Isles of Wonder - The London Monarchs (FOF7)
 

This is the story of how the NFL attempted to gain a foothold in a foreign market.

The Jaguars have moved to London, renaming themselves the Monarchs in the process. They will play games at Wembley Stadium and begin play in the 2014 season - Jacksonville went 7-9 in their final season, and the NFLPA has successfully sought releases for most of their players as well as the entire coaching staff, meaning that London will need to essentially rebuild a whole new franchise.

Given that SP presents quite the challenge at the moment, I will be in charge of personnel decisions only and leaving the gameplanning exclusively up to the coaches. All other settings are on default. I did toy with the idea of divisional restructuring, moving the Monarchs to the AFC East and the Dolphins to the AFC South but decided not to.

We sign a completely new coaching staff, aside from our strength coordinator. Quite the challenge given we are picking at 26th in the staff draft.

HC: Matt Patricia (New England defensive coordinator)
OC: A.J. Myers
DC: Jerry Azzinaro (Philadelphia assistant head coach)
AC: Ron Rivera

We give the franchise designation to Maurice Jones-Drew, and end up signing him to a new three year contract. No other GM in the league is keen to trade for him.

DE Tyson Alualu is traded to Baltimore for a fourth and sixth rounder.
WR Justin Blackmon goes to the Giants for a third and fifth rounder.

We release a whole bunch of average players. Also leaving will be LDT Sen'Derrick Marks and RDT Brandon Deaderick, as their contracts are up.

Not ideal to have just twelve players, but it's a start.

With little choice, we try to make a splash in the free agency market. Two second-tier wide receivers knock me back, but I manage to get some other targets, albeit paying over the odds for them:

S Morgan Burnett (GB) - $29.38m/5yr
TE Jimmy Graham (NO) - $32.74m/4yr
DE Michael Johnson (CIN) - $31.25m/4yr
QB Josh McCown (NO) - $10.57m/3yr
ILB David Harris (NYJ) - $7.43m/3yr
DE Ziggy Hood (PIT) - $26.01m/4yr
CB Jacob Lacey (MIN) - $24.99m/4yr
K Dan Carpenter (BUF) - $18.00m/4yr
C Dan Koppen (DEN) - $11.96m/3yr
T Branden Albert (KC) - $4.67m/3yr
G Marcus Cannon (NE) - $4.75m/3yr

In the draft, we try to trade up to the first overall pick to take the best quarterback, but the Raiders ignore our offer of a first and a second. We take the best available player at 10, a tackle out of Georgia Tech, and go quarterback with our second round pick.

Draft Choices
1.10 - LT Brock Haley (37/58)
2.14 - QB Matthew Levine (9/34)
3.13 - SE Will Watson (25/41)
3.29 - SE Lance Davis (19/31)
4.12 - RB Grant Carpenter (29/32)
4.14 - FB Sean Clemons (19/40)
5.11 - LCB Edwin Giba (20/33)
5.29 - SLB Darrin Sellers (21/34)
6.10 - LCB Tucker Weaver (18/30)
6.12 - WLB Reuben Witt (26/34)
7.14 - TE Myles Howard (19/30)

We have cobbled together a roster somehow. I'm not very hopeful for positive results in 2014, especially considering the fact we have three rookie starters on offense. Our quarterback selection has busted badly too, going from 9/35 to 10/38 then 10/32.


Pre-Season

We win our first game against the Giants 35-20, finishing with a flurry of points in the final quarter as the starters are sat down. The Saints are beaten 10-5 in London in a strange game. The Redskins are beaten 37-17 with MJD rushing for two scores. Tampa Bay beats us 27-13 in the final pre-season game in London.

2014 Games 1-4

Ouch. Houston flogs us 49-3 in our first franchise game. Philadelphia comes to town for our home opener and is a little kinder, beating us 34-6. The next week, we score our first touchdown (after 11 quarters!) when Jimmy Graham is found on the end of a Luke McCown pass. The Dolphins win 34-13.

We make history when the Monarchs beat Cincinnati 21-3 at home for our first ever win. We intercept Andy Dalton and his backup Don Cooley a total of four times, and seal the result with a fumble recovery touchdown.

Bad news for RT Luke Joeckel who rushes his comeback and is now out until late 2015. He was previously injured from the season before, and will now possibly be cut (if we can afford it).

2014 Games 5-8

Cleveland travel across the pond and walk away with a 30-23 win. They are now 4-1 and the talk of the AFC. After four straight games at Wembley, it's time to jump on a plane for a triple road trip. We come close to pulling off the upset but Andrew Luck gives the Colts a 30-27 win with an 82 yard winner.

London upsets the Steelers 24-19 after leading 24-3 at the three quarter mark. Roethlisberger throws three picks and is sacked a further four times in a great defensive display. A week later, the Monarchs have their first winning streak, upsetting the Ravens 12-7 on Thursday Night Football.

London are 3-5, but in last place in a competitive AFC South. Indianapolis lead the AFC at 7-1, while the Texans have a wildcard spot at 5-2.

McCown is ranked 30th in passer rating but 10th in total yardage (1838). Maurice Jones-Drew is recording a very pedestrian 3.68 yards per carry thus far. Jimmy Graham has caught four of our six passing touchdowns. Michael Johnson leads the league with 14.5 sacks

2014 Games 9-12

Tennessee are our next visitors and we beat them 27-20 on the back of 113 yards from MJD, his best output this season. Graham catches two more touchdown passes. The Texans pay us a visit and win 26-11; the scoreline flattered us really as we couldn't cross the plane until the last minute of the game. We travel to Jerryworld and take the Cowboys into extra time, losing the game 23-20. The highlight is rookie Grant Carpetner's first touchdown run in his career. It's then off to San Diego for our longest possible roadtrip, and we win 23-20, coming back from 20-13 down in the final quarter. Graham has another two touchdown passes and now has nine in twelve games!

MJD is done for the year, and we bring in free agent Steven Jackson to help out.

Playoffs are still a slim possibility, although rather unlikely. We are 5-7 and trail Houston by two games with four to go. They also hold the tiebreaker over us.

2014 Games 13-16

Washington travel across the pond for the battle of capital cities and we win 21-6. The Colts are our opponents for our home closer, and are riding high having just sealed the AFC South. However, we crush them 45-27 on the back of six McCown touchdown passes. We have a two-game roadtrip to finish the season, needing to win both to have a chance of a wildcard spot. The Giants are dispatched 38-11 thanks to three interceptions by Eli, but Tennessee best us 10-6 in the season closer.

We finish our first season a credible 8-8.

The Cowboys win the Super Bowl against the Colts 24-21.

Michael Johnson is named Defensive POY and 1st Team Defensive End.

Off-Season Moves.

We retain our entire coaching staff. Franchise value has now slipped to 31st. I make an application to upgrade our parking lot and playing surface.

We extend LDT Roy Miller, LS Ayden England and LDE Jason Babin, RB Steven Jackson retires. As a team, we are in salary cap hell, but manage to sign QB Sam Bradford for three years. He is rated 38/50 and will compete with Luke McCown for the job in 2015.

2015 Draft

1.17 - MLB Chris Swift (36/59)
2.16 - LDE Buddy Ronk (25/41)
3.15 - LG Isaiah Schwartz (23/45)
4.18 - C Trevor Grandt (23/55)
5.17 - RDE Jacob Haggans (15/38)
6.16 - NT Leslie Banks (21/34)
7.15 - RG Walt Lucas (17/36)

The stadium upgrade proposal failed by 66.7% to 33.3%!

FS Chris Prosinski is holding out for a new contract. He is rated 66/66 and led the team in interceptions last year. The problem is we are barely under the cap as it is. We begin training camp without him and eventually send him off to the Eagles for a third rounder in 2016 and a fifth rounder in 2017.

Pre-Season

A mixed bag of results, beating Minnesota 23-17 and NFC champions San Francisco 17-14 in London, but losing 10-22 to the Rams and 10-35 to the Packers across the pond.

Sam Bradford (42/47) has won the starting job from Luke McCown. Luke Joeckel is still recovering from his injury but has been inserted as a starter in Week 1.

We are starting three rookies in Week 1 - RG Isaiah Schwartz (32/50), MLB Chris Swift (39/59) and undrafted RCB Maxwell Brown (24/42). I hope Brown can hold his own.

We play five of our first seven games at home, and finish with a triple roadtrip. In 2015 we play the NFC South and AFC East, as well as Oakland and Baltimore.

The power rankings place us in the bottom four of the league.

2015 Games 1-4

We start the season with a close loss against the Colts 13-20 at Wembley. Tampa put the cleaners through us 34-17 on the road, but we recover to belt the Ravens 38-24 and the Jets 37-18. McCown starts the Jets game while Bradford is recovering from a hand injury.

FS Morgan Burnett is gone for the season with injury.

Our 2-2 start is only good for last place in the AFC South. Every other team is 3-1.

2015 Games 5-8

A dramatic 31-24 win against the Dolphins at Wembley. Bradford drives the team 66 yards in the last 1:47 of the game to find Cecil Shorts for the winning score. We are above .500 for the first time in franchise history. The next week, Indianapolis are beaten 20-13 and we find ourselves in a wildcard spot. The Colts are in disarray somewhat with Luck out for a month. We host the 5-1 Titans next and record a marvellous 44-24 win, safety John Cyprien sealing the win with a 67 yard interception. The bye week takes the wind out of our sails somewhat and the Bills beat us comfortably 20-6.

At the halfway point of our season, we hold the second AFC wildcard spot.

Bradford is tied for the second most passing touchdowns in the NFL (12). Jones-Drew continues to be well off the pace set by the superior rushers, with just 394 yards (Ridley from the Pats has 1007 through 9 games). Michael Johnson continues to set the standard on defense, with 10.5 sacks.

2015 Games 9-12

We finish our current roadtrip with a forgetable 28-3 loss to the Pats. We then compound the loss with a close 18-21 decision against the division-leading Texans at Wembley. We get back into our winning ways with a 30-10 against Rivera's former team Carolina, and then are made to travel halfway across the world to take on Oakland - these one-match roadtrips are no good! - but win 24-9, Bradford tossing three touchdowns.

We improve our record to 7-5 but sit outside the wildcard spots, currently held by Buffalo and Tennessee (both 8-4).

We have one more home game, then a triple header to finish the season.

2015 Games 13-16

A forgettable 20-31 loss to the lowly Falcons (2-10 entering this game) has all but killed our playoff hopes. Only a win in Nashville can keep them alive, and boy do we produce - winning 29-26 with a whirlwind final quarter. Bradford is clutch, with three scoring drives during this time and four touchdowns overall. The win gives us the tiebreaker over the Titans.

