Get ready for some football, London.
The Colts (1-2) and Jaguars (0-3) both touched down on Friday morning (eastern time) as they prepare for Sunday's matchup. Both teams opted for the late-ish arrival in the week, giving their players roughly three days to adjust to the time differential. The Jaguars, London's adopted hometown team, finally settled on a steady arrival time after years of experimenting. They defeated the Buffalo Bills, 35-31 in a wild finish at Wembley Stadium a year ago -- the team's first win across the pond.
For the Colts, this is their first time dipping into the International Series. According to the team's official site, they arrived at about 6:30 London time, or 1:30 a.m. back in Indianapolis.
With talent being relatively even across the board, it might be safe to hand the Jaguars the advantage early. Their owner, Shahid Khan, spends plenty of time in London and pushed for his team to find a second fan base among the rapidly growing international crowd there, which meant more trips and a more in-depth study of sleep cycles and performance. With a nucleus of players that has been together for a few seasons now, they are used to the now yearly trip, which they've made every season since 2013. The adjustment period for the Colts may not be as easy while they work their way through some first-time headaches.
Regardless, both teams need a win badly which will be a pleasant raising of the stakes this year. At 0-3, the Jaguars are in a hole they never expected to be in after pegging 2016 as the season they would finally break out. For the Colts, who have arguably the best franchise quarterback under 28, they are running out of excuses not to have a high-powered offense that can climb the mediocre AFC South.
