Rivals set for Wembley showdown
(Sunday Oct 4th)
There will be added spice to the NFL clash hosted at Wembley this weekend as two divisional rivals go head to head for the first time in England.
Sunday's lunchtime fixture will be the 12th International Series game to be staged in London, and the first of three regular-season matches in the capital this year, but the NFL will break new ground by pitting the Miami Dolphins against the New York Jets.
The two AFC East foes play each other twice every year and have met on 99 previous occasions in both the regular and post season, with Sunday's result likely to have a big impact on whether the respective franchises can materalise a play-off challenge alongside the division's powerhouse and reigning Super Bowl champions New England Patriots.
While the rivalry might have been taken out of Miami on this occasion, Jets linebacker Quinton Coples believes emotions will still be high once the pads are on.
"It's great. The intensity is going to be there," Coples told Press Association Sport.
"It's good football. We're both trying to take each other's heads off but at the end of the day it's the beauty of trying to win the game. It should be a great event, great for London and great for the fans over here."
Both sides spent big in the off-season's free agency in an attempt to dethrone the AFC East's perennially-winning Patriots - Miami bringing in
114million defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and New York bringing cornerback Darrelle Revis back on a
70million deal.
However, the Fins have endured a lacklustre start and arrived at Heathrow on Friday morning as the team under the most scrutiny.
Their struggles are not on the Jets' mind, though, as they bid to improve their record to 3-1 heading into next week's bye.
"Our job is to make sure we win," fourth-year linebacker Coples, who is one of nine first-round picks on a talented unit, added.
"We want to make sure we leave here with a 'W'. It's up to them to deal with them. Our job is to go there and do whatever we need to do to get the win."
For Jarvis Landry, the Dolphins' leading receiver this term, the near 9,000-mile round trip will only be worthwhile if they leave Wembley victorious, as they did last September when defeating the Oakland Raiders 38-14.
"It's a high, emotional game for us coming all the way out here," he said at his team's press day at Saracens' Allianz Park on Friday.
"No team wants to lose after making that trip. It's going to be a competitive game. I'm excited about it, I can't wait to get out there."