In our next game, Sam Bradford is out of the game on the first play with an elbow injury - his season is over. McCown takes over and guides the team to a 24-21 win in the Superdome. Defense comes up big with two scores (an intercept and a fumble recovery).

It all comes down to our last game - we need to win to keep our place in the wildcard spot, or hope that Tennessee loses to 5-10 Indianapolis. We get flogged 35-7 by the Texans, who seal home field advantage in the AFC. However, the celebrations begin when we get word that the Colts have upset the Titans 24-6!

The Monarchs are off to the playoffs!

Wildcard Match
London Monarchs (9-7) at Denver Broncos (11-5)

1Q - 08:31 - Monarchs 3-0 (Carpenter 30 FG)
2Q - 15:00 - Monarchs 6-0 (Carpenter 49 FG)
2Q - 00:59 - Monarchs 6-3 (Folk 23 FG)
3Q - 07:05 - Tied 6-6 (Folk 37 FG)
4Q - 14:44 - Broncos 13-6 (Ball 22 pass from Dysert; Folk XP)
4Q - 09:23 - Broncos 13-9 (Carpenter 39 FG)
4Q - 03:15 - Broncos 16-9 (Folk 21 FG)
4Q - 00:05 - Broncos 19-9 (Folk 27 FG)

And thus our season ends. We couldn't get a single thing going. McCown passes for 146 yards, MJD for just 2 yards on 7 attempts!

San Francisco beats the Texans 24-16 in the Super Bowl.

Michael Johnson is our only award winner, being named to the All-League First Team once again.

Off Season Moves

DE Jason Babin retired

We lose our offensive coordinator A.J. Myers to the Colts as their new head coach. We bring in 33 year-old Gilbert Mark as his replacement. Mark is rated highly in quarterbacks and play calling.

We lose Ron Rivera who departs for Atlanta as their new defensive coordinator. Ken Woods is our new assistant coach.

Our third round draft pick is taken off us due to salary cap breaches, although we have Philadelphia's third rounder to compensate for that.

We re-sign John Cyprien, Luke Joeckel and Marcus Cannon to long-term extensions. The extensions leave us with $8.7m to go shopping with.

With the shopping, we sign RB Doug Martin (70/70) to a four-year contract, and decide to release RB Maurice Jones-Drew (44/44). We also call in SILB Mason Foster (58/58) from the Chargers for four years.

2016 Draft

1.22 - RB Alex Cook (41/60)
2.21 - LCB Rickey Weir (19/45)
3.10 - LCB Hunter Robertson (20/38)
4.21 - FB Ty Todd (25/49)
5.22 - QB Grant Clinton (9/28)
6.21 - TE Norman Beattie (22/41)
7.22 - SS Luke Erwin (18/34)

We tried another stadium proposal, and a cheaper one - it was still rejected, this time by 51% to 49%.

Cecil Shorts and Sam Bradford begin holdouts. Cecil's demands are reasonable, Sam's are not. Bradford becomes a Viking as soon as training camp is over. We receive two cornerbacks and two draft picks in return.

Pre Season

Three wins and a loss. Our rookie running back Alex Cook is out for some time with a high ankle strain, which is bothersome, although we do have Doug Martin as our main running back now.

2016 Games 1-4

Bleagh. We win just one of our first four games - against the Raiders - to fall well behind in the playoff race.

2016 Games 5-8

A character-building 30-24 win against the Colts to breathe life back into our season. We then drop a close game against the Titans, before beating the Chiefs and then the Broncos to bring the season back to level pegging at 4-4.

Martin has been outstanding, rushing for 732 yards at 5.63 per carry. McCown is on target for 4000 yards in the season, throwing 10 touchdowns and 5 picks. John Cyprien is our outstanding defensive player thus far, with a team-best 61 tackles.

2016 Games 9-12

A loss to the Chargers in San Diego puts us below .500 and that's where we stay this quarter, dropping games against the Texans, Vikings and Bills. We are now out of playoff contention.

2016 Games 13-16

Matthew Levine gets the start for the last four games, as we assess to see whether the scrambling prospect has a future at the club. As a starter he goes 1-3, with a win against MJD's Houston Texans (breaking a streak of five losses). However, we are murdered 52-9 by the Packers in our home closer, Levine throwing two pick sixes. We close the season with a 37-11 loss at Indianapolis.

The Packers beat the Pats in the Super Bowl.

TE Jimmy Graham and ILB Mason Foster are named to the All-League First Team.

Off Season Moves

Despite most people expecting Patricia to be fired after a 1-7 finish to the season, we in fact extend his contract. Behind closed doors, we were looking for an upgrade but couldn't find one in the staff draft, and had extended Patricia as a precaution.

Shaun Suisham is our new assistant coach, with Ken Woods taking the can for the season fadeout.

We are drafting fourth overall, and there are three good quarterback prospects in the top five. I'm confident we can land one of them without much trouble.

Our major free agent addition is SLB Dont'a Hightower.

In the draft, we take Ben Ryan fourth overall. He is rated 27/88 overall, looks like we might have ourselves a quarterback!

1.04 - QB Ben Ryan (27/88)
2.04 - RCB Frankie Sanderson (27/49)
3.28 - SE Landon Kelly (23/39)
4.04 - FS Mike Hilliard (23/51)
5.04 - P Deon Barlow (40/56)
5.20 - SLB Jermaine Thomas (17/40)
5.28 - LDE Larry Craig (26/46)
6.04 - RG Kaden Lester (24/39)
7.04 - SLB Matthew Schumann (16/31)

Third time lucky as our stadium vote succeeds 50.7% to 49.3%. We will have new parking lots and field surface in 2020.

We trade CB Rickey Weir to the Bills for a fourth round pick in 2018.

Pre-Season

We lose every single game. Ryan looks half-decent though under centre, so we'll start with him this year and hope he grows quickly into the role. Michael Johnson is out injured to start the season, and it's unlikely he'll return to being the defensive juggernaut he was not so long ago.

2017 Games 1-4

Houston go down at Wembley in the first game of the season 16-14. We lose linebacker Mason Foster for around six weeks, although we might get him back in three. We drop our next two games against the Rams and Chargers before regrouping to spank the Bengals 44-14, with rookie cornerback Frankie Sanderson grabbing two intercepts and returning one to the house!

2017 Games 5-8

Cleveland go down in a game of the kickers 15-3. Indianapolis beat us in a critical AFC South matchup at Wembley 34-13, and make Ben Ryan look like a rookie in the process. We close out the quarter with two road losses at Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

3-5 puts us one game outside of first place in the AFC South.

Benny Ryan has had a rough start to his career, throwing just four touchdowns in his first eight starts. The good news is his rating is now 48/91. Cyprien, Hightower and Swift are our defensive stars with a combined 133 tackles thus far this season.

2017 Games 9-12

The Monarchs topple the Titans 19-14 to move to 4-5, half a game out of first place. London then lose a critical game against the Texans 43-21, Ryan throwing four picks. The Cardinals fly to Wembley and leave with a loss, London winning 16-14. The Monarchs then develop a bit of steel and leave Buffalo with a 13-6 win. The Bills were 9-2 heading into the game.

The Monarchs are 6-6, one game behind the Colts in the division race, and two games behind the Bengals and Pats for the wildcards.

2017 Games 13-16

Seattle scores the last 17 points in the game as they beat London 27-24, putting the Monarchs two games behind the Colts in the division race. A week later, the Monarchs are up 24-7 in Indianapolis but fade down the stretch and lose 31-27. The Colts' winning score comes with 43 seconds left on the clock.

The 49ers beat London 26-3 in the Monarchs' home closer. The season ends on a high note with a 26-13 win in Nashville.

The Colts would go on to win the Super Bowl 38-16 against Tampa Bay.

TE Jimmy Graham and K Dan Carpenter earn All-League Second Team honours.

Pre-Season

We keep our coaching staff intact.

San Diego floats us an offer for lineman Isaiah Schwartz - I reject it given he's the best of an admittedly average line.

We are picking 14th in the first round and have $30m spare in the cap.

Extended contracts are handed out to Cecil Shorts, Morgan Burnett and Trevor Grandt.

LG Walt Lucas (37/37), LDE Buddy Ronk (37/37) and RCB Randy Bailey (23/30) are released. Bailey was received in the Sam Bradford trade with the Vikings and was originally rated 20/45 when we got him.

I float a few trade offers of my own for cornerbacks but get refusals - we are interested in one player in particular from the Dolphins but they were asking for too many draft picks. I was prepared to give them two twos and two threes plus a defensive starter, but they wouldn't have a bar of it.

My main free agent target is Cameron Wake but he signs with the Colts, disregarding our meaty contract offer. We then try to snag Rams offensive tackle Justin Tharpe (84/84) but he goes to Arizona. It seems we are having a lot of trouble trying to get players to move across the ditch! Eventually we do get LDT Rodney Hammond (44/51) to join us from the Colts. That's our only major free agent signing.

Draft Results

1.14 - LDE Gary Thornton (31/57)
2.13 - LCB Tyrone Lewis (29/44)
3.12 - RB Chase Huffman (24/36)
4.11 - RG Lukas Carlson (28/58)
4.30 - LDT Erick Waterfield (28/50)
5.10 - LT Jesse Jackson (17/33)
6.15 - LT Ezekiel Porter (16/37)
7.14 - TE Luis Bullock (18/37)

If Thornton, Carlson and Waterfield can develop fully, I'd be rather happy with this draft!

We sign a few affinity/mentor guys and head to training camp with no holdouts.

Jimmy Graham breaks his fibula and will miss the first quarter of the season. Backup strong safety Michael Griffin is gone for the entire season with a torn biceps.

We win three of our pre-season games, and lose the other one by one point. The compass seems to be pointing up. Still, anything can and will happen.

The schedule makers have been kind to us, limiting the number of times we will need to travel across the Atlantic - a triple road trip to start the season, followed by a triple home stand. The only single game at home or away occurs in Weeks 11 and 12. We have a four home game stand in the back half of the season, before finishing our schedule in Houston. Altogether, four trips across the Atlantic.

2018 Games 1-4

A fast start out of the gates, beating the Colts 30-24. Ryan rebounds well after throwing a pick six to start the game. We lose 16-10 to the Eagles, but Morgan Burnett returns an intercept 98 yards for a score in a great highlight. Receiver Norm Malone has a great game against the Steelers, hauling in eight catches, a TD and a kickoff return TD in a 29-16 win. We then turn our attention to our Wembley opener against the Jets in Week 4 and record our first ever shutout, blanking New York 20-0.

We are tied at the top of the division with the Titans, who are also 3-1. Our defense is magnificent thus far, with 11 turnovers.

