1999 Jacksonville Jaguars: Writing their History

1999 Jacksonville Jaguars: Writing their History

1999 Jacksonville Jaguars: Writing their History

For teams like the Dallas Cowboys, the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers history was created for decades through generations of fans. For a team that was part of the NFL’s expansion in the 1990s, like the Jacksonville Jaguars, history was not yet written. The Jaguars didn’t waste much time in creating their history. In only their second year in the league, and their first appearance in the playoffs, the Jaguars defeated the Buffalo Bills before upsetting John Elway and the Denver Broncos in the Divisional round. The Jaguars lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game, but it wouldn’t be the last time they would make a deep run in the playoffs.

After their surprising appearance in the AFC championship game in 1996, the Jaguars made the playoffs again in 1997 and 1998. They lost in the Wild Card round against the Broncos in 1997 and in the Divisional round in 1998 against the New York Jets. When the 1999 season began, the team hoped to take another step forward.

They began by hiring former Carolina Panthers head coach, Dom Capers, to be their defensive coordinator. Under Capers, the Jaguars improved from allowing 21.1 points per game in 1998 to 13.6 points per game in 1999. They were the stingiest defense in the NFL and they led the league in sacks with 57. Tony Brackens led the Jaguars in sacks with 12. Kevin Hardy and Gary Walker pitched in with the team sack totals. Walker had 10 and Hardy had 10.5 sacks on his way to a Pro Bowl selection.

The defense made a tremendous leap in 1999 and the offense continued their solid play from the previous season. Mark Brunell submitted a Pro Bowl-caliber performance with 3060 passing yards and 14 touchdowns. His favorite target, Jimmy Smith, was tremendous. He corralled 116 receptions for 1636 yards and 6 touchdowns. Brunell and Smith were good, but the Jaguars’ bread and butter was their defense and their running game. The Jaguars controlled the clock and kept their defense fresh with the two-headed running attack with Fred Taylor and James Stewart. Stewart led the team with 931 yards and 13 touchdowns while Taylor pitched in with 732 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns.

The Jaguars used their top ranked defense and excellent running game to an NFL best 14-2 record. They received a first round bye and a matchup against the Miami Dolphins in the Divisional round. In what would be Dan Marino’s final game in the NFL, the Jaguars throttled the Miami Dolphins. They held a 41-0 lead in the second quarter until Marino threw a touchdown pass to Oronde Gadsden to put the Dolphins on the scoreboard before halftime. Those would be the only points the Dolphins would score as the Jaguars forced 6 turnovers on their way to a 62-7 victory.

The Tennessee Titans awaited the Jaguars in the AFC championship game. It would be the third meeting of the year between the two teams with the Titans winning both of their regular season meetings. The Jaguars started well by scoring first. The Titans tied, but James Stewart put the Jaguars ahead 14-7 in the second quarter. The Jaguars entered the second half looking to escape from the Titans’ torment, but it wouldn’t be that way. Steve McNair gave the Titans the lead with a 1-yard rushing touchdown before Mark Brunell was sacked in the end zone for a safety. This was followed with Derrick Mason returning an 80-yard kickoff for a touchdown. The Titans scored 16 points in a span of five minutes and the Jaguars wouldn’t be able to recover from there. After forcing 6 turnovers the previous week against the Dolphins, the Jaguars committed 6 turnovers against the Titans.

The Jaguars’ dream season ended with a 33-14 loss to the Titans. They would fail to reach the playoffs the following year and within two years, they would part ways with their first head coach in franchise history, Tom Coughlin.