Full house watches San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints come to Wembley

There were two key differences from last year’s opening NFL visit: the play was not obscured by sheets of rain, and the players were playing each other and not a pitch the consistency of wallpaper paste.

The contest was a shining contrast to last year’s monsoon-lashed muddle, when the fans had been enthused only by the power of novelty. Sunday night’s game may have given a few gridiron purists the shudders, but the capacity crowd of 81,000 left happily chattering and replete with touchdowns.

The good news was that some of American Football’s most dynamic attacking talent was on sparkling form. San Diego’s vastly respected running back, LaDainian Tomlinson demonstrated not only searing pace but the strength to bounce off a tackle and the agility to nip out of further trouble.

The Saints’ quarterback, Drew Brees, the game’s most valuable player, found his wide receivers almost unerringly, but the fact he was able to do so almost without interference spoke volumes about the San Diego defence, and none of the words were complimentary.

In truth, both teams were lousy in defence, something that a glance at the final scoreboard would confirm. The fans at Wembley revelled in spectacularly completed passes, murderous sprints from running backs and twinkling toes in both teams’ endzones, but there is another element to the game that even the most positive-minded gridiron fan likes to see: the legalised mugging manoeuvre known as sacking the quarterback. Not in evidence at all last night.

One or two time-honoured observers of the gridiron game left Wembley last night shaking their heads and murmuring “Man, oh man...” but they weren’t dismayed by the facilities, or even the pitch, which while softer than many of the players would have liked, was a dream compared to last year’s mudbath.

No, it was the state of both teams’ defences (or defenses, as the visitors would have it) that set the sages muttering. Dyed-in-the-wool gridiron devotees like to suck their teeth over the shortcomings of 300lb blockers in much the same way that Alan Hansen will respond to a 4-4 draw with a terse “very disappointing”.

But if you want to appeal to an audience of enthusiastic neutrals rather than clipboard-toting experts, a flamboyant points-festival is the way to do it. The two teams between them ran up 40 points in the first two quarters of the match, and at the half-time break the man in charge of the scoreboard must have needed a rest as badly as the cheerleaders.

New Orleans led 23-17 as the half-time entertainers took to the field, and in the third quarter the Saints seemed to take control of the match. But the Chargers staged a dogged recovery, topping seven minutes of continuous possession in the early stages of the fourth quarter with a spectacular touchdown, wide receiver Vincent Jackson diving to scoop in a long pass from quarterback Philip Rivers while aiming his knees into the turf of the endzone.

So with two minutes remaining, and three time-outs in hand, the Chargers had possession in pursuit of a converted touchdown to tie the match. Maximum drama, and Wembley beating like a drum.

But Rivers could not repeat the trick, and had a pass intercepted by the Saints’ Jonathan Vilma to effectively end the game.

Wembley started to empty, but the fans were leaving too early. A combination of determination, Saints’ errors and officials’ calls gave the Chargers a shout with the final throw of the game, less than zero remaining on the clock by the time he ball was in the air.

Both visiting teams seem to have enjoyed the experience, though it is a welcome sign of the seriousness of the fixture that San Diego’s coach, Norv Turner, was more keen to explore ways of improving his team’s performance than to benefit the London tourist industry.

All the same, he conceded: “This was a great experience for both teams, and a great opportunity for our league. I’m glad our team could be part of it.” And the all-important question? “The field... I’m going to make sure I choose the right words here. Every field is different, but the field was... good.”