Jacksonville Jaguars close London trilogy with win over New England Patriots

The Jacksonville Jaguars secured a vital 32-16 victory over the New England Patriots in front of a record 86,651 crowd at Wembley Stadium to conclude the NFL’s 2024 trilogy of London games.

Both opponents were in desperate need of a win, with identical 1-5 records to start their seasons leaving them bottom of their respective divisions.

New England struck first, silencing hosts Jacksonville in the first quarter before the Jags exploded in the second, scoring 22 points with no reply, including Parker Washington’s 97-yard punt return for the longest touchdown in NFL international games history.

Longest punt return in Jaguars history.

Longest touchdown in London games history.#NEvsJAX pic.twitter.com/m4z688sEcI

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 20, 2024

The hosts added three more in the third and while New England briefly narrowed the deficit in the fourth, they saw their chances slip away when Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby crossed late in the quarter for his second touchdown.

Eyes were on rookie Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who made his second NFL start and was good for 26 of his 37 pass attempts, throwing for 276 yards, including two touchdowns.

Jags quarterback Trevor Lawrence grew into the game, completing 15 of his 20 pass attempts and throwing for 193 yards, including one touchdown.

Jacksonville won the toss and elected to defend first under soggy conditions, and New England struck first with 8:32 left to go in the first quarter with their first opening drive touchdown of the season.

Maye’s short pass found JaMycal Hasty on the right and the running back danced around the Jacksonville defence before scoring the 16-yard touchdown, with Joey Slye adding the extra point.

Three weeks of London games