The New York Giants ruined the party for the Green Bay Packers as they fought back to claim a 27-22 win in the second of this year’s London Games.
Green Bay were playing their first regular season game overseas, becoming the 32nd and last NFL team to play in London since the International Series began in 2007.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player for a fourth time last season, was also the first reigning MVP to play in London since 2013.
A crowd of 61,024, a new record for an NFL game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, watched Rodgers throw two touchdown passes as Green Bay took a 20-10 half-time lead.
But Rodgers, 38, was upstaged by New York quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley, both 25, during the second half.
Jones shrugged off an ankle sprain to ensure the Giants did not have to hand third-string quarterback Davis Webb his first NFL start and he steered the Big Blue to a big upset.
New York drew level after a Gary Brightwell touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter before Barkley, who came into the game as the league leader for rushing yards, scored the Giants’ third touchdown to put them in front for the first time with six minutes left.
The Giants, who have reached the play-offs just once since winning their fourth NFL title in 2012, conceded a safety during a nervy finale as they held on to improve their record to 4-1 while the Packers are now 3-2.
“We’re sorry,” said Rodgers. “We wanted to come here and put on a show, win a football game.
“The crowd response today was incredible. The fans were loud the entire time. It was outstanding.”
Raucous atmosphere as Packers end fans’ wait
The Packers are the record 13-time champions with a huge demand for tickets back in Green Bay, so they were reluctant to give up a home fixture and play overseas, which is why it took them so long to play in London.
But often it felt like the Packers really were at Lambeau Field, with their Europe-based fans coming out in force as they finally got to see their idols in the flesh.
Fans of all NFL teams pack the stands at the London Games, not just those in action, yet Green Bay’s ‘cheeseheads’ vastly outnumbered even Giants fans.
They created a raucous atmosphere on an unseasonably bright day in north London, especially after watching Rodgers make his first completed pass down the middle to Randall Cobb, which set up a field goal from the game’s opening drive.
A pass interference penalty against New York on a deep play by Rodgers then allowed the Packers to march to the Giants’ four-yard line, from where Rodgers sent wide receiver Allen Lazard into the corner of the endzone for the opening touchdown.
The Giants replied with a field goal at the end of the first quarter, but the Packers stretched their lead to 17-3 in the second following a 75-yard drive.
Cobb was bundled out in the corner before Rodgers effortlessly floated the ball to wide-open tight end Marcedes Lewis for Green Bay’s second touchdown.
Barkley burst into life with a powerful 40-yard run to get New York fans on their feet and the Giants capped the 86-yard drive with a well-worked play, which saw a double hand-off and a switch in direction before tight end Daniel Bellinger spotted a gap to dive into the endzone.
Mason Crosby’s second field goal gave Green Bay a 20-10 lead, before New York’s Graham Gano kicked his second in the third quarter, which saw the Giants briefly lose Barkley to injury.
But Jones engineered a 91-yard drive lasting over eight minutes, at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth, before running back Gary Brightwell stepped up to burrow over from two yards.
Barkley came back into the fray to produce a 41-yard catch and run, and he finished off the drive by getting into the corner from two yards.
There was plenty of time for Rodgers to mastermind a game-tying drive and, with just over a minute left, Green Bay were on New York’s six-yard line.
But the Giants’ defence stood tall, knocking down passes on third and fourth down to get the ball back and run the clock down by conceding a safety.
Rodgers still had seven seconds to conjure something miraculous but this time there would be no heroics from the four-time MVP as he was sacked as he tried to get away a Hail Mary attempt.
“Apologies for the disjointed performance,” said Rodgers. “We’re just not quite on the same page at times.
“Offensively we haven’t put two halves together. We had chances, so this one will weigh heavy on us on this flight back.”
Giants coach Brian Daboll added: “The guys just keep playing. They don’t flinch when something bad happens. That’s easy to say and hard to do, but our guys do a good job with it.”
