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Team Name: Jacksonville Jaguars Hometown: Jacksonville, American Football Conference (AFC) » Team History  » Team Schedule  » Team Website

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2011 Jacksonville Jaguars Schedule

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For decades, Jacksonville had earned a reputation of being a good football town, hospitable for both college and pro football. Every year the city hosts the Gator Bowl, an annual civic highlight traditionally accompanied by parties, ceremonies, parades and other events leading up to the game. The annual University of Georgia vs. University of Florida game is also played in Jacksonville.

The Gator Bowl stadium was built out of steel trusses during the Great Depression and was frequently built onto, with the final addition of the reinforced-concrete west upper deck coming in 1982. The stadium hosted short-lived teams in both the World Football League (Jacksonville Sharks/Express) and the United States Football League (Jacksonville Bulls) and the occasional NFL exhibition game. The city briefly attempted to lure the Baltimore Colts, whose team owner Robert Irsay famously landed a helicopter in the stadium as thousands of Jacksonville citizens urged him to move the team there. City leaders also attempted to get the Houston Oilers to move to Jacksonville at one point in the late 1980's. Great efforts were made to lure the Oilers, including the creation of a "Jacksonville Oilers" banner and designation of a specific section of the Gator Bowl as a non-alcohol, family section for proposed home games. Though the efforts proved unsuccessful, it did serve as a launching pad for the city's attempt to gain an NFL expansion team.

In 1991, the NFL made a decision to expand the league by two teams, originally in time for the 1993 season. The league had not expanded since the 1976 season with the addition of Seattle and Tampa Bay and with the sport growing the NFL felt the time was right to add additional franchises. Five cities were ultimately chosen as finalists for the two new teams: Charlotte, North Carolina; St. Louis, Missouri; Baltimore, Maryland; Memphis, Tennessee; and Jacksonville. From the beginning, Charlotte and St. Louis were considered the heavy favorites to win, with Baltimore also a strong possibility. Though not as strong a bid, Memphis was still considered an outside possibility, as the NFL did not have a presence in the area.

In 1995, along with the Carolina Panthers, the Jacksonville Jaguars entered the NFL as the first expansion teams in almost 20 years. The Jaguars finished their inaugural season with a record of 4-12. During this inaugural season many of the players who would lead Jacksonville to early successes began establishing themselves, including quarterback Mark Brunell (obtained in a trade with Green Bay), offensive lineman Tony Boselli (drafted with the 2nd pick overall in the 1995 NFL Draft) running back James Stewart (also drafted in 1995), and wide receiver Jimmy Smith (signed as a free agent).

Jacksonville's 1996 season was a marked success. They won six of their last seven games of the season and finished with a record of 9-7. In doing so, they clinched the 5th seed in the AFC playoffs after winning a tiebreaker with the 9-7 Indianapolis Colts. Their first playoff game would be against the Buffalo Bills at Buffalo, a game that the Jaguars would win 30-27. Their next game would be against the Denver Broncos, top seed in the AFC and a team that, with a 13-3 record, had dominated the AFC. Yet the Jaguars, unintimidated by the Broncos or their fans, largely dominated from the second quarter on, with a late Mark Brunell to Jimmy Smith touchdown giving the Jags a 30-20 lead late. They would hold on to win in what was a huge upset, 30-27, in a game that many people still consider the franchise's finest hour. Upon their return home, the Jags were greeted by an estimated 40,000 fans at the stadium. Many of these fans had watched the game on the stadium JumboTron displays and had stayed into the early hours of the morning when the team arrived. In the AFC Championship Game, the Jaguars would acquit themselves very well, playing a tight and close defensive game in a hostile environment for over three quarters before finally losing, 20-6 to the New England Patriots. On an interesting sidenote, their fellow second-year NFC expansion team, the Carolina Panthers, also got to the NFC Championship, where they lost 30-13 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. In that year, Super Bowl XXXI almost became an all-expansion team Super Bowl.

The 2004 season, celebrated as the 10th season of the Jaguars' existence, resulted in a winning record of 9-7 with road victories against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field as well as the Indianapolis Colts at the RCA Dome. The Jaguars' defense was a strong suit, as it included the 2 of the team's Pro Bowl players, defensive tackles Marcus Stroud and John Henderson. Byron Leftwich also enjoyed a solid year in 2004, helped by strong performances from holdovers Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith. Unfortunately, Taylor sustained a season-ending injury at the Packers game. The very next week saw the Jaguars fall to the Houston Texans, which would ultimately eliminate the Jaguars from the playoffs. This denied them an opportunity to play the Super Bowl at their home stadium (the Super Bowl in February 2005 being the first the Jaguars, and Jacksonville, hosted).

The 2005 Jaguars' hoped to challenge the Colts for the division title. However, due to their 13-0 start, including two victories against the Jaguars, the Colts were able to easily clinch the AFC South title. With a 12-4 record (second best finish in team history), the Jaguars easily qualified for one of the conference's two wild card playoff allocations. Among these 12 wins were a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on October 9, 2005 and a 23-17 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on October 16, 2005. While the Jaguars managed to win key games in 2005, 9 of their final 10 games were played against opponents with losing records. Though these games were wins, key players Byron Leftwich, Mike Peterson, Paul Spicer, and Rashean Mathis were hurt during this stretch. The Jaguars ended the season losing 28-3 to the two-time defending champion New England Patriots on January 7, 2006 in the 2005 season's AFC wild card playoff round.

Information excerpted from http://en.wikipedia.org and
www.jaguars.com. ©2007 Jacksonville Jaguars. All Rights Reserved.
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