Rise and shine, it’s football time! The Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars square off from jolly old England bright and early Sunday morning. Week 4 marks the 2016 return of football in London, and the Colts and Jaguars get the honors of the early game. Kickoff is set for 6:30 a.m. PT. The game is broadcasting on CBS, and is getting a national audience.
As a resident of the east coast, this is one time where I get a huge benefit from the start time. I may hate that 10:20 p.m. ET 49ers kickoff on Monday Night Football, but I can enjoy a 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff for this game. Not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison given that one is the 49ers, but you get the point.
49ers fans do have a rooting interesting in this early game. Former 49ers running back Frank Gore gets a chance to continue moving up the all-time rushing leaderboard. He is currently ranked No. 13 all-time, with 12,225 rushing yards. 19 yards will move him ahead of Marcus Allen, 22 yards will move him ahead of Edgerrin James, 55 yards will move him ahead of Marshall Faulk, and 88 will move him ahead of Jim Brown. If he gets those 88 yards, he will be No. 9 all time! He still has a strong shot at Tony Dorsett (427 yards after that), while Eric Dickerson is a big tougher, at 520 yards past Dickerson. But Gore has a good chance this season to climb into No. 8 all time on the leaderboard. Not too shabby.
As for the Jaguars? Well, they’re desperate for a win, now sitting 0-3 after a rough start. Coaches frequently have been fired after a poor showing in London. If they don’t manage a win against the Colts on Sunday, could Gus Bradley be next?