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Patrick Mahomes arrives as a main attraction in Germany
Guten Tag from Germany. As the NFL arrives back in Europe, we guide you through the latest news lines and build-up to a bumper Sunday in Week Nine of the season…
Editor’s note…
Touchdown, Frankfurt! Where the German city’s famed Mainhatten skyline tingles with footballing nostalgia as a lasting beacon of NFL Europe and its catalyst legacy for the league’s international explosion. It has the feel of long-distance relatives reunited. A real home from home.
The city has been waiting. Waiting for the NFL’s return. That time has come, 16 years on since the Hamburg Sea Devils beat the Frankfurt Galaxy 37-28 in front of 48,000 fans at the Waldstadion in the last ever NFL Europe World Bowl on June 23 2007.
The NFL sets up camp in mainland Europe for the second year running, having staged the first regular season game in Germany last November when Tom Brady guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Munich. This year, it comes bearing the gift of a potential AFC Championship Game preview as Patrick Mahomes and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs – greeted by a Chiefs-decorated boat docked on the Main River – arrive to face Mike McDaniel’s prone-to-pyrotechnics Miami Dolphins. Frankfurt did not just get a game. They got a game-of-the-season contender.
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As the NFL touches back down in Germany this weekend, relive last year’s game in Munich, where Tom Brady showed the fans why many called him the ‘Greatest Of All Time’
Footballing roots run deep in this corner of the world. Frankfurt Galaxy represented Europe’s most successful team during the existence of the World League of American Football/NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007, collecting four World Bowl titles out of eight visits to the Championship game as one of five German-based teams alongside the Sea Devils, Rhein Fire, Berlin Thunder and Cologne Centurions.
Former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck famously followed the Galaxy while spending his childhood in Frankfurt during his father’s time as president of the World League of American Football, donning the jersey of his favourite receiver Mario Bailey, the all-time reception leader in NFL Europe history. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, meanwhile, served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach of the Galaxy in 1998.
Added poignance comes with Frankfurt having served as the European headquarters of the American Forces Network radio station (AFN) from 1945, broadcasting to American soldiers after World War II and notably providing NFL commentary across the continent. Sky Sports NFL statistician Benedict Bermange recalls a fuzzy wave resulting in a Spanish Opera station interfering at crucial moments of a game.
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Take a look at Patrick Mahomes’ best plays from the opening three weeks of the 2023 NFL season
In 1991 the London Monarchs took on the Galaxy in the inaugural game of the NFL-driven World League of American Football at the Waldstadion. For many across Europe, this weekend marks a special throwback to where their NFL fandom began.
A trip to Frankfurt kicks off a mammoth quadruple-header on Sky Sports, continuing with a meeting between divisional leaders in the Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks followed by NFC East foes in the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. Damar Hamlin and the Buffalo Bills then make an emotional return to Cincinnati to play the Bengals for the first time since the defensive back suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during last season’s contest.
Around the league…
- All change in ‘Sin City’. The biggest news this week came out of Las Vegas as Raiders owner Mark Davis fired head coach Josh McDaniels, general manager Davie Ziegler and offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi following the team’s 3-5 start. Antonio Pierce steps up as interim head coach, rookie fourth-rounder Aidan O’Connell is primed to take over from Jimmy Garoppolo as starting quarterback.
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Tyreek Hill has reached over 1,000 yards in just eight games with the Dolphins in the 2023 season, in what has been a superb relationship with Tua Tagovailoa
- The San Francisco 49ers were the boldest movers ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline as they bolstered their underperforming pass rush by acquiring former No 2 pick Chase Young from the Washington Commanders, who traded another edge rusher in Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears.
- A fascinating twist in New York saw the Jets, still alive this season thanks to their phenomenal defense, inquire over the trade availability of disgruntled Raiders receiver Davante Adams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers star weapon Mike Evans and Bengals pass-catcher Tee Higgins, according to NFL Network.
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Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams was visibly frustrated during a defeat in which he could not connect with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on multiple occasions
- The Minnesota Vikings traded for veteran quarterback Josh Dobbs from the Arizona Cardinals after it was confirmed Kirk Cousins will miss the rest of the year with a torn Achilles.
- New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll said quarterback Daniel Jones is “ready to go” against the Raiders on Sunday after missing the last three games with a neck injury.
- The Atlanta Falcons will start Taylor Heinicke over Desmond Ridder against the Vikings in Week Nine.
- Green Bay Packers pass rusher Rashan Gary signed a new four-year $96m extension on Monday.
Best quotes
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel’s opening remarks to international media in Frankfurt: “I know what you guys are thinking. I’m bigger in person, you’re right.”
Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill when asked about being in the MVP race: “No. we have a player on this team that’s better than me and means more to this team than me. And his name is (fullback) Alec Ingold.”
