The NFL International Series rolls on in Week 5 with the second of three games in London, and it marks the first of two consecutive contests in England for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Liam Coen's team returns to its "home away from home" across the Atlantic Ocean for a matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles: A contest between two teams trending in opposite directions. If the Eagles are to save their season and return to Super Bowl contention after back-to-back losses, this is an ideal spot to prove they can beat one of the best teams in the league.
If the Jaguars handle their business as favorites, they will extend their winning streak to three games and improve to above .500 all-time in games held in London. That is not the only impactful showdown on the road to the Super Bowl this week. In fact, even more seismic collisions occur on the West Coast with an NFC West battle between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks and a meeting between the two Super Bowl favorites in the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills.
Here is a look inside the Super Bowl race entering Week 5. The next time the Jaguars play on American soil will be in November. Each of their next two games come in London as they become the first NFL team to play consecutive home regular-season games in an international market.
For most teams, the departure from the friendly confines of their domestic home stadium to spend two weeks abroad could be seen as a hindrance. For the Jaguars, games in England are nothing new. They should have a logistical advantage over the Eagles and Texans, and they are simply the better team in both matchups, too.
Trevor Lawrence last week finally got a Joe Burrow-sized monkey off his back, as the Jaguars defeated the Bengals 22-17 for Lawrence's first head-to-head win over Burrow in four tries. Jacksonville now has two consecutive victories under its belt in response to its Week 2 loss and might be in the early stages of another extended winning streak. It will be favored in each of its next three games.
Lawrence is easily a top-10 quarterback, but most impressive during the 3-1 start has been the defense. The Jaguars rank second in scoring defense at just 13.3 points allowed per game. The unit stands fifth in per pass despite having to match up against Burrow's high-octane aerial assault and the reigning MVP runner-up, Drake Maye, in consecutive weeks.
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