Ugly London win proves Broncos' playoff potential

Only once during the NFL’s almost 20-year history of bringing regular-season games to London has one of the teams gone on to win the Super Bowl at the end of that season. The 2025 Denver Broncos could well become the second.

- LUKE BAKER AT TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM

That might seem like a ludicrous claim after a nervy, thoroughly unconvincing 13-11 victory over the hapless, winless New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but while the now 4-2 Broncos were undoubtedly slightly fortunate to leave these shores as victors, you could argue they are, in other ways, unfortunate not to be 6-0.

Both their defeats have come on walk-off field goals, including one on a retry after a rarely called leverage penalty, and they have already produced a remarkable fourth-quarter comeback win over the reigning champion Philadelphia Eagles.

And most importantly, they might just have the best defence in the NFL - a unit that single-handedly sent them back to Colorado with a winning streak now at three games. They held the Jets to a paltry 82 yards of offence, sacking Justin Fields nine times and leaving him with a pitiful final passing line of 9-17 for 45 yards.

The only previous London game participants turned Super Bowl winners were the 2007 New York Giants - part of the NFL’s very first foray to the UK, as Eli Manning led them to an ugly 13-10 victory in the rain on a churned up Wembley pitch over an uninspiring Miami Dolphins outfit. Sound familiar?

While the now 0-6 Jets are probably at least marginally better than that Miami rabble, which only avoided becoming the first 0-16 team in NFL history by the narrowest of margins, new head coach Aaron Glenn will surely feel his seat heating up on the flight back to New York after becoming the first coach in franchise history to begin his tenure with six straight losses.