2018 Games 5-8

We are dominated 36-28 by the Dolphins at Wembley, with Norm Malone's second kickoff TD return (100 yards) the main highlight. The Colts then pay us a visit, and despite running 81 offensive plays to our 53, they are well and truly beaten 33-14. Doug Martin is the star with 119 receiving yards. We then jump on a plane for a month-long roadtrip. The first stop is Nashville, where the local side beats us 30-10 in a game that puts both our sides at 4-3. After licking our wounds in a bye week, we then head up to Buffalo where the Bills beat us 23-20 in a close encounter.

We are 4-4 at the halfway stage of the season, 1.5 games behind the Titans.

Ryan has been great in his second season, throwing 11 touchdowns and only two picks for 1947 yards. He also has 263 yards rushing.

Doug Martin is putting great numbers on the board, rushing for 501 yards and receiving for 422 more, with 5 touchdowns altogether. Norm Malone (515) and Cecil Shorts (438) are the other two leading receivers.

Despite a noticeable dropoff in his personal play, Michael Johnson's 4 sacks are still good enough to lead the team. John Cyprien and Mason Foster lead the team with 55 and 51 tackles respectively.

2018 Games 9-12

Off to Foxboro to play the unbeaten Pats. They beat us 31-9. Off to London for a single home game against the Texans, languishing at the foot of the division. We escape with a 27-22 win that returns us to 5-5, now just one game behind Tennessee. Back on a plane, this time to Dallas, but no joy for us in a 24-21 loss. DeMarco Murray rushes for 151 yards. Back again to London for four consecutive home games - maybe we can make a rush into the playoffs here? We limit Alex Smith's Chiefs to 176 yards and win easily 20-3. Cecil Shorts is out for seven weeks with a broken ankle.

At 6-6, we are walking a tightrope to make the finals. Tennessee are 7-5, and so are San Diego who own the second wildcard. The Titans travel to us in Week 15 in what will be a critical match, so long as we take care of business first against the Redskins.

2018 Games 13-16

The Redskins are easily beaten 19-7, but we lose John Cyprien in the process, meaning we'll have to take on the Titans without our best defensive player. We lead the Titans 13-3 at halftime and threaten to give up the game, but hold on 19-13. The 7-7 Giants, in a playoff fight of their own, then come to visit in the last of the homestand matches. This time it is us who stage the comeback from 13-3 to win 17-13. We finish 2018 7-1 at home. We therefore need to beat the Texans to be sure of a playoff berth, with the 8-7 Colts and 8-7 Titans playing each other. 9-7 will probably not be good enough for a wildcard, with Buffalo holding the tiebreaker over us. We go into Reliant Stadium with a winning mindset and it works with the Monarchs getting a 27-24 win. Jimmy Graham hauls in 142 yards as London outscores Houston 17-0 in the final quarter.

We're going back to the playoffs, this time as AFC South Champions! Get ready, Wembley!

Ben Ryan throwns 19TD and 7INTs for 3786 yards during 2018, as well as rushing for 542 yards.

Doug Martin has 1017 rushing yards, 785 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns all up. Norm Malone is our top receiver with 813 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Mason Foster records 99 tackles for the season. John Cyprien is in second place with 63 tackles, but recorded in just 10 games. Machine! Morgan Burnett leads the interceptions with 5, and Frankie Sanderson just behind with 4. Michael Johnson is our sack king with 7 altogether.

The success of the team can be put down to the turnovers, with 32 altogether by the defensive unit and a league-best turnover margin of +17.

2018 Wildcard Round
Buffalo Bills (10-6) at London Monarchs (10-6)

Wade Phillips is in his second incarnation as the Bills coach, and took Buffalo to the AFC Championship game last year.

We have an extraordinary start, scoring on our first drive and then intercepting E.J. Manuel on the Bills' first offensive play. We then score once again and lead 14-0 after 3 minutes. When Ben Ryan scrambles 17 yards for a touchdown, it's 21-0 at the quarter break, and virtually game over. London leads 31-7 at the half time break and the second half turns into a victory lap.

Buffalo reduces the deficit to 31-21, but Darrius Heyward-Bey returns the kickoff 100 yards to restore equilibrium. We run out winners by 41 points to 28 for the first playoff win in franchise history!

1Q - 11:56 - Monarchs 7-0 (Malone 17 pass from Ryan, Carpenter XP)
1Q - 10:21 - Monarchs 14-0 (Martin 3 run, Carpenter XP)
1Q - 00:49 - Monarchs 21-0 (Ryan 17 run, Carpenter XP)
2Q - 10:38 - Monarchs 24-0 (Carpenter 21 FG)
2Q - 05:50 - Monarchs 24-7 (Kerr 8 pass from Manuel, Bullock XP)
2Q - 00:26 - Monarchs 31-7 (Graham 2 pass from Ryan, Carpenter XP)
3Q - 06:37 - Monarchs 31-13 (Byrd 50 interception TD, 2XP failed)
3Q - 00:14 - Monarchs 31-21 (Kerr 38 pass from Manuel, 2XP successful)
4Q - 15:00 - Monarchs 38-21 (Heyward-Bey 100 kickoff return, Carpenter XP)
4Q - 11:17 - Monarchs 38-28 (Fraley 3 run, Bullock XP)
4Q - 02:45 - Monarchs 41-28 (Carpenter 52 FG)

We now travel to Miami to take on the 12-4 Dolphins.

2018 Divisional Round
London Monarchs (11-6) at Miami Dolphins (12-4)

Chuck Pagano is at his second club, having taken Miami to the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. Marvin Lewis is his assistant coach, leaving the Bengals at the end of 2014. Adrian Peterson is their star running back.

We have another fast start to this game, forcing a turnover and scoring on the ensuing drive. Miami are a quality side and level the scores with an 80-yard drive. Norm Malone puts us into prime scoring position with the next kickoff return, and receives the touchdown pass from Ryan to finish the drive.

We then get some good luck and intercept Ryan Tannehill just as it appears he is going to lead the Dolphins to a game tying drive. Ben Ryan finds Jimmy Graham on the end of a touchdown pass that spans 36 yards and we are suddenly up by two scores. Tannehill is again intercepted and Carpenter extends our lead. Miami strike back with a badly-needed touchdown just before the break and the Monarchs lead 24-14.

The teams trade touchdowns to begin the third quarter, and London stretches out the quarter with a nine minute drive that culminates in a field goal; Monarchs lead 34-21 early in the fourth quarter. Adrian Peterson picks up several good gains and the Dolphins close the gap to just six points with seven minutes to go. All to play for!

The Monarchs go three-and-out and Miami appear to be in the ascendancy. This is highlighted when Tim Santoki rushes for 48 yards and puts Miami in prime scoring position. However, the Dolphins are held to just a field goal. London leads by 3 with 3:53 to go.

Another three-and-out series from the Monarchs and Miami starts with the ball on the MIA29 line with 2:37 to go. Tannehill gets the Dolphins to the MIA43 by the time the two minute warning goes. A penalty for a false start, and a stuffing tackle, and the Dolphins suddenly have 3rd and 16 with a running clock. The play is defended by Hightower and the Dolphins set up for 4th and 16! Again, the pass is defended, this time by Hunter Robertson, and the ball goes over on downs!

Two running plays, Ben Ryan takes a knee, and the Monarchs are off to the AFC Championship Game!

1Q - 12:24 - Monarchs 7-0 (Hawkins 11 pass from Ryan, Carpenter XP)
1Q - 07:41 - Tied 7-7 (Sinkfield 19 pass from Tannehill, Sturgis XP)
1Q - 05:17 - Monarchs 14-7 (Malone 12 pass from Ryan, Carpenter XP)
2Q - 08:11 - Monarchs 21-7 (Graham 36 pass from Ryan, Carpenter XP)
2Q - 02:01 - Monarchs 24-7 (Carpenter 51 FG)
2Q - 00:53 - Monarchs 24-14 (Sinkfield 66 pass from Tannehill, Sturgis XP)
3Q - 10:21 - Monarchs 31-14 (Graham 16 pass from Ryan, Carpenter XP)
3Q - 07:45 - Monarchs 31-21 (Bailey 24 pass from Tannehill, Sturgis XP)
4Q - 14:10 - Monarchs 34-21 (Carpenter 20 FG)
4Q - 07:09 - Monarchs 34-28 (Peterson 8 pass from Tannehill, Sturgis XP)
4Q - 03:53 - Monarchs 34-31 (Sturgis 34 FG)

Ryan is the MVP with a statline of 22/38-284 4TD
Graham has an enormous 11 catches for 168 yards and 2TDs.

2018 AFC Championship Game
London Monarchs (12-6) at Denver Broncos (15-2)

Joe DeCamillis has racked up a 62-24 record as coach of the Broncos since 2014, but has only taken them to the AFC Championship game twice in five seasons - in 2014 and today.

The Broncos get on the board first with a Zac Dysert pass to Hill after an earlier touchdown was overturned for an illegal motion. Ryan finds Malone in the next drive for a 52 yard touchdown, with 30 yards coming after the catch. Doug Martin lays the platform for our next touchdown drive, with rushes of 20, 10 and 21 yards before Ryan hits Landon Kelly for a touchdown. Monarchs in front! Not for long, as it turns out, with Lance Bixler rushing 44 yards from the first play of the next drive and a touchdown. That's how the first half finishes, with the teams trading punts.

London takes nine minutes off the clock in scoring the first touchdown of the second half, methodically chalking up yardage before finding Heyward-Bey in the endzone. The Broncos chalk up an immediate reply, with Marshall Horton finding clear space for a gain of 50 yards before Lance Bixler leveled the scores once again.

The Monarchs scored first in the fourth quarter, with Carpenter slotting the ball through the posts from 40 yards out. Critically, London were able to stall a Denver drive and get the ball back with 9 minutes remaining. Time to play some clock management! That's not what transpired though, with Ryan throwing his first interception of the playoffs, and returned for a touchdown. Advantage Denver.

London goes three-and-out and get the ball back after the Broncos add a field goal. Two minutes remaining, and a touchdown needed. And a touchdown was indeed scored, but this time by the Broncos, with another pick six. Season over.

1Q - 05:03 - Broncos 7-0 (Hill 7 pass from Dysert, Borczon XP)
1Q - 00:19 - Tied 7-7 (Malone 52 pass from Ryan, Carpenter XP)
2Q - 07:09 - Monarchs 14-7 (Kelly 15 pass from Ryan, Carpenter XP)
2Q - 06:40 - Tied 14-14 (Bixler 44 run, Borczon XP)
3Q - 04:13 - Monarchs 21-14 (Heyward-Bey 14 pass from Ryan, Carpenter XP)
3Q - 00:57 - Tied 21-21 (Bixler 3 run, Borczon XP)
4Q - 12:02 - Monarchs 24-21 (Carpenter 40 FG)
4Q - 08:16 - Broncos 28-24 (Black 37 interception TD, Borczon XP)
4Q - 02:27 - Broncos 31-24 (Borczon 41 FG)
4Q - 02:13 - Broncos 38-24 (Carpenter 33 interception TD, Borczon XP)

Chicago wins the Super Bowl over Denver.

