When you hear that jaguars and ravens will be clashing on a massive field in London, this weekend, you'd be forgiven for legging it down to Wembley with your iphone blazing ready to record a scene that even David Attenborough would be proud to narrate for the next series of Planet Earth.
This Sunday, however, will not see a bloodbath between a load of wild cats and a horde of pissed off, angry birds. Instead, the unbeaten Baltimore Ravens will be taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars as the NFL invades the capital for the first of four London games to take place, this season.
The game between the two AFC East teams can be watched live on Yahoo's official stream on Sunday afternoon at 2:30pm.
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Heading into Sunday's game, the Ravens are 2-0, having seen off the Cincinnati Bengals 20-0 on opening weekend, before dealing with the Cleveland Browns 24-10, last week.
Lardarius Webb (right) and Anthony Levine Sr. (left) celebrate after Webb's interception during the final quarter of last weekend's victory over the Cleveland Browns. Image: PA
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The Jaguars, on the other hand, come into the game fresh off a 37-16 home defeat to the Tennessee Titans at EverBank Field, last Sunday, having come away from Houston with a 29-7 victory over the Texans the week before.
The Ravens were rocked this week by the news that guard Marshal Yanda had been ruled out for the rest of the season with a fractured left ankle. Speaking to the Baltimore Sun, Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley said of Yanda's injury, "Losing one of the leaders of our offense and the whole team in general, it's definitely a big hit to the team. But we know that football, it has to go on. I know Marshal would say the same thing. We've got to keep pushing forward."
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Coming up against a Jacksonville defence that dealt out 10 sacks against the Texans in week one without Yanda is going to no easy feat for the Ravens, who is widely regarded as one of the best guards in the NFL at the moment. However, the Jaguars shipping of 37 points against the Titans last week will give Baltimore hope.
Jacksonville, on the other hand, also have questions over their offence, with their quarterback situation already causing problems in the early season, with Blake Bortles coming under fire for his performance against Tennessee, last week, which resulted in the Jaguars picking up former New York Giants backup Ryan Nassib, on Monday.
Blake Bortles will be hoping for a repeat of the 30-27 victory the Jaguars enjoyed over the Indianapolis Colts at Wembley, last year, when Jacksonville take on the Baltimore Ravens in London, this Sunday. Image: PA
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Chad Henne had been preferred to Bortles during pre-season, but Bortles regained his starting berth for the regular season, yet there are obviously still question marks surrounding the 25-year-old, who's display on Sunday was compounded further by Titans' cornerback Logan Ryan during an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Monday, when Ryan said, "I think it's well-known...they don't have a lot of confidence in their quarterback situation. They're relying on the running game, and they're relying on possession passing and taking the ball out of his [hands], preventing him from losing the game."
The Jaguars will be hoping Bortles to continue their hot streak in London, having won on their last two trips to the capital city, while Sunday marks the Ravens first trip to Wembley. Will they return to Baltimore undefeated or will the Jaguars extend their winning run in London?
Find out, this Sunday.
Featured Image Credit: Yahoo!Topics: American Football, NFL
