Patriots-Jaguars Week 7 news and notes
FOXBORO -- The Patriots will take over England this weekend as they'll play the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London. This will mark New England's third trip across the pond for a regular season game and the fifth time overall that the Pats will play in one of the NFL's international games.
The Patriots are a perfect 2-0 in their previous trips to London, after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-7 in 2009 and the St Louis Rams 45-7 in 2012. Both of those games were also played at Wembley Stadium.
Tom Brady led the Patriots to a third straight victory outside of the U.S. in 2017 when he threw four touchdowns in a 33-8 win over the Oakland Raiders in Mexico City. New England suffered its first loss on the international stage last season when the Pats fell to the Indianapolis Colts, 10-6, in Frankfurt, Germany.
The Patriots have also gone international for four preseason games: In Montreal in 1969 and 1990, in Toronto in 1993, and in Mexico City in 1998.
As for Sunday's Pats-Jaguars clash, here's everything you need to know about the overseas matchup.
Patriots vs. Jaguars
- Sunday's game will be the first time the Patriots and Jaguars play on the international stage, and the first time overall since the 2021 season. New England won big in the last matchup, beating Jacksonville 50-10 on Jan. 2, 2022 at Gillette Stadium. Former Patriots quarterback and current Jaguars backup Mac Jones threw three touchdown passes for New England in that lopsided win, while Trevor Lawrence was picked off three times.
- The Patriots are 12-2 overall against the Jaguars, including 8-1 during the regular season and 4-1 in the playoffs.
- Both the Patriots and the Jaguars enter Week 7 with a 1-5 record.
- Drake Maye and the New England offense should be able to move the ball on Sunday. The Jacksonville defense ranks 31st in the NFL in total defense, allowing 390.0 yards of offense per game. They have the worst pass defense in the NFL, allowing 276.7 yards through the air per game, and are 31st at 29.7 points per game allowed.
- New England's pass offense ranks last in the NFL through six weeks at 134.3 yards per game. The Patriots are 31st in scoring, averaging just 13.8 points per game.
- The Jacksonville offense isn't much better, tied for 22nd in the NFL at 18.8 points per game. The Jaguars passing offense ranks 20th at 203.0 yards per game, while the overall offense ranks 19th at 319.5 yards per contest.
Patriots-Jaguars connections
- Mac Jones was the quarterback of the future in New England just a few years ago, but is now the backup to Lawrence in Jacksonville after New England traded him to the Jaguars over the offseason. Jones has come on in relief of Lawrence twice this season -- including late in last week's loss to the Bears -- and has completed six of his nine passes for 28 yards. Jones has also been sacked twice this season.
- The Patriots have three former Jaguars on the roster: linebacker Joe Giles-Harris (2019-20), defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale (2020), and running back JaMycal Hasty (2022-23).
- Two members of the New England coaching staff also spent time in Jacksonville: Assistant wide receivers coach Tiquan Underwood (he played for the Jags from 2009-10 before signing with the Pats) and senior offensive assistant Ben McAdoo (who served as the team's QB coach in 2020).
Everything else to know about Patriots vs. Jaguars in London
- Maye threw three touchdowns last week in his first career start against the Texans. If he can match (or surpass) that total on Sunday against Jacksonville, Maye will join Dan Marino as the only rookie quarterbacks to throw three touchdown passes in their first two starts in their rookie season.
- Patriots defensive end Keion White has had at least one quarterback hit in each of the first six games. His 11 quarterback hits this season are tied for third-most in the NFL.
- Punter Bryce Baringer is now up to 23 straight games with a 50-yard punt, the longest active streak in the NFL. The longest such streak in the NFL is 38 games, set by Shan Lechler in 2010.
Get ready for Sunday's Patriots-Jaguars game in London with WBZ-TV -- your flagship station of the New England Patriots. Coverage kicks off Sunday morning with Patriots GameDay at 8 a.m. (which you can also stream on CBSBoston.com), and switch to TV38 after the game for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!