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He is the coach who everyone is talking about! Here is a look at some of Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniels’ funniest moment
Interim Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce: “I was born a Raider. I was born with the Raiders rolling in the Coliseum in LA. I was rolling with NWA talking Straight Out of Compton, rocking Raider hats. So, when an opportunity came to work with Josh (McDaniels), (defensive coordinator) Pat Graham and Dave (Ziegler), I jumped on it. So, that’s what set me up for this. I was born this way.”
Montez Sweat on the possibility of a contract extension in Chicago, just days after his trade to the Bears: “I just want to consider everything around me before I make a decision.”
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A look at Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s top plays from the 2023 season so far
Rasul Douglas on the moment he found out he had been traded to the Buffalo Bills: “At first, Gutey (Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst) called me, I thought it was like a joke. He’s like ‘we’re trading you’, it was over, I just hung up. And I’m sitting there, and then (Packers president) Mark Murphy called me. And he got a voice like, it was not a joke. ‘We’re trading you to the Bills, I appreciate you for everything’. I was like ‘oh, ok’.”
Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams on this week’s firings in Las Vegas: “I think it was time one way or the other, it was time for some sort of change. Just to bring a little juice in and revitalize the team a little bit.”
Live on Sky
Watch Week Nine live on Sky Sports!
The Sky Sports NFL team are on the road as Neil Reynolds, Jason Bell and Dante Hall head to Frankfurt to bring you live coverage of the Chiefs (6-2) against the Dolphins (6-2), with build-up under way from 1.30pm ahead of kick-off at 2.30pm.
We then take you back to the studio in London, where Hannah Wilkes and Phoebe Schecter are on hand to guide you through the Seattle Seahawks (5-2) against the Baltimore Ravens (6-2), followed by an all-NFC East clash between the Dallas Cowboys (5-2) and Philadelphia Eagles (7-2). Contenders then collide as the Buffalo Bills (5-3) visit the Cincinnati Bengals (4-3) in Sunday Night Football from 1.20am in the early hours of Monday.
Inside the Huddle:
In this week’s edition of Inside the Huddle, Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reinebold give their reaction to the NFL trade deadline and the firing of McDaniels, while looking ahead to a blockbuster match-up in Germany.
The stats
- Veteran offensive lineman Jason Peters is in line to make his Seahawks debut this weekend as the oldest active player in the NFL at 41 in his 20th season
- The New York Jets and their standout defense currently leads the NFL with a pressure rate of 29.2 per cent, despite blitzing at a second-lowest rate of 18.1 per cent – (Pro Football Reference)
- Tyreek Hill needs 91 receiving yards against the Chiefs in Frankfurt on Sunday to break the record he set last season (1,104 receiving yards) for the most receiving yards by a player in their first nine games of a season in the Super Bowl era – (NFL stats)
- Chargers running back Austin Ekeler needs one more touchdown reception to draw level with Keith Byars on 31 career touchdown receptions for the third-most by a running back in the Super Bowl era behind only Marshall Faulk (36) and Darren Sproles (32) – (NFL stats)
- Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts needs one rushing touchdown to tie Cam Newton (33) for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in his first four seasons – (NFL stats)
Essential reading: ‘Hill, Brown & CMC – the NFL’s game-changing trades’
Tyreek Hill, Christian McCaffrey, AJ Brown
“You get that ball to CMC and he is like those old school lawnmowers where you had to pull the tether to get it going. He’s got so many different skills and you can utilise them in so many different ways, and he’s only gotten better.”
In her latest column, Phoebe Schecter explores the impact of the Tyreek Hill, Christian McCaffrey and AJ Brown trades in the NFL’s Super Bowl race.
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AJ Brown has received at least 125 yards in the last six games, which is an NFL record
Essential reading: ‘Run, Rashid, run! The Need for Shaheed’
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed
“The New Orleans Saints wide receiver has emerged from undrafted obscurity to become the NFL definition of chopping the top off a defense, his track talents making for some of the league’s most exhilarating offensive optics.”
Love speed? Love the NFL? Sky Sports NFL editor Cam Hogwood looks at Saints flyer Rashid Shaheed…
Her Huddle: Olivia Harlan Dekker’s path to the NFL
Olivia Harlan Dekker joins Hannah Wilkes and Phoebe Schecter to discuss her career path and following in family footsteps by working on the NFL.
Thursday night rewind…
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Highlights of the Tennessee Titans against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week Nine of the NFL season
Watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Miami Dolphins from Frankfurt live on Sky Sports NFL this Sunday, with build-up from 1.30pm ahead of kick-off at 2.30pm; the Baltimore Ravens then face the Seattle Seahawks from 6pm.
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