By Tiffany Williams –
On Sunday, the New England Patriots will head to Wembley Stadium in London to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars, marking their third game in the city. This game will also be the Patriots’ second consecutive international game, following last season’s match against the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt, Germany on November 2, 2023.
The Patriots have a notable history of international games, having secured victories against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the St. Louis Rams at Wembley Stadium. They also achieved a convincing win against the Oakland Raiders in Mexico City in 2017. However, they suffered a disappointing loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt, Germany last season.
The Patriots have a history of international preseason games as well. Their first international preseason game occurred in 1969 in Montreal, where they faced a defeat against Detroit. They later traveled to Montreal and Toronto for preseason matchups before securing a victory against Dallas in Mexico City in 1998.
The upcoming game against the Jacksonville Jaguars will mark the first meeting between the two teams since the 2021 season and the first time they face each other in an international game. The Patriots have a strong historical record against the Jaguars, with an overall 12-2 record. The Patriots have only suffered one regular season loss to the Jaguars, as well as one postseason loss.
Rookie quarterback Drake Maye has the opportunity to join the ranks of legendary QB Dan Marino if he throws three touchdown passes against Jacksonville. Defensive player Keion White has consistently delivered quarterback hits in each of the first six games of the season, aiming to extend this streak against Jacksonville.
Hunter Henry has the chance to climb the all-time reception and receiving yards lists among New England tight ends with a strong performance against Jacksonville.
On Wednesday when Patriots Head Coach Jerod Mayo met with media said, “Turning the page on to Jacksonville, a team that, even though their record may not be what they want it to be, they still have weapons all over the place. They have weapons, obviously, on the defensive line, linebackers, really on all three levels defensively. I’ll say offensively, they also have big players over there. We’ve got to do a good job matching their intensity, or they have to match our intensity, and that’s going to be our focus this week. Our focus also is we’ve got to start games faster. We’ve got to start games faster, and that’s definitely a point of emphasis this week.”
When asked if the trip to London can re-energize the team and get the team going in the right direction, Mayo replied, “Yeah, I hope so. I would say, looking back on that last game that we just played, there were times and things that you could pull out of that game and be encouraged about. In saying that, I think we need to do a better job playing complementary football. Hopefully, a long trip across the pond helps us continue to build our relationships, chemistry, and start trending in the right direction.”
When asked about producing better starts, Mayo said, “, we have a period in practice today where it’s like nothing else really matters. It’s not about X’s and O’s and schematics. You must have seen the practice script [laughs]. We have a start fast period where it’s just offense versus defense, and we’re rolling out of the gate, and that’s the plan.”
When asked about Demario “Poppa” Douglas, Mayo said, “Look, he’s one of our best route runners. He can really run any route, and he does a great job getting open. Now we’re finding him, and the quarterbacks are making good throws to him, and he’s picking up a lot of yards.”
When asked about changes this week, Mayo replied, “Yeah, there will definitely be changes in the starting lineup. Look, we’ve got to put the best guys out there that give us the best chance to win.”