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Inside the Bills: How an NFL team moves its entire operation overseas for a game

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Skip to main contentSkip to main contentFeed your obsession. Start every morning with a guide to the latest news from One Bills Drive and stay informed about what is going on elsewhere in the NFL.Back to homepageSubscriber LoginKeep reading with unlimited digital access.Loading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{action_button}}{{tagline}}{{action_button}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You are the owner of this article.Edit ArticleAdd New ArticleYou have permission to edit this article.EditRead Today's E-edition© 2023 Lee EnterprisesTerms of Service Privacy PolicySubscribeRead Today's E-editionShare ThisInside the Bills: How an NFL team moves its entire operation overseas for a gameCommentsShare thisIt turns out moving an NFL team across an ocean to participate in one practice and then a game is exactly as complicated as you might imagine.For the Buffalo Bills, Brendan Rowe and Matt Worswick have largely led that effort ahead of Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Rowe is the team’s director of football operations, and Worswick is the director of team administration.Planning for this weekend started in January when the Bills found out they would be chosen to give up a home game as part of the NFL’s International Series, which officially started in 2007 and has steadily expanded to include games in England, Germany and Mexico. Rowe made site visits in both April and June – first to decide on a team hotel, and once that was settled then to visit the stadium, local hospitals and airports the team will use.The Bills’ itinerary while in London looks like this: Land at Heathrow Airport and take a roughly 30-minute commute to The Grove, a five-star hotel in Watford, England, where the team will conduct practice and hold media availability with coach Sean McDermott and team captains. On Sunday, the team will bus to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before flying home out of Stansted Airport after the game.Thousands of fans are packing their Bills gear for an adventure of a lifetime to experience all that London and the surrounding areas have to offer and then see Buffalo play against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.“When you look at it as a whole initially, yeah, you’re basically stunned like, ‘Oh, this is an undertaking,’ ” Rowe told The Buffalo News this week. “But from our standpoint, we’ve had a good core group of people. There have been a lot of people involved, it’s not just Matt and I. … We reached out to the other departments and some of them – equipment has gone through it before, trainers have gone through it, but with other teams and such. So, kind of getting everybody on the same page and we’ve just had meeting upon meeting, just to make sure everybody’s comfortable with everything. But that’s a complete team effort.”When the Bills last made this trip in 2015, the team went for the entire week, and sent food over. This time, because The Grove has become a regular host for NFL teams participating in the International Series, the Bills didn’t have to do that. Nevertheless, an incredibly long list of materials still needed to get from Orchard Park to London. For example, during training camp, the Bills sent via ocean freight a shipment that included more than 200 cases of water, 120 cases of Gatorade products, 1,000 rolls of tape, toiletries, batteries, sideline medical equipment (think: tongue depressors) … all the way down to sunflower seeds.As the “home” team, the Bills had first choice of hotels, and selecting The Grove meant the Jaguars had to move hotels this week. Jacksonville played against Atlanta on Sunday at Wembley Stadium and will become the first team to spend back-to-back weeks in London.The Grove has a 100-yard practice field on site, which works in its favor, but it’s also, as Rowe put it, “out in the middle of nowhere, which is perfect – just how we want it.”After practice Thursday in Orchard Park, the team’s Virgin Airlines charter plane needed to be loaded with a full set of meeting room video and IT equipment, practice gear jerseys and equipment, practice training equipment and, practice video equipment and all the radio/broadcast equipment needed. One of Jags coach Doug Pederson’s complaints about the back-to-back games was not having their usual video system to watch game film.“The way we’re treating it is it’s a normal road trip with one extra day,” Rowe said. “We’ve done this before. We did get obviously some hurdles last year with the Chicago trip. Fortunately, we’ve been through this before, so we’re trying to treat it as regular as possible.”The decision to travel overnight Thursday was made after consultation with the team’s sports science department, which is headed by Joe Collins, a London native who is the team’s director of sports performance.“Done a ton of research over the years and now it’s ramped up obviously this offseason and making sure we’re going about it the right way here,” said McDermott, who projected a very business-like tone about heading overseas for a game.“First of all, you’re talking to a homebody here, so I’ve never been there,” McDermott said. “But from what I hear and the research that is being used as our vision, is we’re going to try and” sleep on the plane Thursday night. “Try and stay up through the day (Friday) and try and get acclimated to a little bit of it as much as you can.