No Monarchs won player awards. Try harder next year.


Five seasons in, and a trip already to the AFC Championship game!
Now, let's see if we can leverage this good form into a better squad and a serious tilt at the title next season.

Off-Season

FS Bernard Pollard retires. Elsewhere in the league, Marshawn Lynch and Adrian Peterson both call it a day as well.

We keep our coaching staff together for another season.

Doug Martin, Jimmy Graham and Trevor Grandt earn contract extensions. We say goodbye to Michael Johnson, who is released when we can't justify his salary level and his skill set. Johnson is our all-time sack leader.

We have $32.4m to play with in free agency, and need to address corner, linebacker and wide receiver.

Chris Atkins (70/70) signs for five years from the Giants. He recorded 67 tackles and 9 sacks in his first full season as a starter in 2018.

Morris Claiborne (53/53) signs from the Oakland Raiders. He is a significant upgrade for us at right corner.

We then mortgage the future by trading for SE Patrick Chay (67/67) from the Buffalo Bills. In exchange for the wide receiver, we send our first, second and third picks this year, our second pick in 2020, and C Trevor Grandt, who Buffalo had been keen on for a few years now.

Time will tell if that was a good move or not.

Our draft class as a result is rather diminished:

4.29 - P Ryder Sullivan (38/62)
5.29 - RDT Sam Sanders (24/40)
6.29 - RDE Patrick Mathanaporn (17/36)
7.29 - C Jeremy Dawson (13/41)

No holdouts as we head to training camp.

Pre-Season

Jimmy Graham explodes his ACL in our second pre-season game and will be out for roughly 18 weeks. We might get him back for the playoffs. If we make it.


The schedule-makers are against us this season, with no less than seven trips across the Atlantic. We do not play consecutive away or home games until Week 13.

2019 Games 1-4

We start the season in Nashville, where we down the Titans 27-20. Ben Ryan rushes for two touchdowns and Patrick Chay makes it onto the scorer's sheet with a touchdown reception. We then succumb to Blaine Gabbert and his Tampa Bay Bucs as they beat us 24-20 at Wembley. We regroup on the road and top the Dolphins 23-10 in Miami. Ben Ryan then passes for a career-best 351 yards in a 37-13 win against the Raiders, making their longest roadtrip in franchise history.

3-1 is a positive start to the season but we're looking up at the unbeaten Colts. Our fullback Ty Todd is out for a few weeks too; not good for him in a contract year.

2019 Games 5-8

We kick back in a bye week then take on the 5-0 Colts in Indy. Chris Atkins leaves his mark on the game with three sacks and an intercept and we win 20-17. Winless Tennessee then visit Wembley and for a while look poised to record the upset, but we prevail 30-23 to move to 5-1 for the first time in franchise history. We trek into Arrowhead to take on the 5-1 Chiefs, and win a tight contest 23-17, scoring ten points in the final two minutes. Denver then travel to Wembley for a game with playoff seeding implications. We lose the AFC Championship rematch by 20-16 to drop to 6-2.

We aren't as dominant on defense as we were last season, and it shows with our turnover margin of just +2.

Ryan's statline at halfway is good: 13TD, 5INT, 2054 yards; 278 rushing yards and 3TD

Doug Martin continues to do it all himself: 677 rushing yards (2TD), 321 receiving yards (3TD). New signing Patrick Chay is earning his pay, with 468 receiving yards and 4TD, while Cecil Shorts continues to chalk up the yards with 457 thus far.

John Cyprien has picked up where he left off last season with 54 tackles, and new addition Chris Atkins has 43 tackles and 4 sacks. As a unit we have forced just five intercepts this season.

We currently hold the #2 seed in the AFC, but are level with the Colts in our division. We play the Colts at Wembley in our last game. Could be quite important!

2019 Games 9-12

San Diego are beaten on the road 23-14 in our longest possible roadtrip. Good thing our players are used to the travel. Back to Wembley where we punish the Texans 37-17. We then head to Charlotte, and the Panthers are beaten 37-10 in a game where Patrick Chay becomes the first Monarch to catch three touchdowns in one game. Things are going well; too well, as the Browns come to Wembley and walk away with a win, 19-14. We drop to 9-3, still with the #2 seed but 1.5 games behind the Broncos and only one game ahead of the Colts.

2019 Games 13-16

A double roadtrip (at last!) as we head to Atlanta and Houston. We beat the Falcons handily by 44-17 with two pick sixes for our defense. Ben Ryan then produces the best quarterback rating of his short career in our 37-10 win against the Texans. We head back to Wembley with a two game lead in the AFC South and a two game lead on the #3 seed. We may rest some starters in the final game if the result doesn't matter.

We win the AFC South with a 24-17 win against the Saints, who are themselves headed to the playoffs, but it comes at a price. Doug Martin is questionable for our next game with a strained hamstring. In the event, he is the only starter we sit for the season closer, even though we can't move out of the #2 seed. We beat the Colts 43-30 and finish the season with a franchise-best 13-3 record.

As you'd imagine, we have quite a few franchise records set this season:

QB Rating - Ben Ryan - 99.5
Passing Yards - Ben Ryan - 4296
Passing Touchdowns - Ben Ryan - 30
300 Yard Passing Games - Ben Ryan - 6
Rushing Attempts - Doug Martin - 258
Rushing Yards - Doug Martin - 1287
Receiving Yards - Patrick Chay - 1242
Receiving Touchdowns - Patrick Chay - 10
100 Yard Receiving Games - Patrick Chay - 6
Pass Defense Percentage - John Cyprien - 84.6%
Field Goals - Dan Carpenter - 42
Points Scored - Dan Carpenter - 171
Key Run Blocks - Luke Joeckel - 41
Key Run Opportunities - Luke Joeckel - 98
Passes Defended - John Cyprien and Chris Atkins - 16
Yards From Scrimmage - Doug Martin - 1841
All-Purpose Yards - Patrick Chay - 2073

2019 Division Round
Cincinnati Bengals (11-6) at London Monarchs (13-3)

Rich Bisaccia has been the head coach of the Bengals since Marvin Lewis was sacked at the end of 2014. Despite being a perennial head coaching candidate, Jay Gruden remains as offensive coordinator.

The starting quarterback for the Bengals is a certain Sam Bradford.

John Cyprien is out for the rest of the season with a hyperextended knee, but Jimmy Graham makes his return at long last. Doug Martin is also back, but Alex Cook will start in his place and get the majority of carries.

The game starts with a Bengals field goal, and we counter with Ben Ryan rushing 11 yards. In the second quarter, we crush Bradford who promptly fumbles and we scoop it up for an 81 yard return. The Bengals would score a touchdown of their own on the next drive and go into the break down 10-14.

We receive the ball first in the second half and Ben Ryan throws and scrambles us down the field, putting Landon Kelly onto the scorer's sheet. Carpenter extends the lead midway through the quarter. Bradford keeps the Bengals in the contest, throwing another touchdown and reducing the margin to just seven points as we head into the final quarter.

To start the quarter, we block a punt but then fumble in prime scoring position. A missed opportunity. Midway through the term, we keep the Bengals out of our end zone and they settle for three points. We go three-and-out but fortunately Cincinnati can't get anything going. We play clock management and give the Bengals the ball back with 2:32 remaining. They have 80 yards and one timeout left.

Bradford then proceeds to step up to the plate, completing passes of 15, 17, 15 and 24 yards and bringing Cincinnati to the Monarchs 9 yard line. First and goal, one minute to go.

First, Bradford seeks to find running back Ashton Rayburn, but the rookie drops it. Then, he is harried by the defense and throws the ball away. Third-and-goal with 44 seconds to go, the Cincinnati charge comes to an end as Morris Claiborne swoops on a pass intended for a Bengals receiver in the end zone. Ryan takes a knee and the Monarchs escape with a win.

1Q - 08:30 - Bengals 3-0 (Prescott 40 FG)
1Q - 03:48 - Monarchs 7-3 (Ryan 11 run, Carpenter XP)
2Q - 10:03 - Monarchs 14-3 (Hightower 81 fumble return, Carpenter XP)
2Q - 08:00 - Monarchs 14-10 (Covington 38 pass from Bradford, Prescott XP)
3Q - 11:15 - Monarchs 21-10 (Kelly 6 pass from Ryan, Carpenter XP)
3Q - 05:29 - Monarchs 24-10 (Carpenter 23 FG)
3Q - 04:39 - Monarchs 24-17 (Emerson 7 pass from Bradford, Prescott XP)
4Q - 08:33 - Monarchs 24-20 (Prescott 19 FG)

We take on the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game, a repeat of last year's match-up.

AFC Championship Game
London Monarchs (14-3) at Denver Broncos (15-1-1)

Our previous two playoff tilts have ended at Mile High Stadium. Will it be third time lucky?

We can't get a first down at all in the first quarter, but are able to stall the Broncos enough to trail by only 6-0. When we finally do get a first down, we can only take the ball to the Broncos 37, where we decide to punt it away rather than try the long field goal. On the next drive, the Broncos take their chance and lead 13-0.

The game continues in a blur. Ben Ryan is having one of the worst games of his career thus far, and is sacked for a total of 24 yards on one drive midway through the third quarter. Ryan can only gain 24 yards passing in the third quarter, and 22 of those yards come on the last play of the quarter. We still trail 13-0. Where there's life, there's hope.

Our struggling offense finally clicks into gear with six minutes to go. Ryan finds Chay for 34 yards, which sets up play action on the following set of downs, and the quarterback goes in for the touchdown himself.

We get the ball back, trailing 13-7, with 1:52 remaining and no timeouts.

However, there is to be no fairy tale, as the Mile High Curse strikes yet again. The ball goes over on downs and Denver returns to the Super Bowl.

Ryan's final statline is 20/42-206, no picks.

1Q - 04:53 - Broncos 3-0 (Borczon 31 FG)
1Q - 00:22 - Broncos 6-0 (Borczon 51 FG)
2Q - 03:06 - Broncos 13-0 (Sanders 19 pass from Dysert, Borczon XP)
4Q - 06:02 - Broncos 13-7 (Ryan 9 run, Carpenter XP)

The Broncos would go on to lose the Super Bowl to the Cowboys.

Ben Ryan is named the MVP, Offensive POY and First Team Quarterback.
Luke Joeckel is an All-League First Team offensive linemen, and Dan Carpenter is an All-League First Team kicker.

Off Season

Contract extensions for our head coach, defensive coordinator and assistant coach. No retirements.

