The Jacksonville Jaguars are desperate for a victory, while the New England Patriots are looking to end a losing streak while overseeing the continued development of their rookie quarterback.
Each team will look to further those goals in their matchup Sunday in London, England, at Wembley Stadium.
The rebuilding Patriots (1-5) have dropped five in a row since upsetting Cincinnati in Week 1. The Jaguars (1-5) are playing their second consecutive game in London after failing to put together back-to-back wins last week in a 35-16 loss to Chicago.
Rookie Drake Maye is expected to make his second career start for New England after getting the nod in last week’s 41-21 loss at home against Houston.
Maye, the Patriots’ No. 3 overall pick out of North Carolina, completed 20 of 33 passes for 243 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and an 88.3 passer rating against the Texans.
“Excited. (We saw) a quick glimpse of what we can do,” Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas said this week. “When we put it all together, I feel like we can be scary.”
Maye’s performance injected life into the Patriots’ offense, which ranks 31st in yards per play (4.3) and yards per pass attempt (5.5).
The 21 points were a season high for New England.
Patriots first-year head coach Jerod Mayo said his team needs to get off to better starts and sees an opportunity to do just that in this week’s matchup.
New England has not scored on its first drive this season and has not picked up a first down in four of six opening drives.
Mayo hinted at starting lineup changes entering this week’s game as well.
“The common denominator is a lack of focus,” he said. “We’re in the middle of the season now and to have a penalty on the opening kickoff is unacceptable. It’s a lack of focus.”
Jacksonville is treating this as a must-win game.
After picking up their first win the prior week against the Indianapolis Colts, the Jaguars delivered a disappointing performance against another rookie quarterback. Bears starter Caleb Williams threw a career-best four touchdown passes against the Jaguars to break the game open in the second half.
Facing another promising rookie, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson hopes for more from his defense.
“He’s going to take what he did last week and he’s going to improve,” Pederson said of Maye. “… He’s got a big arm, he’s a smart kid, he’s athletic, he’s tough, he took some shots in that game against Houston the other day and came back.”
After a solid opening drive ended with a field goal, Jacksonville struggled to sustain any rhythm on offense. The Jaguars also remain one of the more generous defenses, allowing 6.0 yards per play (30th in NFL) and the second-most points (178).
“I mean, I think we’re scoring 18 or 19 points offensively,” Pederson said. “They’re looking at it the same way, if we can keep them under 20, first one to 20 might win the game. That’s the reality of it.”
The Jaguars could be without starting tailback Travis Etienne, whom Pederson considered week-to-week with a hamstring injury. Jacksonville would lean on Tank Bigsby primarily if Etienne is out and D’Ernest Johnson mostly on passing downs. Bigsby ran for only 24 yards on seven carries against the Bears with the team behind for most of the second half but rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns vs. Indianapolis in Week 5.
No. 1 New England running back Rhamondre Stevenson (foot) did not practice Wednesday. Neither did offensive tackle Vederian Lowe (ankle) and cornerback Marcus Jones (groin/illness). Maye (knee) was a full participant.
Along with Etienne, defensive end Arik Armstead (shoulder), wide receiver Gabe Davis (knee), tight end Evan Engram (hamstring), offensive tackle Anton Harrison (knee) and cornerback Tyson Campbell (hamstring) were all limited at Wednesday’s Jaguars practice.