“I should probably have Joe Collins sitting next to me here to answer some of these questions, but I’ll do the best that I can, and what’s been explained to me and why. I think the cool piece of it is, there’s been a number of people working behind the scenes on this since we got word that this was going to happen. It’s a great opportunity.”The Bills are keeping their traveling party at about 160 passengers, which is just two more than a normal road game. The transatlantic flight required a bigger charter plane, so the NFL gets teams participating in the International Series in touch with Virgin Airlines.One of Worswick’s projects in recent weeks was collecting passports from every person traveling. That process started in the spring, making sure everyone who was going had a passport, and then the collection process concluded Tuesday when he received the last one.“I feel like we’ve been preparing for it forever, so we’re just ready to get over there,” Worswick said. “We’re going to play a game.”“Business trip. Knock it out, win a game and get back home safely,” Rowe added.The Bills don’t have a lot of players on their active roster who have previously participated in the International Series, although running back Latavius Murray has the distinction of being the only player in league history to score a touchdown in London with two different teams in the same season. Murray did so with the Saints in Week 4 and the Broncos in Week 8. Bills receiver Deonte Harty also was on that Saints team.Allen is killing it on play-action passes. He’s completing 81.8% for the most yards in the league (451), according to Pro Football Focus.“It was kind of different when we went, because we were out there for the whole week,” Harty said of last year’s experience with the Saints. “Adjusting to the time difference, I think the first two days I couldn’t fall asleep at a decent time. That’s going to be the biggest challenge, but it was definitely a good experience.”Harty said staying properly hydrated and getting adequate rest during the week is the key to making sure players can be at their physical peak Sunday.“It takes your body a little while to get adjusted, but they’re going to have everything set up for us,” he said.Guard David Edwards participated in the International Series as a member of the Rams in 2019. As a 6-foot-6, 308-pounder, he said he’s terrible at sleeping on planes – even plush, chartered ones like NFL teams use.“That’s the key, though,” he said. “You’ve got to maximize that sleep. It’s a unique challenge, but these guys do a great job of preparing you for what you need to expect.”If the flight from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport to Heathrow on Wednesday night was any indication, there will be plenty of red, white and blue in the stands Sunday. Bills fans were seemingly everywhere Thursday around London. Tottenham’s Stadium holds 62,850 fans, and although the Jaguars have a long history of playing in London, it wouldn’t be a surprise if it felt like a true home game.“I’m not sure if I’m liked, loved or hated there. I guess we’ll find out on Sunday,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “We’re all ambassadors of this game, especially when we travel abroad and play. So the best way that we can help support this game is to put as good of a product on the field as we can and play at as high of a level as we can when it comes down to execution on Sunday. So we’re just trying to get prepared for that this week.”Allen said he wasn’t quite sure what the impact of going ahead in time – East Coast teams are accustomed to flying west and playing – will be.“In terms of, like, body clock, just making sure that we’re staying on top of that and trusting what our sports science people are telling us here, trusting what our trainers are telling us, being hydrated as much as possible and trying to get as much sleep as possible,” he said. “I think that’s one thing that we’ve had guys that have done that and that’s the one thing that keeps coming up is just sleep cycle. So making sure we’re getting our rest and doing everything we can do to be prepared on Sunday.”CommentsFeed your obsession. Start every morning with a guide to the latest news from One Bills Drive and stay informed about what is going on elsewhere in the NFL.Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence brings a 6-2 career mark against the spread against foes coming off a double-digit win.It’s an every-week occurrence, but it’s still worth marveling at how the Buffalo Bills’ star receiver is able to consistently get open on unde…Starting defensive end Greg Rousseau took another step toward missing Sunday’s game in London on Thursday, but Von Miller practiced for a seco…Here is how Buffalo News writers see Sunday's game between the Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner thinks quarterback Josh Allen played well in the Buffalo Bills’ season-opening loss to the New York Jets, and …Rousseau appeared to get kicked or stepped on during a run to his side of the field late in the Miami game Sunday.Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | Omny StudioListen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | Omny StudioBills fans began to invade London on Thursday ahead of Sunday’s game against Jacksonville. Several fans chanted for the Bills aboard their tour bus in the Piccadilly Circus section of London.Bills fans Nick Sevier, left, and his wife, Jessica, and Lauren Kulik and her husband, Chris, take a selfie as Bills supporters continued to arrive in London. The Bills play Jacksonville on Sunday.{{title}}{{summary}}You don't have any notifications.Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.Topics

Skip to main contentSkip to main contentFeed your obsession. Start every morning with a guide to the latest news from One Bills Drive and stay informed about what is going on elsewhere in the NFL.Back to homepageSubscriber LoginKeep reading with unlimited digital access.Loading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{action_button}}{{tagline}}{{action_button}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You are the owner of this article.Edit ArticleAdd New ArticleYou have permission to edit this article.EditRead Today's E-edition©...

Inside the Bills: How an NFL team moves its entire operation overseas for a game

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