Jaguars hold practice just hours after early arrival in London

WATFORD, England — Bleary-eyed but still energetic, the Jacksonville Jaguars started their two-game, 10-day overseas trip with a lighter-than-usual practice on Oct. 9, about 48 hours before facing the Philadelphia Eagles.

The first goal: Conduct a serviceable practice.

The second goal: Stay up as long as possible.

“To come off the plane and (bus) ride, we won’t be quite as full speed as a normal Friday, but we had a good, physical practice (on Oct. 8) in full pads and they did a nice job of getting after it,” coach Liam Coen said before practice. “We’ll tone it down, keep it above the neck (mental reps) and keep these guys awake.”

The Jaguars’ charter landed at London’s Stansted Airport at 6:07 a.m. UK time (1:07 a.m., Jacksonville time), the flight

time a shade under seven hours across the Atlantic Ocean.

At 8:30 a.m., the Jaguars’ contingent checked into their hotel.

At 12:50 p.m., Coen met with reporters.

At 2:20 p.m., the Jaguars were on the practice field. All players on the 53-man roster and practice squad were present.

And at 3:40 p.m, practice concluded.

“Honestly, I’m not really that tired at the moment,” defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton said at around 4 p.m. “It may be like a normal night for me (going to bed). Around 10-ish.”

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence said the familiarity of being at The Grove eases the transition.

“It’s a huge part of it,” he said. “As challenging as the travel can be, this place is awesome. We’ve gotten to know the (staff) over the years and guys actually do look forward to being here because we know what to expect.”

Meanwhile, the Eagles were hours away from even leaving Philadelphia.

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The Eagles are taking a page of the Los Angeles Rams’ Travel Playbook. Last year, the Rams practiced in Baltimore during the week before flying to London on Friday night and arriving early Saturday morning. The Rams routed the Jaguars (who had arrived Wednesday), 35-7. The Eagles practiced Friday in Philadelphia.

It has been a tumultuous few days for the Eagles, who saw right tackle Lane Johnson retire, left guard Cam Jurgens traded to Baltimore and star running back Saquon Barkley and star receiver DeVonta Smith sit out practice on Oct. 7-8 with hamstring injuries.

Coen doesn’t want the Eagles’ situation to cloud the Jaguars’ approach.

“We can’t worry about that and if that creeps into our minds, we’re probably worrying about the wrong things because it is about us, our execution, our game plan, our fundamentals, techniques and communication,” he said. “(Coach) Nick Sirianni does a great job. That team and group won a Super Bowl (two years ago) and they know how to handle adversity. I know they’ll be ready, that’s for sure.”

Coen on Hurts: ‘He’s a winner’

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will face the Jaguars for the third time in his career (2-0 record). Yes, his offense has been decimated by injuries, but Hurts has Coen’s attention.

“He’s a winner,” Coen said. “That’s something that is undeniable. Anytime you have a winner at quarterback, you have a shot.”

Hurts was 38-4 in college for Alabama and Oklahoma and is a combined 65-31 (regular season/playoffs) for the Eagles, including a Super Bowl win over Kansas City after the 2024 season (he was voted MVP).

“Anytime you have a quarterback who can do both (run and pass), it’s a challenge with him running the football on designed quarterback runs or playing off schedule,” Coen said. “It challenges your rush integrity (staying in the right rush lane) and changes your coverage because you have to cover longer.”

Hurts has 21 rush attempts for 105 yards and one touchdown this year. Quarterbacks in Weeks 1-4 against the Jaguars had a combined 18 rush attempt for 68 yards, including 38 yards by Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson in Week 1.

Coen: Trip is ‘cool’ experience

This trip is Coen’s third to England since the summer. He attended Wimbledon tennis matches with his wife and then took a five-day golf trip to Manchester and Liverpool with his father.

Coen saw the upside of traveling here with the Jaguars.

“It is challenging anytime you get out of your rhythm, routine and environment — that’s a reality,” he said. “But I do think there is something to this that is a life experience as well and not everybody would get (to experience) if you weren’t playing in the NFL. … I hope we continue to come back because it’s just really cool for our players, coaches, staff and organization to continue to grow the game, but also experience different cultures.”

’Surreal’ debut for Muhammad

Jaguars cornerback Jabbar Muhammad made his NFL debut against Cincinnati, playing two snaps apiece on defense and special teams as a practice squad call-up.

“It was surreal, but then I had to focus because your number can be called at any time,” he said. “It felt good to get some snaps and be in that environment.”

Because of injuries to cornerbacks Buster Brown (hamstring) and Christian Braswell (knee), Muhammad said he was “expecting a little bit during the week,” to be elevated.

Muhammad had a strong training camp, but lost a battle with Braswell. Was it easy to hit the reset button?

“It was because I was on to the next (situation) and I had to better myself and a positive was that I was still in the building,” Muhammad said.

Contact O’Halloran at [e-mail] or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays ("First Coast Football Friday" 4-7 p.m.).

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars hold practice just hours after early arrival in London