NFL: Jonathan Taylor vs Bijan Robinson heads to Germany as Daniel Jones and Indianapolis Colts face new strain

The NFL reaches the penultimate cease on its worldwide tour this weekend as two of the league’s most enigmatic groups meet in Berlin, Germany.

Shane Steichen’s Indianapolis Colts had entered the mid-way level of the season as soccer’s unlikely, unstoppable drive with a league-best 7-1 report surging in the direction of the playoffs behind Daniel Jones as the most recent shock quarterback career-resurrection. Solely to be swatted apart and for a slick and error-rare operation to be torpedoed by a rampant Pittsburgh Steelers protection.

Raheem Morris’ Atlanta Falcons had in the meantime reduce a well-recognized, infuriating image of inconsistency having out-muscled the Tremendous Bowl-contending Buffalo Payments in a press release victory earlier than dropping three straight whereas carrying one of the proficient offenses within the NFL.

Soccer needs to know what and who they are surely.

Their one certain factor and their unequivocal space of widespread floor lies of their backfield engine.

Taylor vs Robinson

Awaiting Berlin is a matchup of what some could contemplate to be the 2 greatest working backs within the league this season, a minimum of their respective groups’ defining focal factors, in Jonathan Taylor and Bijan Robinson. Their quiet days are as notable as their game-breaking days; the Colts run by means of Taylor, and the Falcons are little, maybe nothing, with out a firing Robinson.

Taylor is the chief executor inside Steichen’s multi-faceted and shape-shifting run scheme geared up to hop between inside and outside zone, main the NFL with 157 carries for 895 yards and 12 touchdowns with 47 first down runs because the frontrunner for Offensive Participant of the 12 months. He’s second solely to San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey with 1,113 yards from scrimmage, and the outright chief in factors scoring with 86 from his 14 whole touchdowns. He’s notably the one non-kicker within the prime 16 of scoring, with Inexperienced Bay working again Josh Jacobs sitting seventeenth with 60 factors.

For all you would possibly say a couple of resurgent Jones below heart, Taylor is the Colts. And as a lot confirmed when Pittsburgh have been capable of bottle him up for simply 45 yards from 14 carries in Sunday’s 27-20 turnover-heavy loss.

Throughout from him Robinson enters the sport with 595 speeding yards for 2 scores and 41 catches for 463 receiving yards and two scores, leaving him third in scrimmage yards behind Taylor with 1,058. He erupted for 238 scrimmage yards, together with 170 speeding yards and a landing, in opposition to the Payments on October 13, since which he has not reached 50 speeding yards or discovered the tip zone in a single sport throughout a three-game skid.

Taylor’s fellow Offensive Participant of the 12 months candidate was equally simply restricted to 46 speeding yards from 12 carries in Atlanta’s 24-23 loss to the Patriots, although did muster eight catches for 50 yards. One thing tells me his lack of utilization could also be a contributing issue. Not solely is he a tempo-changer and defense-dictating X Issue within the working sport, but in addition a pivotal receiving risk behind the help-needy Drake London.

The Colts protection is at the moment permitting the fourth-fewest speeding yards per sport whereas Atlanta are permitting the fourth most. Whoever is ready to get their working again going early will wrestle the sting of their favour.

How does Daniel Jones reply?

Alongside Taylor on the coronary heart of early Colts success has been Jones and indicators of the most recent quarterback profession revival following on from the likes of Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield on the peak of the pattern. Forged apart by the New York Giants in 2024, the previous No 6 total NFL Draft decide has performed the most effective half-season of soccer in his NFL profession as pilot to the league’s high-scoring and third-ranked passing offense.

By the group’s 7-1 begin the Colts scored 270 factors, greater than Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck achieved by means of the primary eight video games whereas bettered solely by Johnny Unitas in 1964 and 1958. In that point Jones threw for two,062 yards and 13 touchdowns alongside 4 speeding scores, posting a second-ranked 80.4 quarterback ranking and a report 91.8 quarterback ranking in opposition to strain – the place he had famously fallen quick in New York. He was navigating tight home windows with conviction, he was attacking downfield aggressively and at exact moments, he was thriving in well-disguised high-low ideas with slick and poised processing and had a passer ranking upwards of 100 in seven out of eight video games.

