1996 Jacksonville Jaguars season

1996 Jacksonville Jaguars season
Head coach	Tom Coughlin
Home field	Jacksonville Municipal Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	2nd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (Bills) 30–27 Won Divisional Playoffs (Broncos) 30–27 Lost AFC Championship (Patriots) 20–6
Uniform

The 1996 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the team's second year in the National Football League, and saw the Jaguars trying to improve on their 4–12 record from their inaugural season. The Jaguars marked success as they won six of their last seven games of the season and finished with a record of 9–7. The credit for this midseason turnaround probably lies in the demotion of wide receiver Andre Rison in favor of Jimmy Smith after a game against the St. Louis Rams in which Brunell threw 5 interceptions. The interceptions were blamed on Rison and he was benched. In the team's final game of the regular season against the Atlanta Falcons, needing a win to earn a playoff berth, the Jaguars caught a bit of luck when Morten Andersen missed a 30-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining that would have given the Falcons the lead. The Jaguars clinched the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs.

The Jaguars achieved their first ever franchise playoff game victory, in a stunning upset on the road against the Buffalo Bills. The victory against the Bills was notable due to the fact that the Bills roster was made up of many of the same players that had been to four Super Bowls in the decade, including eventual Hall of Fame players Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, and Bruce Smith (who had previously been the league Defensive Player of the Year).^[1] Their next game was on the road against the Denver Broncos, who had dominated the AFC with a 13–3 record (and earned the top AFC seed). The upstart Jaguars were not intimidated by the Broncos or their fans and their good fortune continued, as they largely dominated from the second quarter on. A late touchdown pass from Mark Brunell to Jimmy Smith gave the Jags a 30–20 lead. They held on to win in 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 acquitted 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 the road.

Personnel

Staff

1996 Jacksonville Jaguars staff
	Front office Chairman/Chief Executive Officer – Wayne Weaver President/Chief Operating Officer – David Seldin Senior Vice President of Football Operations – Michael Huyghue Director of College Scouting – Rick Reiprish Director of Pro Personnel – Ron Hill Assistant Director of Pro Personnel – Fran Foley College Scout – Rick Mueller College Scout – Doug Williams Head coaches Head Coach – Tom Coughlin Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Kevin Gilbride Running Backs – Jerald Ingram Wide Receivers – Pete Carmichael Tight Ends – Nick Nicolau Offensive Line – Mike Maser			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Dick Jauron Defensive Line – John Pease Inside Linebackers – Steve Szabo Outside Linebackers – Lucious Selmon Secondary – Randy Edsall Special teams coaches Special Teams Coordinator – Larry Pasquale Assistant Special Teams – Joe Baker Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Jerry Palmieri Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Jeff Hurd

Roster

1996 Jacksonville Jaguars final roster
	Quarterbacks  8 Mark Brunell 11 Rob Johnson  5 Todd Philcox Running backs 36 Ryan Christopherson FB 34 Roger Graham 23 Randy Jordan 35 Le'Shai Maston FB 20 Natrone Means 33 James Stewart Wide receivers 84 Reggie Barlow 88 Kendricke Bullard 80 Willie Jackson 89 Curtis Marsh 87 Keenan McCardell 81 Andre Rison 82 Jimmy Smith Tight ends 86 Derek Brown 85 Rich Griffith 83 Pete Mitchell		Offensive linemen 71 Tony Boselli T 63 Michael Cheever C 62 Ben Coleman G 73 Brian DeMarco T 74 Jimmy Herndon T 66 Greg Huntington G/C 67 Jeff Novak G/T 72 Leon Searcy T 76 Rich Tylski G 79 Dave Widell C Defensive linemen 90 Tony Brackens DE 92 Don Davey DT 77 Andre Davis DT 91 Paul Frase DE/DT 64 John Jurkovic DT 56 Jeff Lageman DE 93 Ernie Logan DE 94 Kelvin Pritchett DT 96 Clyde Simmons DE 99 Joel Smeenge DE		Linebackers 52 Brant Boyer 59 Reggie Clark 53 Nate Dingle 51 Kevin Hardy 57 Jeff Kopp 55 Tom McManus 50 Eddie Robinson 58 Bryan Schwartz Defensive backs 21 Aaron Beasley CB 42 Ricky Bell CB 22 Bucky Brooks CB 27 Vinnie Clark CB 45 Travis Davis S 24 Rashid Gayle CB 28 Dana Hall S 37 Chris Hudson S 40 Robert Massey CB 30 Darren Studstill S 41 Dave Thomas CB 25 Mickey Washington Special teams  4 Bryan Barker P  1 Mike Hollis K		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics Active, Inactive, Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV Time	Attendance
1	September 1, 1996	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 24–9	NBC 1:00pm	70,210
2	September 8, 1996	Houston Oilers	L 34–27	NBC 1:00pm	66,468
3	September 15, 1996	at Oakland Raiders	L 17–3	NBC 4:00pm	46,291
4	September 22, 1996	at New England Patriots	L 28–25 (OT)	NBC 1:00pm	59,446
5	September 29, 1996	Carolina Panthers	W 24–14	FOX 1:00pm	71,537
6	October 6, 1996	at New Orleans Saints	L 17–13	NBC 1:00pm	34,231
7	October 13, 1996	New York Jets	W 21–17	NBC 1:00pm	65,699
8	October 20, 1996	at St. Louis Rams	L 17–14	NBC 1:00pm	60,066
9	October 27, 1996	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 28–21	NBC 1:00pm	45,890
10	Bye
11	November 10, 1996	Baltimore Ravens	W 30–27	NBC 4:00pm	64,628
12	November 17, 1996	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 28–3	NBC 1:00pm	57,879
13	November 24, 1996	at Baltimore Ravens	W 28–25 (OT)	NBC 1:00pm	57,384
14	December 1, 1996	Cincinnati Bengals	W 30–27	NBC 1:00pm	57,408
15	December 8, 1996	at Houston Oilers	W 23–17	NBC 1:00pm	20,196
16	December 15, 1996	Seattle Seahawks	W 20–13	ESPN 8:00pm	66,134
17	December 22, 1996	Atlanta Falcons	W 19–17	FOX 1:00pm	71,449

