Summary

  • Atlanta Falcons beat Jacksonville Jaguars 23-7 at Wembley Stadium

  • Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley catches first touchdown of the game, against his former team

  • Falcons QB Desmond Ridder throws pick six in second quarter

  • Ridder throws TD to Drake London in second half

  • The first of three NFL games in London this season, with the Jags playing twice

  1. Lawrence gets there with his legspublished at 16:44 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 7-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    Third down and six for the Jaguars.

    No passing options open for Trevor Lawrence so he turns on the afterburners and dives between two defenders to earn another first down.

    Good drive this from Jacksonville as the clock ticks below 12 minutes left.

  2. Postpublished at 16:42 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 7-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    The Wembley crowd break out into a rendition of Sweet Caroline at the start of the fourth quarter.

    And Evan Engram breaks out on the left to earn Jacksonville another first down in Atlanta territory.

  3. London callingpublished at 16:40 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 7-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    A superb over-the-shoulder catch from Drake London, his second TD of the season, brought the Falcons back in the game in that third quarter.

    Drake LondonImage source, PA Media
  4. End of third quarterpublished at 16:39 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 7-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    Big, big play to finish the third quarter as Trevor Lawrence finds Christian Kirk with a 10-yard pass for a first down.

    The Jags will retain possession at the start of the fourth and final quarter. Another touchdown on this drive would surely put the game beyond Atlanta.

  5. Postpublished at 16:36 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 7-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    Decent start to the Jags' latest drive as Evan Engram makes a solid gain but Jacksonville are pushed back by a holding penalty on the next play.

    Just a minute left in this third quarter.

  6. Falcons forced to puntpublished at 16:33 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 7-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    Yep, too big a mountain to climb on third down despite Bijan Robinson collecting a screen pass to make a handful of yards.

    Yet another Atlanta punt and Jacksonville will take over the ball around their own 10-yard line.

  7. Postpublished at 16:31 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 7-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    Desmond Ridder is growing in confidence now, aided by the option Bijan Robinson is providing in the running game.

    He finds tight end Kyle Pitts for a first down around midfield but an incompletion now leaves Atlanta facing third-down-and-long, needing 14 yards.

    Make that 19 yards after a false start penalty against tight end Jonnu Smith.

  8. 'Jaguars really are London's team'published at 16:29 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 7-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    Ben Collins
    BBC Sport at Wembley

    Fans of all NFL teams flock to the London games, but this year there does seem to be even more here backing the 'home team', the Jacksonville Jaguars.

    This is their 10th game in London and next week the Jags will become the first NFL team to play two regular season games outside the US in the same season, when they face the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham.

    There may be plans for them to have a new stadium back in Florida, but they really are London's team. And they're guaranteed to be coming back again next season.

    Jacksonville Jaguars players emerge from the tunnel at WembleyImage source, Reuters
  9. get involved

    Get Involvedpublished at 16:28 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    #bbcnfl or via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)

    Wayne Ellis: Falcons could contend for a wildcard if they turned to Taylor Heinicke. Ridder just isn’t good enough, even with a strong running game to hide his weaknesses.

  10. Robinson rollingpublished at 16:25 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 7-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    Atlanta are getting the ball to Bijan Robinson and their marquee running back is doing the business.

    A nine-yard run brings up a short second down which he converts to give the Falcons some breathing space.

    Just under six minutes of the third quarter remain.

  11. Postpublished at 16:23 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 7-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    The Jacksonville punt has pinned Atlanta deep inside their own 10-yard line.

  12. Jaguars held at midfield and puntpublished at 16:20 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 7-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    More to do indeed - but they've just taken another step towards it.

    Some good defensive work from the Falcons halts that Jacksonville drive at midfield and the Jaguars' opening possession of the second half ends in a punt.

  13. 'More to do for the Falcons'published at 16:20 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 7-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    Ben Collins
    BBC Sport at Wembley

    Drake London, it had to be. And boy did Atlanta need that!

    It was a bit of a subdued celebration from the Falcons receiver mind. He knows there's more to do if Atlanta are to challenge for the lead here.

  14. Postpublished at 16:18 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 7-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    Of course, Atlanta are only back in the game if they can prevent a Jacksonville response.