It was a change leading to a totally totally different and new Jones, who did not generate a lot pleasure upon his arrival within the offseason to battle it out with Anthony Richardson for the beginning job. Abruptly, he was guiding a shock contender. Jones was shredding groups in a three-level passing offense, he was blunting the blitz with some ease, he was making performs off-platform and out of construction, however for him and the Colts, new harder challenges loomed.

The primary arrived on Sunday when Mike Tomlin’s Steelers delivered the definition of Steelers soccer by intercepting Jones thrice, scooping up two of his three fumbles and sacking him 5 instances to tee up their offense for achievement. Uncharacteristically, the Colts offensive line – one of the dependable within the league by means of eight weeks – was undone by Pittsburgh’s sheer ferocity and depth, whereas reminders of Jones in New York with twitchy indecision and lapses in poise and discipline prognosis resurfaced. Does that mark the tip of his run? Does that spell hassle for the Colts’ playoff credentials? In fact not, however a No 1-ranked Falcons passing protection awaits as an ideally-timed check of reply.

“It was kind of a flashback to what we had seen when he wore a blue uniform, a different colour of blue, in New York and he had that blank stare on his face,” mentioned Sky Sports activities NFL’s Jeff Reinebold.

“I know that’s just his personality, but body language is such an important thing, particularly for a quarterback. And there’s cause for concern, I think.

“The Colts bought embarrassed and now you are going to need to go up and show that you’re top-of-the-line groups within the league. Like your report says you might be.”

The London impact

If not Robinson, it’s Drake London on whom the Falcons rely as Michael Penix Jr’s chief high-pointing contested catch-privvy vertical risk on the skin. London simply exhibited his affect in Week 9 when he put up 9 catches for 118 yards and three touchdowns, which included a surprising textbook London one-handed finish zone haul in addition to a leaping contested seize over star nook Christian Gonzalez. His efforts went cruelly unrewarded as John Parker Romo missed a late further level after London’s third to waste a possibility to attract degree. Although have been it not for London, the Falcons have been already out of the sport.

London, the No 8 decide on the 2022 Draft, is as much as 47 catches for 587 yards and 5 touchdowns on the half-way stage of the marketing campaign, having posted a career-best 1,271 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2024. He has now been focused 25 extra instances than Robinson, second in receiving yards, 23 extra instances than tight finish Kyle Pitts and 50 extra instances than the closest true huge receiver in Darnell Mooney, who has performed simply six video games. So far as conventional receiver choices are involved, London is brief in firm. An aggressive and decisive Penix Jr, on his finer days, makes it rely. However the jury is seemingly nonetheless out on the second-year quarterback, who mixes in samples of pinpoint accuracy, searing velocity to separate tight home windows, exact anticipation and alternatives for his receivers to make performs on excessive balls with overthrows by way of his rifle of an arm and inconsistency. Lots just like the Inexperienced Bay Packers, and with Penix’s breakout win over the Payments in thoughts, they’ve the offense to beat anyone and the group to lose to anyone.

Historical past of NFL in Germany

The NFL returns to Germany for its fifth sport since Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory over the Seattle Seahawks within the first again in Munich again in 2022. Two extra video games would observe in Frankfurt in 2023, earlier than Munich hosted its second matchup final November, when Jones and the Giants fell to the Carolina Panthers.

Berlin enters the fold as one in all three new territories alongside Dublin and Madrid in 2025, with Spain’s iconic Santiago Bernabeu primed to welcome the Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders for its first-ever sport in Week 11, stay on Sky Sports activities NFL from 2pm.

They characteristic as a part of a report seven video games being performed internationally this season because the NFL works in the direction of its ambition of a 16-game worldwide slate within the coming years. Australia’s well-known Melbourne Cricket Floor will be part of the schedule in 2026, Mexico Metropolis is because of re-enter as a bunch metropolis and each Paris and Asia are seemingly on the horizon.

You’ll be able to watch the Colts in opposition to the Falcons stay on Sky Sports activities NFL on Sunday, with protection from 2pm forward of kickoff at 2.30pm.

Watch the 2025 NFL season stay on Sky Sports activities, together with each London and European sport in addition to each minute of the playoffs and Tremendous Bowl LX; Get Sky Sports activities or stream with no contract on NOW.