We need to work on a contract extension for Ben Ryan, but find it a little tricky with the salary cap situation. Mason Foster, Alex Cook and Brandon Deaderick are released. Ryan agrees to a five year extension worth $141.5m. I secretly cross my fingers and hope it works.

We avoid free agency signings altogether.

Draft

1.30 - RB Mark Sweeney (40/54)
3.30 - FB Courtney Cauthen (21/42)
4.30 - RDE Kent Berry (24/38)
5.30 - RT Brock Malone (22/49)
6.30 - QB David Hurst (12/36)
7.30 - LT Clyde Kelley (11/31)

After the draft, the NFL suspends Danny Amendola and Michael Crabtree for the entire 2020 season due to being habitual offenders of the anti-headhunting policy. Wow!

Cecil Shorts begins a holdout but it turns out he merely wants a longer contract rather than more money. He's still an important piece of our puzzle, so he gets his new contract.

Pre-Season

No injuries to speak of, although Cecil Shorts has picked up a 'viral infection'. Coincidence with a new contract under his belt? Maybe not.

The schedule-makers have listened to my pleas from last season and rewarded us with just four trips across the Atlantic; a one-off trip to Houston to start the season, a triple-header and two double-headers to finish off the season.

2020 Games 1-4

We start with a statement win in Houston, blanking the hosts in the process. Detroit are next on the slate, and we beat them 38-21 at Wembley, with Doug Martin taking three scores across the line. Buffalo beat us rather rudely 30-10, although this may serve to put our team's ambitions into context. We beat the Bengals 30-27 on the back of two miracle plays - the first is a 99 yard interception return from John Cyprien, and the final one is a 47 yard touchdown pass from Ryan to Shorts with three seconds remaining in the game!

London are tied with the Titans at 3-1 on top of the AFC South.

2020 Games 5-8

Shorts is out for around three weeks with a hyperextended knee. He's not had much luck in the injury department. Patrick Chay is out for a while with a pulled groin. Bully for him. Our defense stands up big time against the Browns in a 41-10 win - we have two fumble recovery touchdowns and two pick sixes recorded. It is as dominant a win as I can remember. We lead Indy 31-7 late in the third quarter and hang on to win 38-28. We fall 34-24 to the Steelers and finish our triple roadtrip at Baltimore with a 38-24 win over the Ravens. Dan Carpenter has hyperextended his knee, so we haul undrafted rookie Jeremy Moss off the street to take kicks.

The Monarchs are 6-2 and poised to return to the playoffs, leading the AFC South by half a game over the Titans (5-2).

Landon Kelly (37/37) is the receiver leader, due mainly to injuries to Cecil Shorts and Patrick Chay. Kelly has 39 receptions for 384 yards and 3 scores.

Ryan has 12 touchdowns, 2 picks and 2178 yards in the air; with his feet he has scrambled for 136 yards and one score. Doug Martin has 600 yards and 7 touchdowns, rookie Mark Sweeney has 123 yards. Chris Swift already has 59 tackles on the season.

2020 Games 9-12

The Titans come to Wembley for an important AFC South match, and looking for their first win here since 2016. They earn it with a 17-0 start and hold on for a 34-26 win which gives them the inside track on the AFC South championship. We lick our lips during the bye week then take care of business against Houston 31-16. We are now level with the Titans after they slip up against Cincinnati. We travel to Minnesota and dispense with the Vikings 34-17 but lose rookie lineman Brock Malone for the rest of 2020. Denver are next on the plate, and we exorcise a few demons by winning at Mile High by 31 points to 17 and reduce the Broncos to 6-6.

We are 9-3 but second in our division. London are two games ahead of the wildcard challengers. We finish our season against the Titans, which will most likely be the deciding game for the AFC South championship and the second seed in the AFC.

2020 Games 13-16

Chicago are blanked at Wembley by 34 points to nil. We then have a much harder game in our home closer against the Colts, winning by 33 points to 31. The Texans upset the Titans, meaning that we lead the division ourselves at 11-3, but the Titans own the tiebreaker over us. Not time to celebrate just yet. Our last roadtrip of the regular season takes us first to Lambeau Field, where we beat the hapless locals 33-9. Tennessee lose again, which means that our game against them is now meaningless and we have sewn up the AFC South championship for the third successive season. Accordingly, we sit Ben Ryan, Doug Martin and Patrick Chay from the final game, even though our quarterback is on the cusp of 4000 yards. I'd kick myself if he were to get hurt in a game where we can't rise or fall! We lose to the Titans, but I wasn't expecting a 40-3 massacre. It seems we have rather little depth beyond our stars!

We finish the season 12-4 and earn a bye. Miami have home field advantage in the AFC.

Ben Ryan finishes the season with 26 touchdowns and 3 picks from his 15 starts, with 3962 yards. Doug Martin has 1088 yards and 14 touchdowns, and 20 touchdowns altogether when you factor in his receiving work (71 receptions, 644 yards). Patrick Chay leads the team in yards received (783), and we have two hundred-tacklers, with Chris Swift and (who else?) John Cyprien earning the honours. Chris Atkins has eight sacks for the season.

AFC Division Round 2020
Denver Broncos (10-7) at London Monarchs (12-4)

Outside of our division opponents, we have played Denver more times than any other team in our franchise history. Currently the ledger stands 5-2 to the Broncos. Just as critically, the Broncos lead 3-0 in playoff matches. This one is different though; it's at Wembley.

The first half is a bruising affair, with London leading 17-10 at the long break. The Broncos turn the ball over on one occasion trying to get a touchdown instead of a certain field goal, while Ben Ryan has thrown two touchdowns already.

The second half begins with London forcing a fumble on Denver's first offensive play, and Jimmy Graham scores on London's first play thereafter. The Broncos would strike back with ten points in two drives, and London was on shaky ground at 24-20 ahead. Carpenter would extend the lead back out to seven points at three-quarter time.

The fourth-quarter would be a titanic battle, with both teams getting outstanding field position in defense. The Broncos would end up with the ball last, but couldn't get it out of their own half before turning it over on downs. The Monarchs had finally beaten the Broncos in the playoffs!

1Q - 10:16 - Monarchs 3-0 (Carpenter 53 FG)
1Q - 04:37 - Monarchs 10-0 (Shorts 9 pass from Ryan, Carpenter XP)
2Q - 04:57 - Monarchs 10-7 (Bixler 1 run, Borczon XP)
2Q - 02:57 - Monarchs 17-7 (Martin 33 pass from Ryan, Carpenter XP)
2Q - 00:03 - Monarchs 17-10 (Borczon 54 FG)
3Q - 14:39 - Monarchs 24-10 (Graham 12 pass from Ryan, Carpenter XP)
3Q - 10:02 - Monarchs 24-17 (Bohanon 8 pass from Dysert, Borczon XP)
3Q - 04:45 - Monarchs 24-20 (Borczon 45 FG)
3Q - 01:19 - Monarchs 27-20 (Carpenter 23 FG)

Much to the delight of Monarchs fans, the Titans had upset the Dolphins in the division round, meaning that the AFC Championship game would be played on home soil.

AFC Championship Game 2020
Tennessee Titans (13-5) at London Monarchs (13-4)

Levi Gilmore is in his first season at the Titans, but was previously coach at St Louis between 2017 and 2019. The Titans are in their first post-season trip since 2008.

The two teams traded touchdowns in the first quarter, sensing that this would be nothing like the last time these two teams met. London forced a fumble in the second quarter; Tennessee replied by making an interception, just Ben Ryan's fourth of the season. The teams traded field goals, and the scores remained level at halftime, although Carpenter missed a shot from 44 yards which would have given the hosts the lead.

The Titans sucked eight minutes off the clock in the third quarter and scored a go-ahead field goal. Jimmy Graham then fumbled the ball and gifted the Titans field position which they did not squander. The Titans led 20-10 with 5:38 remaining in the third quarter. Another fumble in the next drive allowed the Titans to add three more points.

A blocked punt was recovered by the Titans at the London 10 yard line, and the stench of death was in the air. Alex Smith found his target and suddenly the Titans led 30-10. London could only feebly add a field goal in reply, and the Titans made sure they knew it was the wrong decision, blowing the game out to 37-13. The Monarchs did add a final touchdown but it was too little, too late. The Titans were off to their first Super Bowl in 20 seasons; the Monarchs had lost their third AFC title game in as many seasons.

1Q - 10:32 - Monarchs 7-0 (Malfara 17 pass from Ryan, Carpenter XP)
1Q - 03:48 - Tied 7-7 (Rogers 2 run, Bironas XP)
2Q - 07:30 - Titans 10-7 (Bironas 23 FG)
2Q - 02:02 - Tied 10-10 (Carpenter 31 FG)
3Q - 07:39 - Titans 13-10 (Bironas 38 FG)
3Q - 05:38 - Titans 20-10 (Glover 8 pass from Smith, Bironas XP)
3Q - 04:00 - Titans 23-10 (Bironas 23 FG)
4Q - 13:48 - Titans 30-10 (Hunter 11 pass from Smith, Bironas XP)
4Q - 10:38 - Titans 30-13 (Carpenter 50 FG)
4Q - 03:28 - Titans 37-13 (Peters 17 run, Bironas XP)
4Q - 01:19 - Titans 37-21 (Shorts 25 pass from Ryan, 2XP successful)

Nathaniel Rogers was unstoppable for the Titans with 160 yards.

Tennessee would come up one point short of a Super Bowl win, losing 14-13 to the Panthers.

For the second season in a row, Ben Ryan was named MVP and All-League First Team Quarterback. Luke Joekel and Chris Atkins earned All-League Second Team honours.

Has the door closed on the current crop of Monarchs? Some old faces will have to leave next year given the salary cap doesn't expand in the sun!

Off Season

We keep most of our coaching staff intact once again, but upgrade at the Strength coordinator position, bringing in 32 year-old Sam Means.

Regrettably, we have to start clearing some space in our salary cap if we're not going to collapse like a deck of cards. Doug Martin is released. He is by far our greatest rusher in franchise history (5435 yards, 42 touchdowns), and is also very prominent in the receiving stakes (3073 yards, 18 touchdowns). Martin eventually signs with the Browns.

Lukas Carlson is traded to the Raiders for two third round picks. Gary Thornton is traded to the Saints for a fourth round pick.

We do a lot of tapdancing with extensions of contracts - essentially pushing back our own version of the fiscal debt ceiling - and create about $16m worth of salary space. But what to do with it?

We decide to sign one defensive starter - LDE Vince Galloway from the Cleveland Browns - who can plug straight into our defensive line. The rest of our cap space we will sit on and see what we need to fix after the draft.

