide receiver - Cooper Kupp (Los Angeles Rams)

Getty Images

The speedy Rams wideout produced the most electrifying performance in London this year, without a doubt.

His career-high 220 receiving yards - on seven receptions - against the Bengals was a new record for an international NFL game and continued what has been a tremendous comeback season for the 26-year-old following his return from a torn ACL.

Oh which, 65 yards and his lone score of the day came on a remarkable trick play - more on that in a moment.

Wide receiver – Allen Robinson (Chicago Bears)

AP

While not quite on Kupp’s level – not many receivers in NFL history have had games that good – Robinson's most productive game of the season for the Bears against the Raiders as he finished with 97 yards and two touchdowns.

An honourable mention to Chris Godwin of the Buccaneers, who somehow managed to rack up 151 receiving yards on a day when his quarterback couldn’t find a red shirt.

Tight end - Tyler Eifert (Cincinnati Bengals)

Getty Images

It wasn't a vintage sequence of games for tight ends in terms of their clear offensive input.

Oakland's Darren Waller and Carolina veteran Greg Olsen were both solid if unspectacular, while Trey Burton was not too heavily involved for Chicago.

Darren Fells and Cameron Brate caught a touchdown apiece for Houston and Tampa Bay, though combined for only three receptions between them.

We'll opt for Eifert, who was a rare bright spot for the Bengals at Wembley, claiming six catches for 74 yards as he played on 72 per cent of the team's offensive snaps - a marked increase after his injury woes.

Defense – Carolina Panthers

Getty Images

When things go wrong for Jameis Winston, they tend to go very wrong, and the Panthers’ defense was absolutely relentless in taking advantage.

They forced six turnovers in all (though some didn’t take much forcing) as James Bradberry (two interceptions) and former long-time Buccaneer Gerald McCoy (2.5 sacks) starred.

Oh, and Efe Obada played his part, too.

Coach - Jon Gruden (Oakland Raiders)

Getty Images

Sean McVay is a possible candidate, for having the guts to call that play, but Gruden’s Raiders performed the best of any team arriving on these shores, relative to expectation.

Gruden admitted that he’d got things wrong on the Raiders’ disastrous trip 12 months earlier, and went against the grain by sacrificing home comforts and bringing the franchise over almost a week before the game.

He got his reward for embracing the London experience with a big win.

In Pictures | Bears vs Raiders at Tottenham | 06/10/2019

1/24

London series awards

Moment of the series – Efe Obada's homecoming

Action Images via Reuters

Possibly the easiest award of the lot.

There were so many special moments during Obada’s homecoming – him being surprised with the honorary captaincy, his emotional post-game press conference, and even the raucous ovation when the stadium PA erroneously credited him with a sack.

But the scenes as he left the field, blowing kisses to the thousands of fans who had stayed behind to show their appreciation for the local hero and his story, will live long in the memory.

Play of the series - Rams' trick-play touchdown

Getty Images

The Rams' double-reverse flea-flicker against the Bengals was truly something to behold and it took a few replays to fully compute exactly what had happened.

It began with a Goff hand-off to Kupp, who curved his run before handing off again to fellow receiver Robert Woods.

Woods then hooked back around and pitched the ball back to Goff, who proceeded to connect with Kupp on a well-executed long pass to the right sideline.

Kupp then benefited from a crucial slip from Bengals cornerback BW Webb - who hadn't bitten on the initial fake - and ran 65 yards to the endzone.

"We've been trying to run that for a few weeks now," Goff said. "I joke about it, we don't run any trick plays. That was the first and best one we've ever had. And it was a good one. Maybe we can talk Sean into doing a few more now."

Game of the series - Raiders vs Bears

Getty Images

While the Rams and Texans were good to watch and there were plenty of points and scores in the Panthers-Bucs tilt alongside the Obada factor, there was a real sense of occasion during Raiders-Bears.

The excitement surrounding the maiden NFL contest to be held at the £1bn, state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - also the first game to take place at a purpose-built American football venue outside of the United States - was palpable and the 60,463 fans in attendance were certainly not disappointed.

The noise produced by a heavy pro-Bears crowd was mightily impressive and the game itself was highly watchable, with Gruden's Raiders - who led 17-0 at the interval - holding off a spirited second-half Chicago fightback to triumph 24-21 thanks to a late touchdown from Jacobs.

Disappointment of the series – Minshew Mania fizzles out

Getty Images

The final game of the series was supposed to see Minshew Mania land in the UK. The Jaguars’ first-year quarterback had been Rookie of the Week six times since replacing the injured Nick Foles in Week 1

A shame then, that he chose this stage to have the worst game of his brief professional career. The Jags never got going on offense, and he threw two desperate fourth-quarter interceptions.

On the other side of the bye, Foles is expected to be healthy, and Minshew will likely be back on the bench.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in