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On 20 October, Wembley Stadium will welcome back the Jacksonville Jaguars to face the New England Patriots.
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The Jags were in London last week and lost comprehensively to the Chicago Bears 16-35.
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One of these two teams will get a coveted second win of the season by the end of this international game.
The last NFL London game of 2024 will hopefully see two teams desperate for a win go all-out at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, 20 October.
Coming into this one, the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars are shouldering their divisions with 1-5 records, but for the Pats, there’s at least been a long-awaited change at QB that may spur the team upward.
With both teams seemingly having one eye on the upcoming NFL Draft already, here’s how the Pats and the Jags shake-up for this NFL London game and how the odds are leaning before kick-off.
When Does NFL London Patriots vs Jaguars Start?
The NFL London game that sees the New England Patriots take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium kicks off at 2:30 pm UK time. You can watch the game live on Sky Sports NFL and NFL Game Pass through DAZN.
In the United States, fans closer to the two teams battling in London this weekend will be able to see it from 9:30 am ET. Fans further afield in the PT time zone will need to set their alarms for 6:30 am.
Season So Far
Jerod Mayo arrived with a bang as the new head coach of the New England Patriots.
The former linebacker made the most of the continually slow-starting Cincinnati Bengals to run away as the shock 16-10 winners in Week 1.
Mayo enjoyed his dousing of Gatorade on that day, and they seemed to keep some momentum in Week 2, taking the Seattle Seahawks to overtime to narrowly miss out 23-20.
BetBuilder - Money line - Jaguars (Game) And Player TDs - Brian Thomas Jr. Score anytime (Game) And Total points - Over 42.5 (Game)
Since then, it’s been less than encouraging for the Pats. That is, until Drake Maye was thrown under centre to face the relentless Houston Texans. The Pats lost 41-21, but Maye certainly offered glimmers of hope.
Check out Jason Bell’s NFL predictions for Week 7
It’s been pretty dire for the Jacksonville Jaguars so far. Sitting 1-5 and bottom of the AFC South, their net points tally sits at -65 and Week 6 quickly erased the narrow 37-34 home win against the Colts the week prior.
Last week, the Jaguars were just about the underdogs in the odds, but the writing was on the wall for the Chicago Bears to get the better of them in London. In the end, a 35-16 loss reflects the game well.
A lot of mistakes were made by the Jags to give a sense of self-inflicted wounds. Drops, penalties, big turnovers, and the secondary blowing coverage helped rookie Caleb Williams keep his hot hand rolling.
Patriots vs Jaguars Odds
A few days out from this final 2024 NFL London game, the Jaguars are quite the heavy favourites in the sports betting. On the spread, they get a -5.5 edge and are at 1.40 on the moneyline.
While their records are the same for now, the picks for this game would lean more towards the Patriots despite their standing at 3.05 on the moneyline. Having a +5.5 buffer will only embolden more to back the potential of the Pats.
Of course, there are a lot of unknowns for Maye being so new to the big time, but New England’s defence is significantly better than that of Jacksonville, and the offence of the Jags continues to fall short.
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Spread: Patriots +5.5 (1.909), Jaguars -5.5 (1.909)
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Total: Over 42.5 (1.85), Under 42.5 (1.909)
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Moneyline: Patriots (3.05), Jaguars (1.40)
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Total Touchdowns: Over 4.5 (1.90), Under 4.5 (1.90)
However, the Patriots defence isn’t overly awful. They rank distinctly middle of the pack for yards per pass attempt, rush, and reception.
While their -60 net points is almost as bad as the Jaguars’ -65, that’s wholly down to the stagnant offence. For points against (143), they’re the 11th worst in the NFL – Jacksonville ranks second-worst with 178 points against.
With Maye coming in against a tough Texans unit, the rookie immediately set single-game team highs in points scored (21), touchdown passes thrown (three), and passing yards (243).
The Jags are the worst team in the NFL against the pass and just allowed a rookie to carve them up. So, Maye getting over 0.5 passing touchdowns (1.364) and over 202.5 passing yards (1.833) are worth a look in the NFL odds.
In his first game, Maye spread the ball around admirably, but it was Demario Douglas who benefitted the most, turning his six receptions into 92 yards and a touchdown.
He should be looking to pass early and often against the Jags.
How the Patriots and Jaguars Fare Overseas
The Jacksonville Jaguars are the most commonly seen team overseas from the NFL.
Prior to kick-off this weekend, the Jags have played 12 games abroad – all of which have been in London – and stand 6-6-0 in the UK.
New England manages to rank as the joint-fourth most-seen team outside of the US, toting an admirable 3-1-0 record.
Most recently, the Patriots lost 6-10 in Frankfurt to the Indianapolis Colts, but beat the Oakland Raiders in Mexico in 2017, and won two early London games by beating the Buccaneers in 2009 and Rams in 2012.
Patriots vs Jaguars Head-to-Head
When the Jacksonville Jaguars meet the New England Patriots, very rarely does the score go to the Floridian club. The Pats boast an imperious 12-2 record over the Jags, which includes a 50-10 demolition job in January 2022.
Neither team has met in an NFL International game, but the Patriots are 8-1 in the regular season and 4-1 in the postseason against Jacksonville.
MatchCombo - Jaguars TDs over 2.5, Jaguars to win the 1st quarter & Total points over 42.5
In that 50-10 win for the Pats in 2022, it was Trevor Lawrence throwing three interceptions and one touchdown while Mac Jones amassed three passing touchdowns without getting picked.
Now, Mac Jones is with the Jags as their backup quaerterback, and a still rather unknown rookie in Drake Maye steps up for the Pats to get his second start of his career.
In the last London game, Jones stepped onto the field, completing one pass for six yards. If Lawrence struggles, maybe he’ll pop up again and haunt his old team.
There are plenty of unknowns coming into the last 2024 NFL London game, mostly revolving around New England’s rookie under centre, but the stage is set for both 1-5 teams to score plenty of points if the QBs can steer them right.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Adobe*
