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LONDON — The Buffalo Bills wanted to maintain their routine for as long as they could before venturing across the Atlantic Ocean for a game.
A similar approach served them well last year, when they waited until the last possible moment, barely escaping snowbound Western New York, to relocate operations to Detroit, where they defeated the Cleveland Browns on a Sunday and then returned four days later to beat the Lions on Thanksgiving.
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The Bills’ resilience then helped coach Sean McDermott decide how to handle their London experience, but the results were disappointing this time.
The Jacksonville Jaguars, having been in England for 10 days because they played a week ago in Wembley Stadium, toppled the jet-lagged and injury-ravaged Bills 25-20 in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“I did feel like our guys were ready to go,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said. “The 10 days over here were good for us.”
In the other locker room, McDermott was left scratching his head about his team’s flatness despite the raucous atmosphere.
“We’ll see whatever comes up down the road in terms of us coming back here,” McDermott said, “but we need to evaluate everything because I didn’t feel like our energy was good enough early in the game. They had better energy than we did.”
The Bills decided to leave for London after Thursday’s practice in Orchard Park, arriving Friday morning in London. Rather than a usual full practice, they opted for a walk-through and other activities to help them recalibrate to the five-hour time change.
Tyler Bass kicked off Buffalo’s “home game” at 9:32 a.m. Eastern time.
Jacksonville jumped to an 11-0 lead, while Buffalo’s first four possessions ended with punts, including a pair of three-and-outs to start.
Buffalo’s defense also sputtered. Ravaged by injuries both before and after kickoff, one of the NFL’s stingiest units allowed 474 yards (fourth worst in the McDermott era) and 55.6 percent on third-down conversions (seventh worst).
Sloppier yet, Buffalo committed 14 penalties, 11 of them accepted for 109 yards (fourth worst).
The last time the Bills surrendered so much as 400 yards of offense and 80 yards in penalties was 2017 Christmas Eve, McDermott’s rookie season, a 37-16 road loss to the New England Patriots.
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There had been rumblings around London the previous few days that Jaguars players were aggravated over the long trip, that they might be too eager to return home and might be running for the double-decker bus.
Instead, the Jaguars looked fresh and aggressive.
“It helped us be locked in and focused,” Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. said. “I felt like we came out here, we were focused, and just being here all week, I felt like we were acclimated to everything and we were able to come out here and keep the main thing, the main thing and just go out there and play free.”
Etienne ran 26 times for a season-high 136 yards and two touchdowns and added four catches for 48 yards. His 35-yard sprint provided Jacksonville a 12-point lead with 2:56 remaining.
Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley was just as smiley after exploiting Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam, making his first start after being a healthy scratch through four games. Ridley caught seven passes for 122 yards.
“I loved the 10 days,” Ridley said. “I loved coming over here. I thought it was great for me to get away from Jacksonville, to come out here and see a different city. I’ve never been here. I had a blast here.”
It helped that the Jaguars won both London games, topping the Atlanta Falcons the previous Sunday.
McDermott wondered last week how much of a disadvantage it would be that Buffalo would be the first to go overseas and face an awaiting opponent from the previous week. The organization’s coaches, front office, medical staff and sports scientists settled on a Friday arrival.
And they also decided not to take their bye week upon returning stateside. The Bills host the New York Giants on Sunday night.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen and receiver Stefon Diggs each refused to use the travel plan as a crutch, but both admitted they weren’t sharp enough straight away.
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“I was just echoing sense of urgency,” Diggs said. “Let’s have that mindset. We have it in practice, and we try to build off of it, and in the game it’s supposed to be easier. You work hard in practice, and the carryover is supposed to be, ‘All right, you go have fun now.’
“I felt like we didn’t — I’m not going to say lackadaisical — but we were kind of just not, you know, ‘Let’s go get it. Let’s get after it.’ We were trying to figure it out. But that lack of sense of urgency, it showed.”
(Photo: Peter van den Berg / USA Today)
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