Jaguars HC Doug Pederson addresses back-to-back London games

Head coach Doug Pederson has made it known he believes his Jacksonville Jaguars will face no noteworthy challenges linked to playing back-to-back games in London this October. 

"We just stay there, we just stay there for a week," Pederson said during his Friday news conference, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "We do have a game after that when we come back. But we’re on the East Coast and travel is not bad when we come back and we gain the time. So, it doesn’t really affect anything that we do, preparation, nothing like that." 

As noted by NFL.com digital content producer Bobby Kownack, Jacksonville is set to become the first NFL team to play two London games in the same season and in conjunction, the first to play back-to-back contests in England. 

The Jaguars will host the Houston Texans in Week 3 on Sept. 24, are the "home team" for their Week 4 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 1 and will then serve as the away side in their Week 5 showdown against the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 8. 

It was learned last May that the Green Bay Packers elected for a late bye week, rather than one immediately following a trip across the pond in the first half of October. Pederson explained why the Jaguars embraced a similar mentality and won't hit their bye until Week 9 this fall. 

"There’s a ton of football past that," Pederson said of Jacksonville's Week 5 game versus Buffalo. "And, really, your season, as we know, can really take off in the back half of the year. So, not having a bye when we come back is fine. And players are really caught up with sleep, honestly, by the time we get back on the field on Wednesday. Coaches could be a little groggy, but that’s just what we have to do."

The 2022 Jaguars fell to 2-6 on the season via a loss to the Denver Broncos at Wembley Stadium in Week 8 last fall. Jacksonville went on to beat the Las Vegas Raiders the following Sunday and finished with a 9-8 record atop the AFC South standings. 

"It worked out for us last year," Pederson said about the decision not to take a post-London bye.