Matthew Stafford is going from the mound to the pitch.
The Los Angeles Rams quarterback and teammates took turns throwing off the rubber at Camden Yards this week. Stafford had safety Quentin Lake squatting behind home plate when he harkened to his high school days with a windup.
He didn’t light up the radar gun, but he delivered a strike.
Stafford hopes to be as accurate when the Rams (4-2) play the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2) at iconic Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday. The game will cap a unique week for the Rams, who stayed in Baltimore after beating the Ravens last Sunday, practiced all week at the famed ballpark and then traveled across the pond later than usual.
“Guys that used to play baseball are fired off to be here,” Stafford said. “I thought I would’ve played baseball up until probably my sophomore year of high school. ... I loved it growing up. This was my favorite sport, and I still love watching it.
“Maybe I’ll take some infield at some point this week.”
The extra time on the East Coast should minimize the effects of traveling eight time zones and more than 5,000 miles.
“It’s a long way to go,” Stafford said. “It’s a different venue and different place. We’re playing a team that has been over there a lot and goes over there a lot, so it’s a challenge for us.”
The Jaguars arrived in London on Tuesday and spent the week adjusting to the time change and the weather. First-year coach Liam Coen wanted to go earlier than usual and get acclimated, knowing the team’s bye follows.
“We’ve kind of gotten used to the whole travel deal and stuff like that,” Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “So it’s not as big of a big of a deal for us now. ... I think it’s a good opportunity for our team to just come closer together.”
The Rams also have a bye week on tap following the overseas trip home, but the game against the Ravens made it impractical to return to Los Angeles before taking an even longer flight to the United Kingdom. So they found a temporary home thanks to the Orioles.
“The optics of it is obviously a lot different,” receiver Davante Adams said. “It’s just grass at the end of the day. Barring nobody ends up in the infield here, I think we’ll be OK.”
The Rams are 3-point favorites, according to BetMGM. They already have three wins against the AFC South (Houston, Tennessee and Indianapolis) and are 4-0 against the conference. Beating Jacksonville would give LA its first AFC sweep since 2018.
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The Rams are coming off a 17-3 victory against the injury-riddled Ravens, but could be without star receiver Puka Nacua (ankle).
The Jaguars, meanwhile, are trying to bounce back from a 20-12 home loss to Seattle last week in which they were handled on both lines of scrimmage and didn’t get a takeaway for the first time this season.
“Whoever handles the trip the best probably has a better chance of winning,” Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun said. “So just dial in on our details of what we’re supposed to be doing out there.”
McVay and Coen have history together
Coen spent four seasons (2018-20, 2022) working under Rams coach Sean McVay, so they should know each other’s strengths, weaknesses and tendencies. Both downplayed the coaching matchup.
“I think it’s a fun narrative, but it still is the Rams versus the Jaguars,” McVay said. “You can see the identity and the personality of the team in a lot of ways is reflective of the good traits that Liam has.”
Added Coen: “His ability to get the guys up every single week is pretty cool. The way he addresses the players, the way that he handles the players, the staff, the coaches from a positive state of mind, but also the standards, the demand, the way that he ultimately wants that team to play.
"It shows up every single week, and win, lose or draw, they play hard.”
London continues calling for the Jaguars
Even with the Jaguars having begun construction on a $1.4 billion stadium renovation, they have no plans to leave London.
The team’s current contract with Wembley expires after this game, but the Jaguars have expressed an interest in extending it. They have a deal with the city of Jacksonville that allows them to play five more home games internationally during stadium construction, with a maximum of three in 2027, and want one game a year at Wembley even after their revamped home stadium opens in 2028.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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