Not really. The flight across the pond is leaving the evening of the 24th but arriving the morning of the 25th. So really a single day buffer. To calmly assess the situation on the day of means having proactively having a backup plan up. Exactly what the OP is doing.

For the OP. As mentioned and if possible would be to move your flights to earlier in the week which would be mid week and sometimes lighter loads (probably not the case given the current times). Spend a couple of extras days ahead of time, get over the jet lag, take a side tour. The suggestion of the train is good too I have used between NYC and DC with very good luck. Otherwise having other routings that you know will work in hand is best. Being able to suggest them to an agent rather then searching saves you and them time and stress. Last time I did that it worked out fine for me.