NFL’s London Games are over – so what next for the Jags?

It was also the second time in two days that the franchises’ owners had faced off. On Saturday, Stan Kroenke’s Arsenal defeated Shahid Khan’s Fulham in the Premier League. Kroenke’s Rams would get the better of Khan’s Jaguars again here. No wonder Rams head coach Sean McVay is an Arsenal fan.

Over the years, the NFL has wrestled with how best to export this uniquely American spectacle: at Wembley music blares from the stands between every play, kiss cams are broadcast on the big screen and fans are treated to covers of John Denver and Journey during a half-time show.

In the 1990s a European expansion league was created as a developmental route for players to advance to the big league and to nurture interest in the game across the Atlantic. It disbanded in 2007. Since then, commissioner Roger Goodell has floated the idea of a permanent London team and even hinted that the UK could one day host a Super Bowl.

But for now, the focus is on a rotating slate of international fixtures. This year, the league is staging seven games outside the United States, with Dublin, São Paulo, Berlin and Madrid all hosting for the first time.

Goodell wants to go bigger. Before this year’s game in Dublin, he said, “we would like to get to 16 games” per season, allowing each of the league’s 32 teams to play abroad once every year. But that would require the approval of the NFL Players Association, and the current collective bargaining agreement doesn’t expire until after the 2030 season.

Alongside the games, the NFL has focused on brand building. It grants teams exclusive marketing rights in certain countries to grow relationships with certain franchises and geographies. The Rams have rights in Australia and China, for example, while the Jaguars are one of the teams designated to the United Kingdom. But that territorial claim looks shaky in practice.

On the way to the game, Rams, Broncos, Seahawks and Patriots jerseys are visible on a tightly packed London Underground – a sign that success on the field and legitimate star power is more effective than any marketing plan could ever be. All four teams have won Super Bowls in recent memory, Jacksonville never has.

Once you arrive at Wembley, however, there’s no question this is a home game for the Jags. Hunter Long, their tight end, bellows over the speakers welcoming you to the arena. Teal banners hang from lamp posts. Shouts of “Duuuval”, a rallying cry taken from the team’s home county in Florida, ring from the sound system.

And then, inside the stadium, you enter Duval County itself. Fifteen minutes before kickoff Jaxson de Ville, the team's mascot, launches himself from the Wembley rooftop. The Jaguars’ cheerleading squad warms up the crowd with ‘Welcome to the Jungle’. The Jacksonville players run onto the pitch through the open, smoking mouth of a giant inflatable jaguar head ready to continue a strong 4-2 start to the season.

But once the game starts the franchise returns to type. On the first play of the game Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville’s star quarterback, is sacked. His offense fails to convert on third down until midway through the second quarter. Travis Hunter, the Jaguars’ top draft pick this year and a unicorn in NFL terms (he plays on both offense and defense) doesn’t register a single reception before half time. They went in at half-time 21-0 down.

In the third quarter the Jaguars go on their first drive of note but fizzle out with a turnover on fourth down.  As the second half continues, key third down passes bounce off the hands of Jaguars’ receivers. The only glimmer of hope comes midway through the fourth quarter when Lawrence connects with Hunter to give the rookie his first NFL touchdown. Could they become the standout stars the franchise desperately needs?

The Rams barely got out of second gear (they racked up fewer yards on offense than the Jaguars) and were without star receiver Puka Nacua, but relied on Super Bowl winning quarterback Matthew Stafford and three-time All Pro wide out Davante Adams to win the game 35-7. They’re in contention for the playoffs, but will likely have to outpace either the resurgent Seattle Seahawks or injury-plagued but winning San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West to get there.

In 2026 the NFL show will go to Australia for the first time and return to Mexico after a four-year hiatus. Goodell also has his eyes set on Asia and you wouldn’t dare bet against him.

The NFL continues to sell out across the world: over 200,000 people attended games in London this year and yesterday’s game in Wembley was the second highest attendance ever recorded for a game abroad. The pageantry of an NFL game is too compelling, too entertaining not to attract crowds. Even with the Jaguars 21-0 down going into the last quarter, a singalong version of Sweet Child of Mine manages to get people out of their seats.

For the lacklustre Jaguars, their current contract in Wembley expires after this game. They’ve expressed an interest in extending it and their agreement with the city of Jacksonville enables the team to play up to six home games in London from 2025 to 2027.

But is this a marriage the NFL should want to continue? Part of the reason the NFL in London has so few games between winning teams is that the Jaguars have played here 14 times and, in that time, have been for the most part one of the league's worst teams.

In order to create lifelong fans, not just one time attendees, the NFL must ensure the quality of the product on the pitch matches the hype off it before pushing for true global domination.

Photograph by Bradley Collyer/PA Wire