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It’s that time of year again as America’s game packs up and heads across the Atlantic to serve up another triple header of NFL action in the UK.
Three more games are coming up in October, two at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one at Wembley, and there’s an intriguing mix of teams and players taking part this year.
We’ve got one of only two unbeaten sides left in the NFL playing, along with a team that was everyone’s pre-season favourites, a rebuilding powerhouse and prolific Super Bowl winner and also London’s regular visitors playing another double header.
UK fans will get to see one of the biggest names in the sport, the iconic Aaron Rodgers, playing in London for the second and likely final time while the future of the NFL is represented by number one overall draft pick Caleb Williams.
Throw in a former top pick Trevor Lawrence and there’s plenty of NFL quality on show in London this year.
What is the 2024 NFL London games schedule and kick-off times?
The Minnesota Vikings, one of only two unbeaten sides left in the league, will kick us off against one of the sports’ iconic quarterbacks and four-time MVP Rodgers and his New York Jets.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are playing back-to-back games in London again, firstly as the designated away side against the rebuilding Chicago Bears and their new star QB Williams.
After the two games at Tottenham, the Jags will then resume their hosting duties for the visit of the New England Patriots – who are also in a huge rebuilding phase.
All games kick-off at 14:30 BST.
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Sunday, 6 October – New York Jets v Minnesota Vikings (Tottenham)
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Sunday, 13 October – Jacksonville Jaguars v Chicago Bears (Tottenham)
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Sunday, 20 October – New England Patriots v Jacksonville Jaguars (Wembley)
New York Jets v Minnesota Vikings
Both Rodgers and the Jets will arrive in London banged-up and licking their wounds after an ugly 10-9 home defeat to the Denver Broncos on Sunday dropped them to 2-2 for the season.
Robert Saleh’s side have a great defence but are just ordinary offensively so far, and they really need to get that clicking as the pressure starts to mount.
Now fit after his Achilles surgery, Rodgers was meant to lead this team on a big Super Bowl push in what could be his final season. The pressure will continue to build until they figure that out.
On the flip side, things could hardly be better for the 4-0 Minnesota Vikings, the only other unbeaten team in the NFL alongside defending champions the Kansas City Chiefs.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell lost his new QB JJ McCarthy in pre-season to injury but Sam Darnold has had a remarkable renaissance after previously being one of the worst quarterbacks statistically during his previous six seasons.
Darnold was drafted third overall by the Jets, but never really given any support and with now the league’s best receiver Justin Jefferson to throw to, an elite running back in Aaron Jones and a solid defence – although only four games in he is an early and very surprising MVP candidate.
Darnold leads the league with 11 touchdown passes and would like nothing better than to stick one on his former side – and upstage headline-maker Rodgers in the process.
Star players: Aaron Rodgers & Justin Jefferson
Jets supporters and general NFL fans alike pwill want a glimpse of 40-year-old Rodgers in action, as one of the league’s greats is in the twilight of his remarkable career.
Rodgers is listed as questionable on the Jets injury report but all indications are that he will play in London for a second time, following the Green Bay Packers’ loss to the New York Giants in 2022.
He has shown glimpses of his old self, especially when throwing to Garrett Wilson, but he has looked his years at times when being chased by elite, young NFL defenders. Rodgers will no doubt want to put on a show in London though.
It’s hard to put into words just how good Jefferson is and not just for the numbers he produces but some of the highlight reel catches he makes that nobody else can.
And he gets the best out of every catch as well. As an illustration he has the same number of catches this season as Wilson (20) but instead of 191 yards and one touchdown for the Jets man, Jefferson has turned them into 358 yards and a league-leading four TDs.
Jacksonville Jaguars v Chicago Bears
We get to see two number one overall draft pick QBs battling it out in London as Caleb Williams rolls into town with the Chicago Bears to face Trevor Lawrence’s Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Bears built a strong offence around Williams but it has not quite taken off as yet. There have been glimpses but they will want to see more as the season progresses.
Being the only team left yet to win in the NFL was not exactly in the script when the Jaguars handed out a bumper new deal to Lawrence in the summer, and losing nine of their past 10 games, stretching back to last season, leaves head coach Doug Pederson firmly on the hot seat.
It is not just the defeats but the performances which have been a worry, throwing away leads against Miami and Houston and being blown out on national TV in Buffalo.
Pederson will hope a return to London can spark a recovery, as the Jags won both games in the UK last season to start a five-game winning run.
Star players: Travis Etienne & Caleb Williams
Lawrence needs to step up, rookie Brian Thomas and fellow receiver Christian Kirk are dangerous but Travis Etienne is a player who can be a difference maker – as he showed in London last year.
The running back had two decent games, but particularly at Tottenham where he recorded 184 total yards and two TDs against the Buffalo Bills. He will no doubt be glad to get on that field again.
The Bears have veteran Keenan Allen and DJ Moore as two top-draw receivers, along with rookie Rome Odunze, but let’s face it -everyone wants to see how Williams performs.
He’s a larger than life character off the field and definitely has playmaking abilities on it, and even his major flaw of holding the ball too long makes for exciting viewing.
New England Patriots v Jacksonville Jaguars
For the Jags’ ‘home’ game at Wembley Stadium, they will host six-time Super Bowl champions the New England Patriots who are on possibly the biggest rebuild the league has ever seen.
With Bill Belichick following Tom Brady out of the door, young head coach Jerod Mayo is the man charged with putting the one-time dynasty back together, but it will be a long, tough process.
The former linebacker Mayo has happy memories of London, as he was on the Patriots teams that had two emphatic victories on their previous visits – albeit with Brady and Belichick still at the helm.
Star players: Keion White & Travon Walker
The Pats have to run the ball, a lot, meaning Rhamondre Stevenson will get plenty of action but Mayo is trying to build from defence up.
Big defensive end Keion White will be one to watch, not only for fans but also Trevor Lawrence as White has been causing problems for opposing quarterbacks all season.
And with New England’s offensive troubles then 2022 first overall draft pick Travon Walker could step up and have a big game at Wembley – where he had a quarterback sack last year.
How to follow NFL London 2024 on the BBC and elsewhere
We will have live text commentary on all three NFL London games on the BBC Sport app and website from around 14:00 BST on every game day.
After the game will be the usual match report, reaction and highlights.
All three games will be broadcast live on Sky Sports and ITV.
NFL London tickets – UK fans lead the way
Tickets go like hot cakes for the London games as the appetite for the NFL shows no signs of slowing down, and for the second year running fans from the UK will outnumber those from overseas.
According to data from ticket marketplace viagogo, 53% of tickets sales have gone to UK fans across the three games taking place in London – but there is still a broad worldwide appeal with tickets being sold to NFL fans from 41 different countries.
But there are major differences in the individual matches which make interesting reading, with the opening game between the Jets and Vikings being made up of 47% UK fans and 53% from elsewhere.
The Bears have attracted the most fans coming over from the United States for the second game against the Jags, while the third game involving the Patriots at Wembley is the big one for UK fans with 69% of tickets on the viagogo platform going to domestic fans in the UK.
It looks like a perfect storm between regular fans of ‘London’s team’ the Jaguars who play annually at Wembley, but also the attraction of six-time Super Bowl champions New England.
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are gone but the huge support those glory decades attracted still makes the Pats one of the most popular teams across the Atlantic.
