The Jacksonville Jaguars finally gave UK NFL fans the game they deserve

At long last, the Jacksonville Jaguars got a win and UK NFL fans got a game they deserved. Both had been a long time coming.

Heading across the pond for this regular season fixture, Jacksonville were on a run of 20 games without a victory, the second-longest losing streak in league history. Their last came in week one of the 2020 season, more than 400 days ago.

UK NFL fans had waited even longer for American football to return to their shores after the pandemic erased international fixtures a year ago, and even longer still for a game worthy of their support to take place.

The international series has seen 31 of the 32 teams play in the UK over the past 15 years, with only the Green Bay Packers yet to travel over.

Despite sold-out stadiums throughout that time, many of the 30 matchups have failed to match the vociferous support that greets America’s favourite sport whenever it heads to London. One-sided contests or meetings between teams without playoff hopes too often fail to showcase just how thrilling the sport can be.

This wasn’t the case on Sunday, though, as the Jaguars first came from behind to tie things up against the Miami Dolphins with one long field goal with less than four minutes to play, before kicking the game-winner with just one second remaining.

Interest in the NFL continues to grow in the UK, with games like this one only serving to increase the excitement. More than 60,000 supporters at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium seemed delighted with their afternoon’s entertainment.

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Fans who so often stay up into the early hours to follow the game always enjoy finally seeing the sport they’ve watched from afar up close in a more friendly timezone, but this grandstand finish was exactly what such dedicated support warrants.

On Sunday, the Jaguars travelled home happy after a long-awaited win. UK NFL fans did too.

Yours,

Ben Burrows

Sports editor