Dallas @ Jacksonville preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 31, 2010 ) Jacksonville 35, Dallas 17

The slumping Dallas Cowboys may have to fly nearly 10 hours, but the Jacksonville Jaguars appear to be the perfect fit when the teams meet at Wembley Stadium on Sunday in the final of three NFL games played in London this season. The Jaguars, with a rookie quarterback and an improved defense, have just one win this season and have lost 11 straight games versus NFC opponents. The Cowboys have dropped two straight – both at home – and are holding out hope that Tony Romo will be able to play.

The Cowboys, sitting at 6-1 three weeks ago, had a great opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the NFC but lost 20-17 to Washington when Romo went down with an injured back. Dallas fell 28-17 last week to Arizona as Romo watched an ineffective Brandon Weeden fail to get the ball to frustrated star Dez Bryant. “We have a real challenge ahead,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said earlier this week. “If we hadn't had these losses, then we could have afforded to lose one. It’s particularly sobering to know that we had them at home. But we know that the circumstances can get better for us.”

TV: 1 p.m. ET, Fox. LINE: Cowboys –7. O/U: 45

ABOUT THE COWBOYS (6-3): Injuries on both sides of the ball have started to take their toll, but it became obvious after the Arizona game that the Cowboys' future literally falls on the back of Romo, who is expected to play despite two small transverse process fractures. "I think we'll take it day-by-day and see what happens as we move closer," Romo said Thursday. "It's improving each day. If it keeps going in that direction, we'll have a good chance." Pass protection has been a problem the past two weeks and the Cardinals were able to stack the box with eight or nine defenders, thus ending DeMarco Murray's record run of eight straight 100-yard games to start a season.

ABOUT THE JAGUARS (1-8): Blake Bortles has thrown 13 interceptions - three more than any other signal caller - despite making just six starts. He played a mistake-free game last week until throwing an interception in the end zone with just under four minutes left to seal a 33-23 loss at Cincinnati. "(My confidence) hasn’t really wavered much," Bortles said Wednesday in London. "People talk about rookie mistakes and all of that stuff and I think that’s part of it. You’re going to make mistakes, whether it’s your rookie year or 15th year." The defense has yielded 116 yards per game less in the last five games than the first four (335 to 451), and the Jaguars rank eighth in the NFL in sack percentage (8.2).

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Murray is about 100 yards behind the pace of breaking Eric Dickerson's all-time single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards.

2. The Jaguars yield touchdowns on just 40 percent of red zone opportunities, best in the NFL, but have surrendered five scoring plays of 40 yards or more – most in the league.

3. The Cowboys are seeking their first 7-3 start since 2009.

PREDICTION: Cowboys 24, Jaguars 17