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(3) Pittsburgh Steelers	10	6	0	.625	344	257	L2
^(5) Jacksonville Jaguars	9	7	0	.563	325	335	W5
Cincinnati Bengals	8	8	0	.500	372	369	W3
Houston Oilers	8	8	0	.500	345	319	W1
Baltimore Ravens	4	12	0	.250	371	441	L3

Playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	TV Time	Attendance
Wild-Card	December 28, 1996	at Buffalo Bills	W 30–27	ABC 12:30pm	70,213
Divisional	January 4, 1997	at Denver Broncos	W 30–27	NBC 4:00pm	75,678
AFC Championship	January 12, 1997	at New England Patriots	L 20–6	NBC 4:00pm	60,190

Game summaries

AFC Wild Card Game vs Buffalo Bills

AFC Wild Card Game: Jacksonville Jaguars at Buffalo Bills – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jaguars	10	7	3	10	30
Bills	14	3	3	7	27

at Rich Stadium, Buffalo, NY

• Date: December 28, 1996
• Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST

The Jaguars win their first Playoff game in franchise history with this win over the Bills.

AFC Divisional Game vs Denver Broncos

AFC Divisional Game: Jacksonville Jaguars at Denver Broncos – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jaguars	0	13	7	10	30
Broncos	12	0	0	15	27

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO

• Date: January 4, 1997
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. MST

Considered one of the greatest upsets in NFL Playoff history,^[2] the Jaguars (who were 14 point underdogs) would stun the Broncos 30-27. Earlier in the day, A Denver newspaper referred to the Jaguars as "Jagwads", stating throughout the article that the Jaguars weren't worthy to travel to Mile High Stadium and play the Broncos. But the Jaguars were not fazed. Mark Brunell threw 245 yards with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. But it was Natrone Means that was the star. He ran for 140 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. The Broncos would struggle all game to contain Means, whose longest run of the day was a 62 yards. With this win, the Jaguars in just their second year of existence would go to the AFC Championship Game.

AFC Championship Game vs New England Patriots

AFC Championship Game: Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jaguars	0	3	3	0	6
Patriots	7	6	0	7	20

at Foxboro Stadium, Foxboro, MA

• Date: January 12, 1997
• Game time: 4 p.m. EST

The Jaguars come up a game short of the Super Bowl. They would have 4 turnovers.

Awards and records

• Mark Brunell, Franchise Record, Most Passing Yards in One Game, 432 yards (Sept 22, 1996)^[3]
• Mark Brunell, Franchise Record, Most Passing Yards in One Season, 4,367 Yards^[3]
• Mark Brunell, Led NFL Passing Yards, 4,367 Yards^[4]
• Mark Brunell, Pro Bowl MVP Award^[5]
• Mike Hollis, Franchise Record, Most Field Goals in One Game, 5 Field Goals (December 1, 1996)^[3]
• Keenan McCardell, Franchise Record, Most Receptions in One Game, 16 receptions (Oct 20, 1996)^[3]

Milestones

• Keenan McCardell, 1,000 yard receiving season (1,129 yards)^[6]
• Jimmy Smith, 1,000 yard receiving season (1,244 yards)^[6]

References

1. Prisco, Pete The 1996 Jaguars: An oral history CBS Sports. January 27, 2016
2. http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-top-ten/09000d5d8111b706/Top-Ten-Biggest-Upsets-1996-Jaguars
3. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 52
4. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 438
5. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 202
6. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440

• Jaguars on Pro Football Reference
• Jaguars Schedule on jt-sw.com