Jaguars accustomed to playing in London
Sep 21, 2017 - 7:26 AM The X-factor for Sunday's game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore will be the Ravens' adjustment to flying to Europe for the first time and playing in England.It took Jacksonville three trips until they adjusted the routine that enabled them to earn a win. The Jaguars' first two trips to Wembley Stadium in London resulted in double-digit losses to San Francisco and Dallas. But Jacksonville appears to have its itinerary in check after four consecutive years of playing overseas.
Jacksonville's last two trips to London resulted in a pair of three-point wins, first over Buffalo and then last year against Indianapolis in its first divisional game across the ocean. The Jaguars are hoping the four previous trips to London will prove to be the edge they need over the Ravens, most of whom have never played a game outside of the United States.
It's not something that Baltimore can practice for. There is no preparation that a player can do for taking a 13-hour trip across the Atlantic Ocean and have his body adjust to a five-hour time change.
Teams that have made the journey have complained about how tough it is to adapt to the long trip and time zone change. Of the 24 teams that have made the trip, 11 won the first time they played there, 11 lost in their initial appearance and two teams -- Cincinnati and Washington -- played to a 27-27 tie last year. New England, the New York Giants and San Francisco are all 2-0; Miami is 1-2 and the Rams and Tampa Bay are both 0-2.
Because Jacksonville has played there in each of the last four years, the Jaguars will have an edge in familiarity with the surroundings and certainly the fans. Jacksonville has developed a fan base in England because of its frequent trips there, which could give the Jaguars more of a home-game feeling with the crowd support.
Jaguars linebacker Paul Posluszny, who will make his fifth trip to London, thinks the Jaguars will have an advantage after the last four years.
"As a team, as an organization, we know what to expect," Posluszny said. "We know what the game environment will be like over there. For a lot of our guys, it won't be a new experience. We should be more and more comfortable with going over there now."
But, when kickoff occurs on Sunday, no team will have an advantage, no matter how many times one has played in London, Posluszny said.
"When that ball is snapped on Sunday, it doesn't matter whether we're playing here, London or at a local high school. Once it's time to go, everyone is going to be ready when it's time to play," he said.
On paper, Baltimore certainly looks like the better team. The Ravens have gotten off to a quick start with two wins and have played well. Jacksonville played well in its first six quarters this season, but then fell apart on both sides of the ball and special teams in the second half against Tennessee.
Jacksonville has put together back-to-back scoring drives to open the game in its first two contests, though both scores came on field goals and not touchdowns. The Jaguars will look to make it three straight such starts and build a lead like they did against Houston so they can rely on the running game the rest of the way. Baltimore does not appear to be a team that can play catchup if they have to rely on the pass. The Ravens' passing attack is 30th in league rankings this week.
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