London is calling for Jacksonville but it’s time for the Jaguars to show their teeth and live up to the hype… as double-header in England could define their season

• The NFL returns to London for the first of three games this weekend
• The Jaguars arrive in the UK with a disappointing 1-2 record this season 
• Jacksonville takes on the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley on Sunday 

These are worrying times for the Jacksonville Jaguars. After back-to-back home defeats, they head to their international outpost for a double-header in London that could make or break this season.

Rivals can see the unease.

‘Well, you better be ready to roll and you better be ready to improve. They’re going to come into this game desperate,’ said Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, Sunday’s opponents at Wembley.

It was not supposed to be like this. The Jags were the bookies’ favourites to win their division again after last year’s unexpected but joyous play-off run.

The season began with a 31-21 win over Indianapolis. Then came defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs. No shame in that.

The Jacksonville Jaguars arrive in London with a disappointing 1-2 record 

But gifting a callow Houston Texans a first win of the season was unnerving. The Jags went into the game as 7.5-points favourites and lost 37-17. In their last eight quarters, they have scored two touchdowns.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence said: ‘We’re not complementing each other on either side of the ball. We’re leaving a lot out there.’

Against Houston, Lawrence was not responsible for two key drops by star receiver Calvin Ridley, nor the toothless defence or several special teams blunders. All three phases are misfiring.

Head coach Doug Pederson won Super Bowl LII with Philadelphia. He is calm and not prone to rash statements.

As he stood ashen-faced on Sunday, he was asked if his team had believed their preseason hype. ‘I think that’s real,’ he said. 

‘I’ve been around this game too long to know that you can’t live in the past or you’re going to fail in the future.’

The good news for the Jags is that there is time to turn this around. Last season a 2-6 record became 9-8 as they won their division for the first time since 2017 thanks to a timely knack of fourth-quarter comebacks.

And as they embark on their 11-day excursion to these shores, they are in familiar territory. 

Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence conceded the team would have to improve following a disappointing loss at home against the Houston Texans in Week 3

Head coach Doug Pederson remains confident the Jaguars can make the playoffs again

London’s de facto NFL team first played here a decade ago and have never arrived with a winning record. Nor has it been a particularly happy home from home, with their record at 4-5.

But Lawrence thinks the trip can be a positive. ‘I think if we use it the right way, it can be good for us,’ he said. ‘I don’t think we should need that to get the sense of urgency and to play better. But if that’s what we need, then it’s coming at the right time and we’re going to take advantage of it.’

First up are the Falcons, who started brightly with wins over Carolina and Green Bay, but were stymied by the Lions.

Atlanta boast one of the best running games, spearheaded by exciting rookie Bijan Robinson, and the bull-like Tyler Allgeier.

Win at Wembley and the pressure will ease. But a third defeat in a row would leave Jacksonville in full panic mode as they prepare for a daunting meeting with the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham on Sunday week.

Lose both and the Jags are staring at 1-4. That really would be desperate.

Mike’s Miami speed demons showed us future with 70-point whirlwind

We have seen the future. And it was brutal.

Miami racked up the fourth highest points tally in NFL history in a 70-20 win over Denver. And they made it look easy. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was magnificent, they were fast as hell, and they scored 10 touchdowns. 

The Dolphins could have topped the 72 points Washington scored in 1966 too, but head coach Mike McDaniel declined to kick a field goal in the closing minutes.

McDaniel said he wanted ‘to keep good karma with the Dolphins’, but he has good reasons to spite his boyhood team.

Tua Tagovailoa (left) and Tyreek Hill (right) ran riot as the Miami Dolphins thrashed the Denver Broncos 70-20 in Week 3 

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel has his offence perfectly fine-tuned this season

Born and raised in Colorado, McDaniel was a Broncos ball boy as a teen. After making his name as an offensive mastermind in San Francisco, Denver chose not to interview him for their head coach vacancy in 2021, appointing Nathaniel Hackett instead.

Hackett was sacked before Christmas. But his replacement Sean Payton — a Super Bowl-winning coach in 2009 — blazed into Denver after a year as an analyst for Fox TV.

He was less than complimentary about his predecessor. ‘It might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL,’ Payton said. He might want to take a leaf out of McDaniel’s guide to karma.

Pouting Payton was especially terse after the beatdown by the Dolphins. Never more so than when Denver Gazette reporter Chris Tomasson pointed out how historically bad the defeat was.

‘What’s the question? I just finished telling you. Next question,’ he snapped. Payton wasn’t expected to instantly turn things around in Denver, but he looks even more of an egocentric dinosaur when compared to the magnetic McDaniel.

SHORT GAINS 

I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE…

The Chiefs brushed the Bears aside in a 41-10 win, but all eyes were on Taylor Swift.

The 12-time Grammy winner sat next to Donna Kelce — the mother of her rumoured new beau Travis — as he scored the fifth touchdown.

The game pulled 24.3 million viewers, the most of the weekend, and afterwards Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was asked about the pairing.

‘You know what, I’ve met her before,’ deadpanned Reid. ‘I set them up.’

Taylor Swift (right) attended the Kansas City’s dominant win over the Bears in Week 3 amid rumours of her blossoming relationship with Chiefs star Travis Kelce

Chiefs coach Andy Reid joked he’d set Kelce and Swift up himself 

NERVES OF STEEL 

The Steelers’ charter plane developed an oil pressure issue in the right engine and was forced into an emergency landing in Kansas City on the way back from Sunday’s win in Las Vegas.

They returned safely to Pittsburgh the following day on a different plane.

Head coach Mike Tomlin said: ‘As we move away from it, we talk less about it because I don’t want it to be an excuse in any way or some galvanizing thing in any way.’

ROOKIE WATCH

No rookie mistakes from Texans quarterback CJ Stroud, who has 906 passing yards in his first three starts.

The No 2 overall pick of this year’s draft is the third player to achieve the feat, joining Cam Newton (1,012 passing yards in 2011) and Justin Herbert (931 in 2020).

Elsewhere, No 4 pick Anthony Richardson is still in the NFL’s concussion protocol and missed the Colts’ unexpected win in Baltimore, while No 1 overall pick Bryce Young missed the Panthers’ defeat in Seattle with an ankle injury.

STROPPY JOE

The greatest quarterback in Jets history was unequivocal about the current incumbent.

After Sunday’s defeat by the Patriots, 80-year-old Namath said. ‘I wouldn’t keep him. I’ve seen enough of Zach Wilson.’

PRAISING ARIZONA

After slamming the Arizona Cardinals in a previous piece, an apology to Jonathan Gannon.

The Cardinals are clearly not a laughing stock, aren’t tanking in order to obtain next year’s No 1 draft pick, and have been in all three games — the latest a resounding victory over the mighty Dallas Cowboys. Who are, for this week at least, a laughing stock.

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