Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will host the first of two NFL International Series games this Sunday when the Atlanta Falcons face the New York Jets, kick-off 2.30pm.

In 2019, after the proposed one the previous year had to be returned to Wembley because of doubts surrounding the completion of the stadium, two games were played.

The first one saw the Oakland Raiders overcome the Chicago Bears 24–21 and, a week later Carolina Panthers were 37–26 winners against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Ham & High: Carolina Panthers' Efe Obada walks off at the end of the match during the NFL International Series match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London.Carolina Panthers' Efe Obada walks off at the end of the match during the NFL International Series match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London. (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

The 60,000-plus crowds were a far cry from the two seasons when NFL Europe had the London Monarchs based at White Hart Lane.

In 1995 and 1996, the Monarchs were based in Tottenham but poor marketing meant even many local residents were unaware of matches played there.

Despite future Super Bowl-winning quarterback Brad Johnson (who won with Tampa Bay in 2005) being NFL Europe’s most accurate passer in 1995 and former Chicago Bears legendary defensive tackle and occasional short-yardage running back William Perry in 1996 playing for London, the largest attendance in any game was only 16,258.

The two teams coming this week have not had the best of times so far in 2021.

After four weeks, the Jets sit at 1–3, their lone success coming last Sunday, a 27–24 overtime victory over the Tennessee Titans. Atlanta have the same record as the Jets, 1–3, following their 34–30 loss at home to the Washington Football Team.

New York, the designated home team are led by a rookie (first year) quarterback Zach Wilson, who was the second player chosen in the 2021 draft.

He attended Brigham Young University, where he broke future NFL legend Steve Young’s accuracy record at the college.

The best-known player at Atlanta is their quarterback Matt Ryan, now in his 14th season in Georgia, a former rookie of the year in 2008 and NFL MVP in 2016.

Ryan led Atlanta to the Super Bowl after the 2016 regular season, but they lost after overtime to the New England Patriots, though they did lead by 25 points late in the third quarter.

On 17 October, the Miami Dolphins will play Florida rivals the Jacksonville Jaguars.