Rams have an unusual travel plan for London game that no NFL team has ever attempted

When the Los Angeles Rams take the field at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, there will probably be a lot of curious teams around the NFL tuning in to see how they play. The reason other teams might be interested in the game is because the Rams decided to implement a travel plan for London this week that no other team has ever attempted. 

The Rams are waiting until the last second to get to England: The team won’t be arriving in London until Saturday morning, which is just one day before their kickoff against the Jacksonville Jaguars. During a press conference on Friday, Rams coach Sean McVay outlined what the next 24 hours will look like for his team. 

“We’ll travel to London tonight and get there [Saturday] morning, have a walk-through, and then let guys be able to relax and get some rest,” McVay said. “Then we’ll be ready to kick off at 2:30 p.m. [London time]. Guys are excited about this business trip that we have but I think it’s been a good week for a team camaraderie that’s organically unfolded. It’s been about the week of preparation and guys have done a great job.”

The NFL has been holding games in London since 2007 and in the 18 years since then, teams have been trying to figure out what makes the most sense when it comes to making the long trip abroad and this is one travel strategy that no one has tried yet. 

Over the past few years, most teams have left the United States on Thursday night with an arrival on Friday morning. That’s what McVay and the Rams did back in 2019, which was the last time they played in London. On the other hand, some teams will head out to England early so they can get adjusted to London time, which is five hours head of eastern time. 

The Jaguars are using that plan this week: The team left Jacksonville on Monday night and arrived in London on Tuesday morning. Jaguars head coach Liam Coen was actually on McVay’s coaching staff in L.A. during the Rams’ London trip in 2019, and although he sees some merit in arriving on Friday, he likes the plan that his team has implemented for this week. 

Coen isn’t sure there’s actually an advantage to arriving earlier, but he does like the camaraderie that comes with spending time together. 

“Is it an advantage? I don’t know, there’s sports science that supports both,” Coen said this week, via the Associated Press. “I just thought it was a great opportunity for our guys to get here, be able to be together a little bit more, have a little bit more continuity.”

When the Steelers played in Ireland in Week 4, Aaron Rodgers wanted to fly out there on Monday, but the team didn’t arrive in Dublin until Friday. 

On the Rams’ end, they didn’t go to London early, but they also didn’t spent their week in Los Angeles. After their 17-3 win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 6, the Rams decided to spend the week in Maryland. They arrived in Baltimore on Oct. 11 and they’ll be staying until they take off for London on Friday night. 

During their week-long stay in Baltimore, the Rams have been using Camden Yards as their practice facility, which marks the first time the stadium has ever been used for football, according to MLB.com. 

The NFL is a copycat league and if the Rams beat the Jaguars, there’s a good chance you’ll see other teams embrace the Saturday travel plan in the future. However, if the Rams lose,  it’s unlikely that we’ll see any other teams copy their audacious travel plan. 

The 4-2 Rams won’t have Puka Nacua on Sunday, but they’re still favored by 1.5 points over a surprising Jaguars team that’s looking for its fifth win.