London Calling: Buffalo Bills v. Jacksonville Jaguars

What's this?  We get NFL action in the early hours of a Sunday morning?  That's right!  London is six hours ahead of Houston, and they are well into the afternoon for this tilt between two American football teams.  I recommend enjoying a full English breakfast as you watch the Buffalo Bills take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium.  Remember:  The only way you can watch the game is via Yahoo's exclusive live stream, which you can find by clicking here.

Buffalo Bills (3-3)

The Bills are sitting at .500 on the season after a recent 34-21 loss to the undefeated Bengals (6-0).  This Buffalo team is in need some serious help at wide receiver.  Sammy Watkins has been struggling with injuries all season and is ruled out of this tilt.  Meanwhile, Percy Harvin is absent from the team while he's dealing with "something personal."

NFL.com reports:

Buffalo general manager Doug Whaley told reporters on Friday that he's "not sure right now" what will happen with Harvin and acknowledged: "I haven't been in contact with him, and we said we're going to focus this week on this game and then when we get back, we'll reach out to him and see where he is."

Whaley revealed that the Bills found out "early last week" that Harvin "needed to take some time for personal reasons," calling it "just a personal reason that he's out and we'll address it as soon as we get some more answers on him."

NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that all options are on the table for Harvin, who is frustrated over a lingering hip injury that will not allow him to play any time soon. A team source also confirmed to Around The NFL that retirement was certainly an option for the 27-year-old pass-catcher.

Harvin's absence leaves the Bills painfully short at the receiver position, where Sammy Watkins has also been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Jaguars in London because of an ankle injury. The swath of maladies will leave backup quarterback EJ Manuel throwing to Chris Hogan and Robert Woods ahead of Marcus Easley and Denarius Moore.

Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5)

The Jags are on a four-game losing skid after being defeated 31-20 at home by the Houston Texans (2-4) last week.  TE Julius Thomas is finally up to speed after recovering from injuries early in the season, and he could play a key role in helping to turn their season around.

Here is NFL.com's comparison of the two teams:

This will serve as your early morning open game thread today; BRB's customary "Countdown To Kickoff" thread will post at 9 a.m. CDT.  The usual non-Texans open game thread rules apply.  Enjoy the show!

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