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.