    Signs of that aren't great, however, as the Jags are nearing the halfway line with tight end Luke Farrell reeling in a Trevor Lawrence pass for a first down.

  15. touchdown

    Touchdown - Drake London (Falcons)published at 16:11 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 7-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    Desmond Ridder makes the shush sign to Osi. Well, not literally. But he would if he knew what had been said.

    It's London in London as wide receiver Drake hauls in one of Ridder's better passes of the game right in the near corner of the endzone, despite heavy pressure, for a 15-yard touchdown.

    He drags his feet to ensure he's in bounds as the catch is completed and, out of nowhere, Atlanta have a route back into this game after an awful first half.

  16. Should the Falcons replace QB Ridder?published at 16:10 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 0-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    Osi Umenyiora, the former New York Giants defensive end and two-time Super Bowl winner, spent time during half-time on ITV’s coverage talking about whether the Falcons should pull quarterback Desmond Ridder and replace him with the experienced number two Taylor Heinicke.

    Umenyiora says Ridder “looks shot” having thrown two interceptions already, with just 73 yards of passing in that first half.

  17. Falcons into the redzonepublished at 16:09 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 0-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    The trouble is Atlanta cannot exclusively rely on the running game and quarterback Desmond Ridder looks bereft of confidence.

    But, on third down, he digs deep and this time a risky pass to KhaDarel Hodge pays off.

    Atlanta inside the Jacksonville 20-yard line with only a couple of minutes of the second half gone.

  18. Kick-offpublished at 16:07 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 0-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    We're back under way at Wembley and it's a great start to the second half for the Atlanta Falcons as star running back Bijan Robinson surges into the Jacksonville half with a 38-yard run.

  19. 'We'll be seeing a lot more Emmanuel Okoyes in the future'published at 16:06 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 0-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    Media caption,

    Emmanuel Okoye: Meet the Nigerian who honed his American football dreams in England

    Nowadays, Scott Pioli works as a TV analyst for the NFL and is a consultant for several college football programmes, including the University of Tennessee.

    One of the top-ranked college teams in the US, they recently recruited Emmanuel Okoye, an 18-year-old Nigerian who was invited to Osi Umenyiora's Uprise talent identification camp before being fast-tracked to the NFL Academy in Loughborough.

    Pioli said: "[NFL Academy staff] told me about his progress, that's he's getting recruited. Now I've had a chance to see him and I think he's going to have a really strong chance.

    "It's one of the important parts of growing the game internationally. Last year there were 319 international players in college football in the United States - that's a lot of players. Now the NFL has given them an extra opportunity to develop, allowing every team to have a 17th spot on their practice squad [for an international player]. But the important part of that is they've changed the definition of what that international player is.

    "It can now be someone who played in college in the United States for four years and maybe even had a year of high school. They're still not citizens of the United States, they should be classified as international citizens, so I think we'll be seeing a lot more Emmanuel Okoyes in the future."

  20. 'I love seeing the game's growth in the UK'published at 16:05 British Summer Time 1 October 2023

    Atlanta Falcons 0-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

    Scott Pioli first came to the UK in the summer of 1986, when he was still playing at college, to coach the Newcastle Senators. The amateur team is still going, as the Gateshead Senators, and Pioli remembers his time in the north east fondly.

    He said: "I lived up in Whitley Bay and fell in love with Newcastle and the Geordies - although I couldn't understand them after a couple of pints!"

    On American football's growth internationally since then, he added: "If you'd asked me about it when I worked for a team then I wouldn't have understood it. You're so narrowly focused that there's so much you don't see outside your work-world with your team. Now I have a different perspective.

    "When I came over with the Atlanta Falcons in 2014 [for a 22-21 loss to the Detroit Lions], I was like 'wow', because I hadn't seen it in person. The people that are passionate about the NFL here are crazy passionate, and I love seeing the growth.

    "I like that the league is bringing the game here too. We're bringing it and asking the community here if they're interested, rather than taking a team and sticking it in London, like we did with the World League/NFL Europe. I felt like we were pushing the game on people and they maybe weren't ready for it. I think you have to give people access to it, which is what we're doing, and because of that we're getting players from the UK, from Germany, from all over, that fans can really relate to."