2021 Draft

1.30 - RDT Kurt Andrews (34/44)
2.30 - RG Luke Butler (33/68)
3.09 - RCB Alex Sullivan (21/39)
4.11 - K Amos Bierria (45/54)
4.30 - RDE Michael Podzemny (19/26)
5.30 - LG Micah Boroniec (21/32)
6.30 - LCB Shane Herbst (15/21)
7.30 - MLB Matthew Forde (15/43)

Chris Swift begins a holdout and we quickly settle his contract. Can't really say no to a man who pulled off 113 tackles last year.

With a kicker drafted, we say goodbye to Dan Carpenter, our leading pointscorer (903). With the newly created cap space, we sign Brandon Washington from the Rams to bolster our offensive line.

After training camp, we trade OLB Nick Reilly to Carolina for a fourth round pick, but knock back an offer from the Jets for C Jeremy Dawson.

We are stripped of a third round pick next year for violating the salary cap by $900,000.

2021 Games 1-4

Mark Sweeney puts his stamp on the Monarchs running back position with 182 yards - a franchise record - in his second career start. Welcome to the big leagues. We beat the Colts 29-21 at Wembley. The next week, we drive 60 yards in the last 59 seconds to kick the winning field goal against the Rams, escaping with a 26-24 victory. Baltimore beat us 35-31 in a game where our offense goes pass-wacky, with just 15 running plays in the entire game (and 6 by our quarterback). It's then time to jump on a plane for one of our shortest roadtrips, as we take on the Jets. We go down 27-14 in an insipid performance.

2-2 is an average start for a side which has lost only three games in the regular season in each of the past two seasons.

2021 Games 5-8

The Dolphins visit Wembley and walk away with a win 34-31, scoring the winning touchdown in the last moments of the game. We then hit the road for a month-long roadtrip. At Indianapolis, we surrender a 31-14 lead to head into extra time, but Ben Ryan pulls the game out of the pan and finds Cecil Shorts for the winning score. It's then off to Nashville where a trio of rushing touchdowns (two to Mel Upshaw, and one to Patrick Chay on a reverse) sink the Titans 24-17. John Cyprien breaks his foot and we'll likely lose him for the rest of the season. We kick back our heels during the bye week, and then take on Buffalo. Chris Swift pulls off 13 tackles, 3 sacks and inspires us to a 38-10 win.

We're recovering well to sit 5-3, but the division title is probably beyond us given the Texans are 8-0. We occupy one of the wildcard spots, just ahead of the 5-4 Colts who hold the other spot.

Second-year running back Mark Sweeney has 499 yards and 5 touchdowns. Ben Ryan is his usual self, throwing 13 touchdowns, 7 picks and 2098 yards. Patrick Chay has 5 of those passing touchdowns and 533 yards, just ahead of Cecil Shorts with 432 yards. Chris Swift is by far our defensive leader with 65 tackles, ahead of Chris Atkins' 38 tackles. Morris Claiborne and Frankie Sanderson each have five interceptions, and our team turnover margin is the best in the NFL at +11.

2021 Games 9-12

One home game against the Pats before we embark on a four game road trip - then all of our travelling is over for the regular season. We score 24 points in a whirlwind final quarter to topple the Pats 38-21. We take on the 8-1 Texans in a game we must win if we have division title aspirations; we go down 24-16. We then run all over the Cardinals in the next game but squeak out a tight result 34-31. Finally, we return to Mile High Stadium, where we have never won, and go down fighting against the 10-1 Broncos 30-14.

Our 7-5 record is not good enough for the playoffs, with 8-4 Indianapolis and 7-5 Baltimore placed ahead of us currently. Our best chance is to have the Colts slip up somewhere as we own the tiebreaker against them.

2021 Games 13-16

We take on Seattle in our final road game of the year, and put our playoffs hopes in serious jepoardy with a 31-24 loss. Ryan throws for 406 yards but it isn't enough. We are now two games behind the Colts in the wildcard race, and one game behind Baltimore (who own the tiebreaker against us). The Titans return to Wembley for the first time since last year's AFC Championship game, and this time we get the result we want, winning 27-24, but we have to come back from 24-3 down to win. Indianapolis slip up and now we're just one game behind them. The Niners are our next opponents, and we keep our season alive with a 33-28 win. Mark Sweeney scores three times. The good news is that the Colts lose again, so we hold the wildcard spot! However, we need to take down the Texans to be sure of it. We'll also need to do it without Jimmy Graham who is gone for the season. We lose 17-33 to the Texans, who are dominant this year, but the good news is that Tennessee do us a big favour and beat the Colts. We're back into the playoffs, but only just!

Ben Ryan earns his pay packet with 30 touchdowns, 11 picks and 4405 passing yards. Mark Sweeney has 873 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns, Mel Upshaw 426 yards and 6 touchdowns. Patrick Chay and Cecil Shorts each have 1000-yard seasons (1226 and 1008 respectively). Chris Swift and Chris Atkins are by far the pick of the defensive players, once again.

2021 AFC Wild Card Match
London Monarchs (9-7) at Cincinnati Bengals (11-5)

A rather pedestrian start from the Monarchs, who trail the Bengals 24-3 with 3 minutes to go before halftime. Ben Ryan clicks into gear through, orchestrating two touchdown drives straddling the halftime break, and it's game on at 24-17. That's as good as it gets for London though, as Cincinnati kicks on and at 41-17 the contest is over. A few late points add the specter of respectability, but the season's over for London.

1Q - 07:43 - Bengals 3-0 (Prescott 31 FG)
1Q - 01:33 - Bengals 10-0 (King 1 run, Prescott XP)
2Q - 13:56 - Bengals 10-3 (Bierria 54 FG)
2Q - 10:03 - Bengals 17-3 (Maxwell 5 pass from Bradford, Prescott XP)
2Q - 03:17 - Bengals 24-3 (Bradford 9 run, Prescott XP)
2Q - 00:20 - Bengals 24-10 (Szott 8 pass from Ryan, Bierra XP)
3Q - 12:51 - Bengals 24-17 (Barden 15 pass from Ryan, Bierra XP)
3Q - 05:30 - Bengals 27-17 (Prescott 18 FG)
3Q - 01:50 - Bengals 34-17 (McCormick 27 pass from Bradford, Prescott XP)
4Q - 15:00 - Bengals 41-17 (King 15 run, Prescott XP)
4Q - 11:56 - Bengals 41-20 (Bierra 25 FG)
4Q - 04:06 - Bengals 44-20 (Prescott 26 FG)
4Q - 00:44 - Bengals 44-28 (Hammontree 20 pass from Ryan, 2XP successful)

After winning the Super Bowl by a single point last season, the Panthers would go on to lose this year's game by the same margin to the Broncos.

Morris Claiborne earns All-League First Team honours at cornerback, while Ben Ryan is named to the Second Team.

Unfortunately, I advanced to the next season before printing out the season review, so no statfest for the few who are still reading! ;)

Off Season

Jimmy Graham retires after exactly 100 games for the Monarchs in nine seasons. He would have played more were it not for the 2019 season being ruined by injury:

Receptions - 368 (2nd)
Yards - 4650 (2nd)
Touchdowns - 27 (2nd)
Games Started - 100 (5th)

Our staff is kept around for another season - the ninth season in Monarchs history, and we've had the same head coach and defensive coordinator in all that time.

We have only $9m spare in the salary cap and therefore don't make any signings, preferring to extend the guys we already have. Our first ever draft pick, LT Brock Haley, is off to the Pats as a free agent. He leaves after starting 85 games, but just 5 in the past two seasons.

Draft Class

1.24 - RDT Tom Huntley (25/41)
2.23 - RCB Byron Whiting (26/43)
3.22 - RDE Eli Cooley (18/30)
4.21 - WLB Tristan Biegen (23/31)
4.31 - WLB Brady Conn (25/38)
5.24 - LT Roy Schmitz (16/38)
6.23 - RT Randy Steddick (22/36)
7.22 - RB Grayson Heinrich (26/35)

Cecil Shorts begins a holdout. I don't really think we can keep him any longer, given he is now rated 39/39 and is asking for $7m per year for three more seasons!

We can't find a trade partner and so it's time to say goodbye to a club legend:

Receptions - 563 (1st)
Receiving Yards - 7591 (1st)
Receiving Touchdowns - 40 (1st)
100 Yards Receiving - 20 (1st)
Points Scored - 242 (3rd)
All-Purpose Yards - 7608 (2nd)
Games Started - 129 (1st)

With Shorts leaving the club, the only two remaining Jacksonville Jaguars from 2013 are SS John Cyprien and RT Luke Joeckel.

2022 Games 1-4

We start the season off poorly, surrendering a hefty lead against the Titans to lose 28-24. We then take off for Philadelphia, where the Eagles beat us 37-24. It's our first 0-2 start to the season since 2016. Luckily we don't make it three in a row as we roll over the Ravens 27-13. Frankie Sanderson tortures the Raiders offense, plucking two pick sixes as we run over the top of Oakland 40-21.

Ben Ryan is on track for a 5000 yard season!

2022 Games 5-8

We host unbeaten Indianapolis and unfortunately they get away with a 25-17 win to go four games clear of us in the division. We hit the road to the Music City, where the Titans sweep us in 2022, winning 31-23. That drops us to 2-4, and 0-3 against our division foes! We stage a comeback win in Arrowhead, beating the Chiefs 24-20 after being down 20-10 with nine minutes to play. We then host the Broncos at Wembley but go down 27-20, consigning us to a halfway record of 3-5, nowhere near good enough in the AFC this year.

Not much to report individually at the halfway stage. Ryan has 2302 yards, with 12 touchdowns and 9 picks. Patrick Chay and Kaleb Hammontree are the pick of the receivers, with 765 and 675 yards. Unfortunately we are ranked last against the pass in defense, and it shows in our results on the field.

2022 Games 9-12

Off to San Diego, where we keep it classy winning 26-14 against the 1-7 Chargers. We then get a vitally important win against the Texans, 23-13. That lifts us up to 5-5, one game out of the wildcard position. Maybe this season is still alive? We dispatch Dallas at Wembley by 27-21 but lose Frankie Sanderson and Vince Galloway for much of the rest of the season. Drats! Miami are our next opponent, and we win 32-20 to record our fourth win in succession.

7-5 is a good position to be in, especially after starting 2-4, but it doesn't get us a wildcard spot, with Houston and Baltimore both a game ahead.

2022 Games 13-16

We intercept the Redskins QB four times en route to an easy 41-16 win. That's our fifth in succession. Houston loses and we sit in the wildcard spot ahead of them. Who should we play next, but the Texans! Ben Ryan explodes for five touchdowns (3 passing, 2 rushing) and we win 48-26. Wow! We now hold the wildcard in our own right, although Houston and Tennessee are breathing down our necks in a loaded AFC South, where every team has a winning record. The Giants are the next team that falls in our path, London winning 38-20. Chay and Hammontree each receive two touchdowns from Benny Ryan, who is in great form.

