If the people of London turn out to watch a 1-5 New England Patriots team play a 1-5 Jacksonville Jaguars team, then they truly are deeply invested in the NFL. The Jaguars have the big travel advantage of having already been in London for two weeks, while they also get to face a rookie quarterback making his second NFL start. As a result, they are nearly a touchdown favorite.
The two big stories to watch this week are Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and perhaps the status of Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson if the team gets embarrassed again.
Let’s start with Maye. Even though the Patriots lost his debut a week ago, he still advanced the passing game in a way we have not seen in years, throwing for 243 yards and three touchdowns. Now he has a chance to go against a Jaguars defense that has been one of the worst in the NFL, and especially against the pass. Jacksonville is allowing a league-worst 276 passing yards per game.
Even worse than the yardage, the Jaguars do not even pass the eye test on defense, with opposing wide receivers usually running wide-open and free. This is a big opportunity for Maye to really start to establish himself as the Patriots’ franchise quarterback.
That defensive performance, and the overall performance of the team, is enough to wonder just how hot Pederson’s seat is. He already received the dreaded vote of confidence from ownership, but another ugly loss — and potentially to a one-win team starting a rookie quarterback — could be too much to overcome. This is a game Pederson and the Jaguars probably cannot afford to lose.
No team has played more neutral site games than the Jaguars over the past 10 years, and they are 6-4 against the spread in those games during that stretch.
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New England Patriots vs. Jacksonville Jaguars odds, expert picks, how to watch: Is second time the charm for Jags in London?
