Final 2024 NFL game in London features a pair of 1-5 teams trying to find their way
New England (1-5) at Jacksonville (1-5) in London
Sunday, 9:30 a.m. EDT, NFL Network
BetMGM NFL Odds: Jaguars by 5½.
Against the spread: New England 1-4-1; Jacksonville 2-4.
Series record: Patriots 12-2.
Last meeting: Patriots beat the Jaguars 50-10 in New England on Jan. 2, 2022.
Last week: Jaguars lost to the Bears 35-16; Patriots lost to the Texans 41-21.
Patriots offense: overall (30), rush (12), pass (32), scoring (31).
Patriots defense: overall (25), rush (19), pass (24), scoring (21).
Jaguars offense: overall (19), rush (19), pass (20), scoring (22T).
Jaguars defense: overall (31), rush (11T), pass (32), scoring (31).
Turnover differential: Patriots minus-1; Jaguars minus-4.
Patriots player to watch
Rookie QB Drake Maye got more comfortable as the game went on in his first NFL start and finished with a respectable 20 completions on 33 attempts for 243 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions and lost the ball on a strip-sack, so the Patriots will want him to cut down on the turnovers.
Jaguars player to watch
WR Brian Thomas Jr., who leads all rookies with 424 yards receiving, is coming off his worst performance. He had three receptions for 27 yards in a 35-16 loss to Chicago and dropped one pass in the end zone. He’s clearly Trevor Lawrence’s top option, especially down the field, and needs to be more involved for the Jaguars to top 20 points for the second time in seven games.
Key matchup
One of the NFL’s lowest-scoring offenses versus one of the league’s worst defenses. The Patriots haven’t scored more than 21 points in any game this season; the Jaguars have allowed more than 35 in three of their past four.
Key injuries
Patriots: OL Vederian Lowe left last week’s game with an ankle injury and was scheduled to have an MRI during the week. … RB Rhamondre Stevenson, who missed last week’s game with a foot injury, also missed practice Wednesday. … LS Joe Cardona missed the Texans game for personal reasons but made the trip to London. … CB Marcus Jones missed practice with a groin injury.
Jaguars: CB Tyson Campbell (hamstring) is expected to play for the first time since the season opener. He spent the past five weeks on injured reserve. Jacksonville will be without KR/PR Devin Duvernay (hamstring) and LB Foye Oluokun (foot). RB Travis Etienne (shoulder) was limited in practice Wednesday and could be held out against the Pats.
Series notes
The Patriots have won nine of the past 10 meetings, with the lone loss coming in Jacksonville in 2018. This is the first time they’ve ever played with matching 1-5 records.
Stats and stuff
This is the Patriots’ fifth international game. They went 3-0 with Tom Brady and 0-1 without him. … They are 2-0 at Wembley and beat the Oakland Raiders in Mexico City in 2017. They lost 10-6 to Indianapolis in Frankfurt, Germany, last season. … New England has used six different lineups on the offensive line in six games. … The Patriots have lost five in a row. … With C David Andrews on injured reserve and Cardona out for personal reasons, the Patriots were down to two players, CB Jonathan Jones and DL Deatrich Wise, who were with the team for any of their six Super Bowl wins. … Maye is the fourth Patriots rookie to throw for three touchdowns in a single game, joining Jim Plunkett, Drew Bledsoe and Mac Jones. … Maye is the 14th QB to throw for at least three touchdowns in his first start, most recently Will Levis. … Maye was the first QB to throw for three TDs and lead his team in rushing since at least 1950. … Bryce Baringer had his 23rd consecutive game with a punt of at least 50 yards, the longest active streak in the NFL. … DE Keion White has had at least one QB hit in each of the first six games. … The Jaguars are 6-6 in London, including 4-5 at Wembley Stadium. … Jacksonville is 0-2 against the AFC East this season, having lost to Miami and Buffalo. … Evan Engram has 198 receptions, third in franchise history for tight ends. … Ventrell Miller is one of six linebackers with at least six tackles in his past three games. … The Jaguars have had an interception in five consecutive games in London, including Andre Cisco’s pick last week. … The Jaguars will get an extended look at some younger defensive tackles after trading veteran Roy Robertson-Harris to Seattle this week. Rookies Maason Smith (second-round draft pick) and Jordan Jefferson (fourth-rounder) will get more snaps with RRH gone.
Fantasy tip
Patriots WR DeMario Douglas caught six passes for 92 yards and a touchdown in Maye’s first start and now faces his hometown team, Jacksonville.
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