Jacksonville Jaguars' Travis Etienne Claims Time in London Created 'Great Edge' vs. Buffalo Bills
It’s hard to blame fans angry with the NFL for scheduling the Buffalo Bills a home game abroad, and then giving the “visiting” Jacksonville Jaguars the inherent advantage of playing in London the week prior.
Would any of this be a story if Buffalo came back to the States victorious? Probably not. But in Sunday’s 25-20 loss, the Bills looked like a team that was not ready to play.
They lost the time-of-possession battle by more than 16 minutes and were out-gained by 86 yards. Buffalo was consistently off-schedule and sloppier than the Jacksonville team they shared the field with.
There’s an uncountable number of factors that went into the Week 5 loss, but Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. was unafraid to acknowledge the advantage an extra week in England provided his team.
“I felt like it really created a great edge for us,” Etienne said, courtesy of ProFootballTalk. “Just knowing how I felt [last Sunday] in the Falcons game, the first game that we had out here, and having the whole week out here, just being able to get our bodies adjusted and not having to have that jet lag on us throughout the game.”
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) jumps into the end zone for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL International Series game against the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Jacksonville won that game against Atlanta, 23-7. It’s safe to say the Jags ooked even better the following week, despite the smaller margin of victory.
Part of Buffalo’s struggles were predictable, given the lopsided nature of its rushing attack against a strong Jaguars’ run defense. Throw the buzzsaw of injuries the Bills experienced into the equation and you get a unit that cannot play quality man coverage against one of the league’s most dynamic offenses.
Those injuries were brutal and also … another indictment of American football in London.
For whatever combination of reasons, the Bills didn’t play well on Sunday. Blaming a plane ride is neither productive nor entirely rational, but neither is completely disregarding it.
“I feel like it played a huge part,” Etienne concluded.
If his words ring true throughout the Jacksonville locker room, it may be worth acknowledging that the NFL has a scheduling issue on its hands.
