The Jaguars are making their annual trip to London this week to take on the Broncos.
Though both teams are 2-5 and both have lost each of their last four games, there’s a much different vibe coming from Denver than Jacksonville.
Part of that has to do with preseason expectations. But the Jaguars have still experienced some frustrating losses in the last two weeks at the hands of the Colts and Giants.
Still, head coach Doug Pederson said he’s looking forward to taking his team across the pond this week, joking with reporters that going to London every year is why he took the Jacksonville job.
“We all understand, I think people in the league understand, Jacksonville is going to be part of the London game, a tradition of playing over there,” Pederson said in his Monday press conference. “We’re excited. We’re thrilled to be over there and be able to take your team. There’s a lot of guys that don’t get the chance to travel outside of the country, and it’s a great way for them to experience a new city. London is a great city. I’ve played football over there. They’ve got some great fans over there. NFL fans—you’re going to see jerseys from all 32 teams.
“That’s the beauty of going over there, the excitement of going over there. We know we’re going to go there. We’re excited about it, looking forward to it, and it might be good for us.”
The Jaguars are traveling to London on Thursday, which Pederson admitted does complicate things on the injury front. Cornerback Shaq Griffin, for example, missed last week’s game with a back issue and Pederson said the club will “see where [he] is this week.”
“The travel and everything, it can [make injured players a tougher call],” Pederson said. “Again, with Shaq’s injury, too, you want to make sure that he’s comfortable and we’re comfortable and there’s no further risk to his back and just want to make sure that he’s 100 percent. Yeah, short week, and we’re traveling on Thursday. It’s almost like a Thursday game where you want to be a little more overly cautious.”
The last time the Jaguars had a long flight for a game, they defeated the Chargers in Los Angeles back in Week Three. Perhaps a long flight to the U.K. will give the club similar luck.