That leaves the final game of the year, against the Colts. The winner will win the AFC South and a first round bye, the loser will hit the road for the playoffs, or possibly be eliminated if the Chiefs or Texans win as well. The Monarchs are riding a seven game winning streak but we fall 27-24 to the Colts, with the winning kick coming in the final minute of the game.

Our reward is another trip to Mile High Stadium.

2022 AFC Wildcard Match
London Monarchs (10-6) at Denver Broncos (10-6)

The upset is in the air, with the Monarchs taking a 10-3 lead into the break. The score remains the same throughout the third quarter. With 10 minutes to go, Patrick Chay fumbles on third down to gift the Broncos great field position. The Broncos tie the game up with the next play. By the time the two minute warning comes around, the Broncos have the ball on the London 7 yard line, facing third and three. Rodney Hammond forces a fumble but the Broncos recover it and split the sticks with the field goal attempt. Ryan goes three-and-out and the Broncos win yet again.

1Q - 01:55 - Monarchs 3-0 (Bierria 43 FG)
2Q - 07:17 - Tied 3-3 (Borczon 46 FG)
2Q - 03:25 - Monarchs 10-3 (Hammontree 8 pass from Ryan, Bierria XP)
4Q - 08:20 - Tied 10-10 (Lyons 4 run, Borczon XP)
4Q - 01:34 - Broncos 13-10 (Borczon 29 FG)

We just can't get over this Mile High hump in the playoffs. It's pretty frustrating.

Minnesota lose just one game in 2022 en route to beating the Colts in the Super Bowl.

Ben Ryan and Patrick Chay earn All-League Second Team honours.

Off Season

Morris Claiborne retires.

We shake up our staff somewhat. Shaun Suisham becomes the new Chargers offensive coordinator, so we bring in Christopher Schumer as our new assistant. We can't pass up an upgrade at the defensive coordinator position, so we sign Richard Rodgers, who was recently fired after four years as the Giants head coach.

Vince Galloway has a compound leg fracture and will miss practically all of the 2023 season.

We sign just one free agent, NT James Newton (80/80) from Arizona.

Draft
1.23 - FL Javier Bartoszewicz (39/58)
2.24 - LDE Grady Rowan (22/32)
4.24 - LG Declan Malio (13/36)
5.23 - MLB Marcus Emmons (16/35)
6.24 - SE Camden Fazande (23/37)
7.18 - QB Alvin Gerhardt (15/37)

We add three more free agents after the draft - TE Marcus Croft (52/52) from the Colts, C Landen Schultz (46/46) from the Saints, and RCB Josh Herndon (47/47) from the Bears.

Luke Joeckel's ratings have fallen through the floor, so we release him.

Games Started: 139 (1st)
Key Run Blocks: 232 (1st)
Key Run Opportunities: 632 (1st)
2 x All-League selection

2023 Games 1-4

Houston come into Wembley and walk away with a handsome 27-7 win. Ugh. We drop to 0-2 when Tampa Bay beats us 21-20. The Chiefs come into Wembley and win 23-20. We are 0-3 for the first time since 2016. No Monarchs team has ever started 0-4, and we preserve that little factoid at least with a 24-16 taming of the Bengals.

2023 Games 5-8

The Browns are beaten 27-13 at Wembley. Ryan has been awful to this point so far, throwing 5 interceptions and only two touchdowns in our first five games. He goes some way to rectifying that with two TDs in a 24-16 win over the Colts. A week later we beat Pittsburgh 23-10 in a dour affair, and suddenly we have a winning record! Baltimore are beaten by the same score a week later and your London Monarchs hit the half-season break with the AFC South leadership.

Rookie receiver Javier Bartoszewicz is leading the team with 50 receptions and 564 yards. Sweeney has 575 rushing yards. The surprise of the year has been Ryan, who has only six TDs and six INTs, although he has 2108 yards which is standard for him.

2023 Games 9-12

The Titans breeze into Wembley and walk out with a comfortable 34-20 win. This result opens up the AFC South, with one win separating first and last place. We lick our wounds during the bye week then stomp over the Texans 33-10, improving our record to 6-4. We hold on at home against Cam Newton's Carolina Panthers 24-20 before finishing the quarter with a 27-10 win in Boston against the terrible Patriots.

With a record of 8-4, we are just outside the wildcard spots, currently held by Oakland and Kansas City who are also 8-4. Our loss to the Chiefs in Week 3 is what's currently keeping us out of a sixth successive playoff berth.

2023 Games 13-16

We comfortably beat the Falcons 27-3 at Wembley, keeping an opponent to single digits for the first time since 2020. We then give up several big plays - an 86 yard kickoff return, a 92 yard touchdown run, a pick six and an 80 yard touchdown pass - in a 37-34 loss to the Colts. That knocks us to 9-5 and prevents us taking the division back from the Titans. Mark Sweeney explodes for 165 yards in the Superdome, taking us to a 24-17 win and also taking himself past 1000 yards in a season for the first time.

However, due to other results, our 10-5 record is not good enough for a wildcard slot. The Bengals and Raiders (both 10-5) currently sit in front of us. Therefore, we must beat the Titans (also 10-5) in our last game, or rely on the Bengals beating the Steelers (again, 10-5). We would then claim the last wildcard ahead of the Steelers based on our head-to-head record.

Since 2020, we are 3-7 against the Titans, and so it is on this occasion that Tennessee wins 20-10 to put a serious dint into our playoffs hopes. Therefore we need the Bengals to win....and they do! Pittsburgh are eliminated from the finals at 10-6 and London lives to fight another day.

Ryan has a much-better second half of the season, and finishes 2023 with 21 touchdowns, 9 picks and 4054 yards. Sweeney has 1177 yards on the season with 7 touchdowns. Bartoszewicz has 1188 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in his rookie season - surely he wins Offensive Rookie of the Year?

2023 AFC Wildcard Game
London Monarchs (10-6) at Cincinnati Bengals (11-5)

Sam Bradford has retired and turned the offense over to Sean Renfree, who has steered the Bengals to the playoffs in his second season.

We have a tight first half, with the Bengals sticking around thanks to their kicker. London leads 17-16 at the main break. By the end of the third quarter, the teams have traded touchdowns and the Monarchs still have their heads above water.

The Bengals hit the lead with a rush from Toby King, and it looks as though the Monarchs would give up yet again, but the London offense stands up again and Ben Ryan finds Kaleb Hammontree with 3:43 remaining. Renfree is intercepted on the next Bengals drive. London plays clock management and Mark Sweeney goes into the end zone with two minutes left to play! The defense gets into Cincinnati's face and the contest is over!

1Q - 07:56 - Bengals 3-0 (Prescott 32 FG)
1Q - 05:59 - Monarchs 7-3 (Hammontree 11 pass from Ryan, Bierria XP)
1Q - 03:07 - Monarchs 7-6 (Prescott 45 FG)
2Q - 14:22 - Monarchs 10-6 (Bierria 47 FG)
2Q - 08:48 - Bengals 13-10 (Allen 8 pass from Renfree, Prescott XP)
2Q - 02:55 - Bengals 16-10 (Prescott 49 FG)
2Q - 01:43 - Monarchs 17-16 (Croft 15 pass from Ryan, Bierra XP)
3Q - 05:42 - Bengals 23-17 (Green 27 pass from Renfree, Prescott XP)
3Q - 00:58 - Monarchs 24-23 (Jenkins 4 pass from Ryan, Bierria XP)
4Q - 13:12 - Bengals 30-24 (King 11 run, Prescott XP)
4Q - 03:43 - Monarchs 31-30 (Hammontree 29 pass from Ryan, Bierria XP)
4Q - 02:00 - Monarchs 38-30 (Sweeney 7 run, Bierria XP)

QB Ben Ryan - 30/38-318 4TD
WR Kaleb Hammontree - 9/9-190 2TD

2023 Division Round Game
London Monarchs (11-6) at Denver Broncos (12-4)

Surprise, surprise, we end up here again. How have we fared at Mile High in the past?

2015 (wildcard) - L 9-19
2018 (AFC Championship) - L 24-38
2019 (AFC Championship) - L 7-13
2020 (regular season) - W 31-17
2021 (regular season) - L 14-30
2022 (wildcard) - L 10-13

One win in six trips, and none from four in the playoffs. Well, here goes.

Our first drive gets extended by a few Broncos penalties and we lead 7-0. On the Broncos' drive, we limit them to just a field goal. Good start! Ryan converts on a critical third down on our next drive, and we roll the tide of good fortune to lead 14-3!

The Broncos score early in the second quarter to reduce the gap to 14-10 and it's game on after they hold us out and we punt it away. Both teams turn in a period of stalemate, Denver comes closest to scoring but are intercepted in the end zone right on half time.

Denver hits the front midway through the third quarter, converting successive plays of 23, 6, 10, 14, 9 and 15 yards. We reply straight away, getting to the Broncos 17 yard line but they are able to repel our attack and we settle for a field goal. Tied game.

We just can't get a defensive stop in the game, and it shows as the Broncos are able to march down the field and take the lead back with 8:49 remaining. Not even two Broncos penalties could assist us on this drive.

We start what could be our last drive on our 24 yard line with 5:43 to go. The Broncos force us quickly to a third down but Ben Ryan gets us out of trouble with his legs. We're on the Broncos 37 yard line with 2:41 to go when we get called for delay of game. Ryan completes for a short loss, then throws incomplete and suddenly it's third and 17. That's where he steps up to the plate again, finding A.J. Jenkins for a gain of 19, which takes us down to the 25 yard line on the two minute warning.

We get the dropsies again, and Ryan can only pick up five yards on 3rd and 10. We face a serious decision. Kick the certain field goal and recover the onside kick? Or go for it? Desperate times call for bold decisions, so we go for it and A.J. Jenkins is a star once again, this time getting the ball to the five yard line.

We call a timeout after a short gain, and then with 47 seconds to go, Ryan scrambles and we level the scores! Off to overtime we go, after playing heavy D on the Broncos offense.

We receive the ball in over time. I'll let the tale of the tape tell the story:


Victory is sweet!

So, it's off to the AFC Championship Game, against the Titans in Nashville.

Can we finally break the bubble in our tenth season and get to the Super Bowl?

Tennessee start fast and score with their first drive through Nathaniel Rogers, who has caused us a few nightmares in the past. Ben Ryan orchestrates a drive in reply which culminates with a touchdown to Patrick Chay. Tied game.

Five minutes before halftime, Chay is on the board again, with a 25 yard touchdown reception, gaining 21 yards after the catch. We force a fumble from the Titans and from the ensuing drive, Javier Bartoszewicz hangs onto a 46 yard heave from Ben Ryan. We lead 21-7!

