NFL London: Jacksonville Jaguars beat Atlanta Falcons 23-7 for first Wembley win since 2017
- Published
Darious Williams returned an interception for a Jacksonville Jaguars touchdown
NFL London games 2023 |
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Venues & dates: October 1: Atlanta Falcons v Jacksonville Jaguars (Wembley Stadium). October 8: Jacksonville Jaguars v Buffalo Bills (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium). October 15: Baltimore Ravens v Tennessee Titans (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium) Kick-offs: All 14:30 BST |
BBC coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app |
The Jacksonville Jaguars kicked off this year's NFL international series with a comfortable win over the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley.
A crowd of 85,716 watched the Jaguars charge into a 17-0 lead after two first-half touchdowns.
The Falcons replied with a Drake London touchdown at the start of the third quarter, before the Jags stretched their lead with a field goal.
Atlanta quarterback Desmond Ridder recovered from a woeful first half to keep the game alive, steering the Falcons to Jacksonville's six-yard line with six minutes left.
And although London caught a Ridder pass high at the back of the end zone, he was denied a touchdown as he did not manage to put both feet inbounds as he landed.
The Jaguars, who have played in every London series since 2013, then added their third field goal of the day to ensure they had the final say in the 10th game they have played in the English capital.
Although the Jags earned a dramatic win over the Miami Dolphins at Tottenham in 2021, this was their first win at Wembley since battering the Baltimore Ravens 44-7 in 2017.
Owner Shahid Khan, who also owns Fulham FC, even attempted to buy England's national stadium in 2018, but the Florida franchise remains committed to playing in London as they have already agreed to return next year.
Lawrence & Allen give Jags' UK fans a treat
This is the first time in five years that UK fans have been able to watch a Jaguars team that reached the previous season's play-offs and they looked every inch a play-off side as they dominated the first half.
During last season's play-off run, quarterback Trevor Lawrence showed why he was hailed as a 'generational talent' when picked first in the 2021 draft.
The 23-year-old showed the Wembley crowd too on Sunday, making a 22-yard run on the game's third drive to get his side into the Atlanta half. Later in that drive he escaped pressure before floating a delightful 30-yard touchdown pass to former Atlanta receiver Calvin Ridley to open the scoring.
Brandon McManus made the first of three field goals to stretch the lead before Darious Williams intercepted Ridder and ran it back for a 61-yard touchdown.
Ridder was intercepted again from his next throw and Jags linebacker Josh Allen gave him a torrid time, sacking the Falcons quarterback three times.
And although Ridder regrouped, Jacksonville bounced back from successive defeats, leaving both sides with a 2-2 record.
The Jags will aim to make it back-to-back wins against the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham next week, when 'London's team' will become the first NFL franchise to play two regular season games outside the US in the same season.