As they wrapped up their two-week stay in London, the Jacksonville Jaguars gave their embattled head coach Doug Pederson a gift money can’t buy: breathing space.

The Jaguars stormed over the New England Patriots in the NFL finals in London, en route to a much-needed 32-16 win that will lower the temperature in Pederson’s increasingly warm seat.

But it didn’t start that way. It was all Patriots in the first quarter. Drake Maye, starting just his second NFL game, was calm and cool, leading the team down the field behind a stout offensive line that gave Maye all the time he needed. The Pats scored for the first time this season on their opening drive, and after a quick possession from the Jags, they scored a field goal to take a 10–0 lead.

The Jags finally answered back in the second quarter, with Lawrence coming to life and leading a 68-yard touchdown drive. That finally got Jacksonville’s offensive engine going. On their next possession, Lawrence threw the ball downfield for a beautiful 58-yard pass, and a few plays later the Jags scored a touchdown for their first-ever lead of the game.

But the second quarter wasn’t done yet, and neither were the Jags. They had a punt return 96 yards for a touchdown, their first punt return TD in four years, and the longest in Jacksonville history. Once you add in the successful two-point conversion at the end of that TD, the Jags scored 22 unanswered points on the Patriots in just one quarter.

The intensity of the second half was dialed back a bit, but the Patriots continued to be hampered in every area by the Jaguars. The Pats couldn’t stop Jacksonville’s ground-heavy offense from scoring, and Jax’s defensive line had become impossible to penetrate.

The Pats were finally able to punch a hole in the Jags’ defensive wall in the fourth quarter and had a chance to make it a one-possession game. After Maye connected with KJ Osborn for a touchdown, head coach Jerod Mayo opted to go for two points. Had this been successful, the Pats would have come within seven points of the Jags, but they were unable to and left nine points behind Jacksonville.

New England didn’t have enough time or fight left to take it to Jacksonville in the closing minutes. And to put an exclamation point on the end of this game, the Jags scored another touchdown in the final minute to double the Patriots 32-16 and ensure the entire team had a very enjoyable flight back to Jacksonville has.

This game marks the end of the London portion of the NFL’s international schedule. The last international match of 2024 is Giants vs. Panthers in Munich on November 10.

Patriots vs. Jaguars: Watch NFL London Game