The Commanders decided to stay an hour away from London. Players still hope to be tourists.

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WATFORD, England — Odafe Oweh was in this part of the world two months ago.

Before the start of Commanders training camp, Oweh took a vacation to England to connect with his family’s roots.

His mother, Tania, was born in the U.K., along with most of her family. So the Commanders edge rusher boarded a plane and toured the area.

“It’s real personal,” Oweh said. “I loved the vacation.”

Now Oweh is back on this side of the pond with a much different itinerary.

There won’t be much sightseeing as the Commanders visit London to play the Colts. They left Tuesday, giving them nearly a week abroad, but the team is staying over an hour away from London in the English countryside.

Maybe players can squeeze in a quick stop to the Tower Bridge, but that might be about it.

“We wish you were closer to London. You know what I mean? To kind of see the city a little bit, actually enjoy the environment,” wide receiver Terry McLaurin said. “But we know we’re here for a work trip.”

As far as the schedule goes, Washington’s accommodations are meant to simulate a normal week. They are practicing Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, as they do in Virginia, and keeping the meeting schedule the same.

“People often ask me, ‘What’s different about international games?’” coach Dan Quinn said. “And you can say the travel or customs or the venue. But the thing I want to emphasize with the team the most is what’s exactly the same.”

The only real deviations will be small events throughout the week. Washington is the home team in London and has responsibilities to host NFL events. The team will hold a youth flag football clinic after practice Friday, but that will take place in Hertfordshire, not London.

For the Commanders players who have been through an international game before, some believe this schedule is more conducive to preparing for Sunday. Washington is 1-2, and a loss would put it significantly behind in the playoff race.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota played in London in 2018, at Wembley Stadium. He also started Washington’s game in Madrid last year.

“It just kind of throws you out of your routine, and at the same token, you just have to find ways to make it as close to your routine as possible,” he said. “You just have to enjoy it, right? Like you’re outside of the country; you get to play football in a place that is starting to really love the game. I look forward to even the small events.”

But, for others who haven’t been to England before, they’d welcome a break in their routine. McLaurin is one of them.

“This is my first time here,” he said.

Veteran defensive lineman Daron Payne wants to see an attraction at least once before the team leaves after Sunday’s game.

“I hope I can go see Big Ben or something. Let me see a couple of little spots, hopefully,” he said. “If I get a little chance.”

For most of the players, a trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London will be the closest they get to the heart of England’s capital city. Mariota doesn’t mind that, as an English soccer fan who played the sport growing up.

“I love the game. My brother still to this day follows EPL [the English Premier League],” he said. “He’s religious about it.”

His brother is a Liverpool fan, but Mariota considers Harry Kane, the English national team captain and Tottenham legend, his favorite player.

Now he’ll play on the same field where Kane starred for 11 seasons with the Spurs before signing with Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.

“I’m just excited to play at a different stadium,” Mariota said. “To play at Wembley and then last year playing at Madrid and then now playing Tottenham, that’s really cool for me.”

Maybe the most impacted will be Oweh. He reminisced about his summer trip on the flight over and couldn’t believe he would get to play in one of the country’s biggest stadiums — an opportunity he missed with the 2023 Ravens as he recovered from a high ankle sprain.

Then jet lag hit him and fatigue set in.

“Blessed to be in this position. Blessed to be this tired and to play in London,” he said. “I never thought that would happen.”