Hurricane Milton delayed the Jacksonville Jaguars’ planned departure for London, but the NFL said there is no change to the schedule for Sunday.
The Jaguars called off an arrival press conference near the team hotel scheduled for Friday. The team is expected to land in England by Friday and play their NFL-high 12th regular-season game in London on Sunday. They’ll play the Chicago Bears (3-2) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Jaguars are spending all of next week in the city with back-to-back games in London for the second consecutive season. Next week, the Jaguars play a “home” game against the New England Patriots (1-4) at Wembley Stadium the following Sunday.
London is comfortable territory for the Jaguars, who’ve played at least one game in the International Series since 2013 with the exception of the isolated 2020 season due to COVID-19. Jacksonville is 6-5 in London games.
“We still have to get over there and get acclimated quickly. The travel, all of that, is familiar to us,” Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said. “That does give you a peace of mind traveling over there. The bottom line is when you get there, you still have to get acclimated, keep the guys rolling Friday and Saturday, and get ready for the game on Sunday.”
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said he shared with new teammates yet to make the trip across the Atlantic Ocean that the key is getting your body “on track” as soon as possible.
“That time change can get you if you’re not careful,” he said.
Considered the home team this week, Bears officials opted for an earlier departure and have been in London since Tuesday, affording players more time to rest and adjust to a six-hour time difference from Chicago. They held their first full-speed practice on Thursday after walk-through workouts on Wednesday.
“It doesn’t seem like there’s any numbers that tell you that one way or another,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said of the team heading to London days before the Jaguars. “But to me, it’s about focusing on us. That’s really all we can do.”
Jacksonville (1-4) won for the first time this season last week.
The Bears previously have played twice in London, facing the Buccaneers in 2011 and Raiders in 2019.