With a field goal to open the half, we are well and truly in control of this contest. The Titans go down the field and shank a field goal, but we give them another prime opportunity and they don't waste it, with rookie QB Charlie Caswell finding Nathaniel Rogers for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Caswell is intercepted on the Titans next drive but we can't capitalise, and once again the Titans find a way to punish us for it. This time Malachi Elliott leaps and takes the Titans closer to a berth in the Super Bowl. Monarchs lead 24-21. The comeback is complete when the Titans return a punt 80 yards to the house. After leading 24-7, the Monarchs now trail 28-24.

It's time for another comeback from Ben Ryan, but the comeback stalls when we fumble the ball on the Titans 35 yard line. We recover the ball and settle for a field goal. Titans 28-27, with 8 minutes to go.

Nathaniel Rogers explodes for 79 yards on the first play of the next drive, and is brought down in desperation one yard short. It's elementary from there, and Tennessee go ahead further 35-27.

Again, we can only go so far down the field and settle for another field goal. The Titans milk a lot of time off the clock and give us the ball back eight points down with 27 seconds remaining. However, we only have time for one play and can't travel the distance. Tennessee wins 38-30.

The Titans go on to win the Super Bowl against the Vikings 26-13.

No Monarchs are recognised in the season awards.

I see it in a number of threads. How do you embed the Team Summary and Roster screen like that? I assume it's using the [code] tags but am not sure of the process beyond that.

Long flight to Denver probably did you all in.

The way I do it is a little convoluted but it seems to work well:

1. Open the Team Summary screen
2. Press "Print" and select "Microsoft XPS Document Writer"
3. Save in a location of your choice and open
4. Select the text and copy into Notepad
5. Align the text as necessary and paste into the thread using the [code] tags.


They're all long flights! Our closest NFL opponent (New England) are 5274 kilometres, or 3277 miles, away in a straight line. The furtherest (San Diego) is 8851 kilometres, or 5500 miles. Hence why it's much more desirable for us to combine our roadtrips into three- or four-game benders.

Thank you for reading.

Off Season

We extend our young strength coordinator's contract. No other changes to our coaching staff, which is now the most established in the league.

FS Mike Hilliard's career is essentially over, as he suffers from Degenerative Hip Condition. He is owed $14m over the next three years but we can't release him.

Elsewhere, we're saying goodbye to Vince Galloway who has played only one full season in the last three. He played exactly one game for us last year, as he suffered a reoccurence of his compound leg fracture that put him out for the season in 2022.

We bring in two safeties in free agency - Giovanni Forbes (45/45) from the Titans, and Alex Masterson (45/45) from Miami.

Draft Results

1.29 - RB Oliver Hughes (36/49)
2.29 - LDE Tristan Davis (15/45)
3.29 - LT Andrew Thomas (14/38)
4.29 - RDT Mark McCormick (19/48)
5.29 - QB Dylan Horton (9/35)
6.29 - FL John Muirbrook (13/24)
7.29 - TE Calvin Ruggiero (20/27)

We add a few more free agents after the draft, including RG Zach Rose (43/43), WLB Ed Powell (43/43) and FB Ethan Shepard (39/39)

We battle through the pre-season and emerge unbeaten. Chris Swift has a torn thumb ligament, and Landen Schultz has a broken hand, but they are our only injury concerns moving forward.

2024 Games 1-4

We go down in the season opener at Indianapolis 31-17. Rather unimpressive all up. Next, we battle with the Lions and pull out a win right at the death, with Bartoszewicz being the beneficiary of a Ryan touchdown pass. We win 16-15. We run rampant over Oakland in our home opener and win 37-22, the Raiders' last two scores coming in garbage time. Hammontree catches two touchdown passes. The Jets then come to town and we struggle without Patrick Chay (who is missing due to a calf strain), losing 28-12. More concerning, Ben Ryan is forced out of the game with a pulled groin and is now doubtful for the next few weeks.

2024 Games 5-8

It takes more than a pulled groin to keep Ben Ryan out, and he guides us past the winless Dolphins 16-9. The Colts then come to visit and escape with the narrowest of wins, 9-7. Off to Nashville, a place which hasn't been kind to us in recent history, and this game is no different as the Titans pinch out a 27-24 win. We lick our wounds during a bye week and then travel up to Buffalo where we beat the locals 37-31, the game being sealed on an 83 yard touchdown run from Mark Sweeney.

The AFC South is tough this year and our 4-4 record puts us in last place. We are 0-3 against division foes, which is concerning to say the least.

2024 Games 9-12

We travel to our nearest NFL neighbours Boston and take out the Pats 30-26, continuing our pattern for close wins and close losses. We then host the Texans in a must-win AFC South battle but lose in over time 34-31. That puts out one win behind the Titans for the wildcard but with an abysmal division record of 0-4. In fact, in the last three seasons we have gone 2-12 against the AFC South. Minnesota travel to Wembley and we win 31-24, with the last 17 Vikings points coming in garbage time. Finally, a trip to Heinz Field and we go down 20-26 to the Steelers - Ben Ryan throws three picks for the first time in seven seasons. At 6-6, our season is probably already over.

2024 Games 13-16

Ben Ryan throws another three interceptions in a 20-45 loss to the Bears at Soldier Field. That's his worst fortnight in his NFL career. The Titans are our next opponents and we restore some pride with a 35-17 win, capped off by a recovered block punt in the end zone for a touchdown, and a 52 yard rush by Ben Ryan for a touchdown. We beat the awful Packers 36-6 at Wembley in our home closer but the win is tempered by the fact that we have been officially eliminated for 2024. We take on the Texans in the final game of the year at Reliant Stadium, in a game with huge consequences for the AFC playoffs. We play spoiler by beating the Texans 24-20, gifting the division title to the Titans, and miss the playoffs at 9-7.

Pittsburgh wins a high-scoring Super Bowl against the Rams 41-38.

Ben Ryan is named All-League First Team quarterback for the third time in his career.

Off Season

We apply to build a new 100,000 seat stadium with a $2b pricetag. I'm not confident of approval, but let's see how we go. Our attendance has been consistently above 65,000 for the past five seasons and it's clear we're outgrowing Wembley.

No changes to our staff.

Two of our defensive greats of the first ten seasons have retired:

Chris Atkins (2019-2024)
Signed as a free agent from NYG
Tackles - 442 (3rd)
Sacks - 32.5 (2nd)
Passes Defensed - 49 (3rd)
Games Started - 92 (9th)

Frankie Sanderson (2017-2024)
Drafted
Interceptions - 27 (1st)
Tackles - 374 (4th)
Passes Defensed - 58 (2nd)
Games Started - 101 (6th)

We shake up the roster in a big way, sending Mark Sweeney to the Arizona Cardinals, along with two firsts, a second and a fifth, in exchange for their first (fifth overall), sixth and seventh picks in this year's draft. From free agency, we sign Nathaniel Rogers, who has rushed for 1200 yards or better in eight of the past nine seasons. No more shall he torment us!

We are very keen to move to the first overall pick as there's a can't-miss defensive prospect who is rated off the charts, but Buffalo don't want to budge.

Draft day rolls around and I make a final pitch to the Bills. Two ones, two twos and a three for their first overall. They accept!

There's a LOT tied up in this pick, and I hope desperately it pays off.

1.1 DT Cameron Jasper
Grade 8.2 (8.9 adjusted)
Dash - 4.84
Sole - 41
Strg - 42
Agil- 7.20
BJmp - 9-08

Five reds! This kid could be an absolute beast! He comes to us rated 61/91.

The rest of the draft is an afterthought, although we might have a steal.

4.19 - C Joe McDonald (25/62)
6.05 - LCB Phil Harvey (24/35)
6.19 - LDE Les Holmes (21/38)
7.09 - MLB Harrison Burke (24/33)
7.20 - RT Amos Chinn (19/38)

The Titans offer us a trade for Kurt Andrews (LDT 50/50) which sees us getting a second round pick next year. I accept mainly because Andrews will be surplus to needs next year, but the extra pick won't hurt either!

The stadium vote narrowly failed 51.7% to 48.3%. Closer than I thought it would be!

As we head out of training camp, it appears that the Titans sold us a bomb - Nathaniel Rogers is now rated 36/36 overall. Given that his trade kicked off a chain of events that got us Cameron Jasper, I might not mind so much.

The off-season is very rough to us.

Our backup quarterback is out indefinitely with severe anxiety.
Chris Swift is out for the entire season with a compound leg fracture. His career is likely over now.
Rookie centre Joe McDonald (now rated 32/63) is out for a while with a torn lateral knee ligament.

2025 Weeks 1-4

Tennessee beat us in Nashville 28-24. Nathaniel Rogers doesn't face up against his old team, leaving the running work to Oliver Hughes. Off to St Louis where the reigning NFC champions put the cleaners through us 42-20. We drop our home opener against the Ravens 24-10, giving up the last two touchdowns in the final minute of the game. We get our season started with a 31-17 against the previously unbeaten Raiders, who travel to Wembley and give up the last 31 points of the game!

2025 Weeks 5-8

We travel to Indianapolis for a vital game against the 5-0 Colts. We walk away with a handsome 26-3 win! The Titans then travel to Wembley, and win 27-26 in a titanic battle with six lead changes in the second half. Off to Arrowhead where the Chiefs win 20-13 and drop us to 2-5. We then host our old nemesis Denver, who are in decline like us (both teams have a combined 4-9-1 record in 2025). The Broncos win 34-28 and our season is in a tailspin.

2025 Weeks 9-12

The defense steps up to the plate at San Diego, with Cameron Jasper scoring his first career touchdown on a 42 yard intercept. We win 34-27. The next week, we beat Houston by exactly the same score in a battle of AFC South cellar-dwellers. The bad news is we lose Patrick Chay for maybe four weeks with injury. Mark Sweeney's new team Arizona travels to Wembley and beats us 24-17. They own our first round pick next year and would have taken delight in forcing us higher up the draft order. We travel to Buffalo and get our arses kicked 30-3. Incidentally, this is our third trip to Buffalo in four seasons; they haven't come to Wembley since 2020. Fair scheduling?

We are 4-8 and almost no chance of making the playoffs, being three games behind Oakland who hold the sixth seed.

2025 Weeks 13-16

With Matt Patricia on the hot seat, we head into Seattle and upset Russell Wilson's Seahawks by 28-23. The death knell for our season comes in an insipid 21-11 loss to Houston. We beat the Niners 24-17 and smash the Colts 40-10 in our last two games of the season, both at Wembley.

7-9 makes this our first losing season since 2017, Ben Ryan's first season.

St Louis atones for last season's Super Bowl loss with a 30-20 win over the Ravens.

We have no award winners, unsurprisingly.