NFL Team by Team Guide: Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars franchise was founded in 1993 and the team played its first game in the 1995 NFL season. The Jags were one of two new expansion teams – Carolina was the other – that season. Jacksonville began play in the old AFC Central Division and is now members of the AFC South after league realignment.
The Jags had some success early in franchise history making the postseason in four straight seasons after going 4-12 in their inaugural season in 1995. Jacksonville remains one of four NFL franchises to never have appeared in a Super Bowl.
The Jaguars will make a rare appearance on Thursday Night Football and every so often on Sunday Night Football. Regional broadcasts of Jags’ games can be watched on CBS. The complete Jacksonville schedule can be viewed using a live streaming service like HULU or fuboTV.
Home of the Jaguars
Jacksonville’s home stadium is TIAA Bank Field, which was formerly known as Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, AllTell Stadium, and EverBank Field. It has been the Jaguars home since the team’s first season in the NFL. It was upgraded in 2014 and now holds 67,814 fans for Jags’ home games.
Championship History
As mentioned, the Jaguars are one of four – Cleveland, Detroit, and Houston are the other three – franchises that have never made it to a Super Bowl. Jacksonville had some early success reaching the NFL playoffs in four straight seasons from 1996 to 1999.
The Jags lost in the AFC Championship game in both 1996 and 1999. They had a nine-year playoff drought from 2008 to 2017 when they won their first AFC South Division title. They advanced all the way to the AFC title game again only to lose 24-20 to New England.
In all, Jacksonville has won three division titles and has appeared in the playoffs seven times (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2007, and 2017).
Best of the Jaguars
Jacksonville’s first-ever draft pick was OT Tony Boselli who was taken with the second overall pick in the 1995 NFL draft. He turned out to be one of the franchise’s most successful players ever. He played all eight of his NFL seasons with the Jaguars and was the Houston Texans first pick in the 2002 expansion draft but was unable to play due to injury. Boselli made the Pro Bowl five times and was a three-time first-team All-Pro. He is a member of the NFL’s 1990s All-Decade Team.
Boselli blocked for quarterback Mark Brunell who played nine of his 19 NFL seasons with the Jags. Brunell made the Pro Bowl three times all as a member of the Jaguars (1996, 1997, and 1999). He led the NFL in passing in 1996 with 4,367 yards and set an NFL record – since broken – in 2006 when he completed 22 straight passes in a game against Houston.
After two seasons of zero catches in Dallas, Jimmy Smith played the final 11 seasons of his NFL career in Jacksonville. Smith had over 1,000 yards receiving in all but two of those seasons. He still holds several Jaguars franchise receiving records. Smith made the Pro Bowl five times and was a second-team All-Pro twice in 1998 and 1999. In ’99, Smith led the NFL in receiving yards when he had career highs in both catches (116) and yards (1,636).
Author: Dan Anderson