According to official data, there are no jaguars in the wild in the United Kingdom, logically. Nor are there, outside of captivity, any bears in the British Isles after the European brown became extinct more than 1,000 years ago due to the increase in big game hunting (although, curiously, the British have given life to bears as famous as Paddington or Winnie-the-Pooh). However, this weekend the two species are spreading uncontrollably through London, where the Chicago Bears and the Jacksonville Jaguars will face each other this Sunday (3:30 p.m. from Spain, M+ and DAZN) at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and will drag thousands with them. and thousands of American football fans who once again gather in the British capital to watch the NFL up close.
The American football league has long been no longer as remote as it once was for audiences in the rest of the world, especially in Europe. In 2005, the NFL opened its borders for official matches (preseason matches known as the American Bowl were previously held abroad), and two years later the International Series was inaugurated, which has never missed its appointment with London (a exception of 2020 due to the pandemic). This Sunday’s Bears-Jaguars will be the 38th game that the NFL holds in the British capital, which has been hosting three games per season for several years. It will not be less in 2024 (last weekend the Jets and Vikings faced each other, and next week the Jaguars repeat against the Patriots). Twickenham and Wembley were the stadiums that initially rotated, but, since the inauguration of the Tottenham Hotspur megastadium, it is the north London complex that takes the lion’s share: this Sunday’s game will be the 10th NFL game in the history of a stadium designed to host American football.
There have also been international matches in Mexico and Germany (this year there is one in Munich), this year Brazil debuted with the Packers-Eagles… and next year it will be Madrid’s turn, which will host a match in November at the Santiago Bernabéu. But the crown jewel of the NFL is, never better said, royal Great Britain. For the two franchises, performing in London is nothing new: the Bears have already played twice, while the Jaguars, despite the 6,800 kilometers that separate them from Jacksonville, are practically at home. Since 2013 they have competed 11 times on British soil, and this is the second consecutive year in which they have played two games in a row in London. In fact, one of them is already part of their home calendar, so they play one less than they should at EverBank Stadium, their usual home.
Leaving aside the international expansion and all the paraphernalia that the NFL sets up around these games to guarantee a tremendous show for the fan, the favorites for victory are the Bears. More almost due to the demerit of the Jaguars, who have started the season on a very bad foot (one win and four losses), than due to the good work of the Chicago team, which, mind you, has been seen in recent weeks. The Illinois franchise project is complex, emerging now after too long a reconstruction and too many failed experiments at the coaching and quarterback positions. But the light is beginning to be seen in Chicago, especially thanks to the arrival of the jewel of all jewels: rarely has a college player aroused as much expectation as Caleb Williams, who was chosen without hesitation by the Bears in the first place of this year’s draft.
With the keys to the team handed over to Williams, a player who aims to mark an era if nothing goes wrong, things are beginning to look different in Chicago. They arrive in London with the great news of presenting a positive record (three wins and two losses) after two consecutive wins in which Caleb has been seen starting to fuel after a slightly idling start to the season. The Bears’ defense usually delivers (they have allowed 21 points or less in 11 straight games) and, if the offense is up to par, be careful. Williams, who is the fourth rookie quarterback since 1950 to win his first three home games without throwing an interception, has three top receivers in DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and rookie Rome Odunze, all combined with a D’Andre Swift who is shining in the running game and it makes for a very fun team mix.
Things are less hopeful for the Jaguars, who arrived late in London on Friday after Hurricane Milton that besieged the state of Florida disrupted their plans. Last week they achieved a balmy and much-needed victory against the Colts, because until then the Jacksonville team was the only one of the 32 teams that had not won. With their quarterback Trevor Lawrence in charge, in addition, the streak was already eight consecutive losses between last year and this year. The effect on Lawrence’s Jaguars is diluting, who like Williams was chosen in first place in the Draft (in 2021 in this case) and who in 2022 managed to take the Jacksonville team to their fourth playoffs so far this century. The team’s ambition is to take flight in London, where last year they won both matches they played, and return home with renewed hope. But the spotlight this time goes to the opposite side and Caleb Williams will be the player on whom all eyes will be drawn in the 38th chapter of the NFL in London.
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