The Jacksonville Jaguars will play their first of two games in London on October 1st versus the Atlanta Falcons. Jacksonville is coming off two straight losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans and will be looking to get back in the win column.
Falcons second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder has been off to a relatively shaky start to his 2023 campaign. Through three games, Ridder has thrown for 553 yards with only two touchdowns and one interception. He is completing just 62% of his passes. While Ridder is the fourth-most sacked quarterback in the league through three weeks (12), he also has a quarterback rating (QBR) of 36, which ranks #29 among all NFL quarterbacks.
The Atlanta Falcons come into this week four matchup after suffering their first loss of the season to the Detroit Lions. Desmond Ridder and the Falcons offense failed to get into the end-zone once as they lost the game 20-6. Ridder completed 21-of-38 passes for 201 yards, he had one fumble, and was sacked seven times for a loss of 62 yards. Rookie running back Bijan Robinson had 10 carries for 33 yards and the team only rushed for 44 yards as a whole. Former Florida Gators tight end Kyle Pitts led the team with five receptions for 41 yards.
Defensively for the Falcons, they rank #8 in the NFL in opponent points per game allowed (18.0), which is a significant leap from last season where they ranked #21 (22.7). Jessie Bates III has been the most productive player through three weeks as he has 24 total tackles with three interceptions and one forced fumble. Former UCF Knights safety Richie Grant has played solid so far this season with 17 total tackles and has one pass deflection.
Jacksonville’s offense will be looking to get back into a groove this week after they only scored 26 points the last two weeks combined. Although Trevor Lawrence hasn’t been perfect through three weeks, he desperately needs more help from his offensive line and skill position players. Lawrence has been sacked six times and been pressured on 39-of-128 dropbacks (30%). The Jaguars are tied for first in the NFL with eight total drops, four from Calvin Ridley, two from Tank Bigsby, and one each by Christian Kirk and Evan Engram. Travis Etienne was the lone bright spot for the Jaguars last week with 138 yards from scrimmage, averaging 4.6 yards per carry.
The Jaguars’ defense got picked apart last week by the Houston Texans and will need to make amends versus a below-average offense in the Atlanta Falcons. Jacksonville did not register a sack on CJ Stroud after the Texans were missing four starting offensive linemen. Expect that to change this week. The Jaguars will also have to generate takeaways. After having six in the first two weeks, they did not create a single one in week three.
Jacksonville will be missing second-year linebacker Devin Lloyd who had thumb surgery and did not travel with the team to London. In his absence, this means that second-year linebacker from Wyoming Chad Muma will replace him for at least the next two weeks.
This game almost feels like a must-win for the Jaguars after an embarrassing output in week three, and they do not want to drop to a 1-3 record. While the Jaguars dug themselves out of a 3-7 hole last season to finish 9-8 and make the playoffs, they understand that they need to take care of business and not drop in the standings early on.
The Jaguars and Falcons will kick off in London on Sunday morning at 9:30 AM EST.