The Jacksonville Jaguars game at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles started with fireworks and controversy on the opening kickoff.
One touchdown, nullified.
Four penalty flags.
Two players ejected.
It all began with a spectacular 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Jaguars rookie Josh Cameron nullified on a holding penalty by linebacker Branson Combs and an illegal formation call against the Eagles, which off-set. It still wiped out the return, which would have been the first in the NFL this season.
During the return, Jaguars rookie defensive end Bryan Thomas Jr., and Philadelphia linebacker Jeremiah Trotter got involved in an altercation and both were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected.
The penalties also offset.
It took the officials around five minutes to sort everything out and the kickoff was taken over again, with the Jaguars' Ameer Abdullah returning it 15 yards.
The dual ejections will likely have more of an effect on the Jags, since Thomas wasn't playing much defense and Trotter is a veteran for the Eagles — even though he is backing up Jihad Campbell. It was the first ejection of a player in a London NFL game since Kyle Hamilton of the Baltimore Ravens was tossed in a 2023 game against Tennessee.
It wound up being a disastrous first possession for the Jaguars. After Trevor Lawrence picked up a first down on a pass to tight end Nate Boerkircher, another first-down pass to Jakobi Meyers was called back because of a holding penalty on rookie guard Emmanuel Pregnon. Lawrence then lost the handle on the ball and fumbled it, with Robert Hainsey recovering.
After a delay of game penalty, Lawrence raced a third-and-27 from his own 11. A pass to Parker Washington gained only 7 yards and the Eagles got good field position when the aptly-named Britain Covey returned a Logan Cooke punt 18 yards to the Eagles' 42.
However, the Jags were able to force a turnover on downs when the Eagles fell short on fourth-and-1.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: What happened on Jaguars-Eagles opening kickoff? Four flags, two ejections
