JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars are across the ocean and facing a beaten and banged up Eagles team with a chance to send a statement to the rest of the NFL that they’re legitimate contenders in the AFC.
The Jaguars (3-1) face the Eagles on Sunday (9 a.m.) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It’s the first of back-to-back London games for Jacksonville. The Jaguars will host the Texans in Week 7 at their home away from home, Wembley Stadium.
The trip has the potential to shape the rest of Jacksonville’s season. Entering Week 5, the Jaguars are hot. They’ve knocked off the Patriots, a Super Bowl team last season, and the Bengals in consecutive games. A Week 1 blowout of the Browns (3-1) looks much better now than it did then.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence is being talk about as an MVP favorite. The preseason worry about the inexperienced ground game has dissipated after the strong start of Bhayshul Tuten, who is the NFL’s second-highest graded running back behind Kansas City’s Kenneth Walker III.
The defense has continued to thrive. It leads the league with six takeaways. London will afford Jacksonville the chance to keep that momentum going. Travis Hunter is emerging as a promising cornerback. Defensive lineman DaVon Hamilton is playing at a Pro Bowl level. The pass rush remains a work in progress, but the run defense is erasing opposing ground games.
“I think it’s always a good reset. You can look at it either way. Obviously, there’s some challenges to it, but I think knowing that it’s something that we do consistently, you look at the positives,” Lawrence said. “I think it’s a good reset for our team, good time together, like we talked about. Sometimes when it’s super hot here, the weather change is kind of nice. You get a little bit of that fall weather, so that’s nice. And I think just the time together, get to go away.”
Should the Jaguars pull a London sweep, they’ll return to Jacksonville for their Week 7 bye as perhaps the AFC favorite to reach the Super Bowl for the first time. Only oddsmakers are looking that far ahead.
Jacksonville’s last game in London was a disaster. They faced the Rams in Week 7 at Wembley Stadium and got waved, 35-7. They used that game as pivot point for the remainder of the season. The Jaguars went 9-1 the rest of the way and won the AFC South.
“You kind of referenced it where this game last year was a huge eye-opener for us and had to look in the mirror at what we were doing, not just schematically, culturally, fundamentals. It provided us a lot of feedback,” Coen said. “I point to this one as a huge moment for us where we got our butts kicked last time we were here. And it allowed us to look in the mirror as coaches and players and staff, to be able to adjust.”
They’ll face an Eagles team that is depleted and banged up. Receiver Devonta Smith and running back Saquon Barkley are both out. Right tackle Lane Johnson retired this week. Center Cam Jurgens was traded to Baltimore this week for a 2027 draft pick. Backup center Drew Kendall is out.
Coen said those absences are of little concern to Jacksonville.
“We’ve tried to look at it as we can’t worry about that or if that even creeps into our minds, we’re probably worrying about the wrong things because it is about us,” Coen said. “It’s about our execution, our game plan, our fundamentals, technique, communication.”
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