1996 Jacksonville Jaguars season
Head coachTom Coughlin
Home fieldJacksonville Municipal Stadium
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd AFC Central
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(at Bills) 30–27
Won Divisional Playoffs
(at Broncos) 30–27
Lost AFC Championship
(at Patriots) 6–20
Pro BowlersT Tony Boselli
QB Mark Brunell
WR Keenan McCardell
Uniform

The 1996 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the franchise's 2nd season in the National Football League and the 2nd under head coach Tom Coughlin. The Jaguars improved 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, Andre Reed, 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.

Offseason

NFL draft

1996 Jacksonville Jaguars draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 2 Kevin Hardy *  Linebacker Illinois
2 33 Tony Brackens *  Defensive end Texas
2 60 Michael Cheever  Center Georgia Tech
3 63 Aaron Beasley  Cornerback West Virginia
4 110 Reggie Barlow  Wide receiver Alabama State
5 146 Jimmy Herndon  Guard Houston
6 170 John Fisher  Defensive back Missouri Western State
6 185 Chris Doering  Wide receiver Florida
7 227 Clarence Jones  Wide receiver Tennessee State
7 228 Gregory Spann  Wide receiver Jackson State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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 - Gene Smith
  • College scout – Doug Williams

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

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

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 53 active, 6 inactive, 5 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 1, 1996 Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–9 1–0 Jacksonville Municipal Stadium 70,210
2 September 8, 1996 Houston Oilers L 27–34 1–1 Jacksonville Municipal Stadium 66,468
3 September 15, 1996 at Oakland Raiders L 3–17 1–2 Oakland Coliseum 46,291
4 September 22, 1996 at New England Patriots L 25–28 (OT) 1–3 Foxboro Stadium 59,446
5 September 29, 1996 Carolina Panthers W 24–14 2–3 Jacksonville Municipal Stadium 71,537
6 October 6, 1996 at New Orleans Saints L 13–17 2–4 Louisiana Superdome 34,231
7 October 13, 1996 New York Jets W 21–17 3–4 Jacksonville Municipal Stadium 65,699
8 October 20, 1996 at St. Louis Rams L 14–17 3–5 Trans World Dome 60,066
9 October 27, 1996 at Cincinnati Bengals L 21–28 3–6 Cinergy Field 45,890
10 Bye
11 November 10, 1996 Baltimore Ravens W 30–27 4–6 Jacksonville Municipal Stadium 64,628
12 November 17, 1996 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–28 4–7 Three Rivers Stadium 57,879
13 November 24, 1996 at Baltimore Ravens W 28–25 (OT) 5–7 Memorial Stadium 57,384
14 December 1, 1996 Cincinnati Bengals W 30–27 6–7 Jacksonville Municipal Stadium 57,408
15 December 8, 1996 at Houston Oilers W 23–17 7–7 Houston Astrodome 20,196
16 December 15, 1996 Seattle Seahawks W 20–13 8–7 Jacksonville Municipal Stadium 66,134
17 December 22, 1996 Atlanta Falcons W 19–17 9–7 Jacksonville Municipal Stadium 71,449

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

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

Postseason

Schedule

Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
Wild Card December 28, 1996 at Buffalo Bills (4) W 30–27 1–0 Rich Stadium 70,213
Divisional January 4, 1997 at Denver Broncos (1) W 30–27 2–0 Mile High Stadium 75,678
AFC Championship January 12, 1997 at New England Patriots (2) L 6–20 2–1 Foxboro Stadium 60,190

Game summaries

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs (4) Buffalo Bills

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: (5) Jacksonville Jaguars at (4) Buffalo Bills – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Jaguars 10 7 31030
Bills 14 3 3727

at Rich Stadium, Buffalo, NY

  • Date: December 28, 1996
  • Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 70,213

AFC Divisional Playoffs: vs (1) Denver Broncos

AFC Divisional Playoffs: (5) Jacksonville Jaguars at (1) Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Jaguars 0 13 71030
Broncos 12 0 01527

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO

  • Date: January 4, 1997
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. MST
  • Game attendance: 75,678

Considered one of the greatest upsets in NFL playoff history,[2] the Jaguars (who were 14 point underdogs, and initially fell behind 12–0 in the first quarter, but led 13–12 at halftime) would stun the Broncos 30–27. Earlier in the day, Denver Post sports columnist Woody Paige referred to the Jaguars as the “Jagwads”, stating throughout the article that the Jaguars weren't worthy to travel to Mile High Stadium and play the Broncos. The Broncos had indeed been dominant during the regular season, going 13–3. The Broncos opted to rest most of their starters for the better part of the final month of the season- as they had secured the number one seed in the AFC Playoffs relatively early on in the regular season.[3] Conversely, the Jaguars had battled their way into a Wild Card spot; and coming off of their upset road victory in Buffalo, were only further motivated by the general lack of faith in their chances. Mark Brunell threw 245 yards with no interceptions, and two touchdowns, including a diving effort on 3rd down by WR Jimmy Smith with 3:49 left in the fourth quarter to put Jacksonville up 30–20. It was Natrone Means, however that was the star of the game. He ran for 140 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown, and subsequently relieved the pressure on Brunell and the Jaguars passing game. The Broncos would struggle all game to contain Means, whose longest run of the day was 21 yards.[4] With this win, the Jaguars would go to the AFC Championship Game in just the second year of their existence.

AFC Championship: vs (2) New England Patriots

AFC Championship: (5) Jacksonville Jaguars at (2) New England Patriots – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Jaguars 0 3 306
Patriots 7 6 0720

at Foxboro Stadium, Foxboro, MA

  • Date: January 2, 2024
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 60,190

Awards and records

  • Mark Brunell, franchise record, most passing yards in one game, 432 yards (Sept 22, 1996)[5]
  • Mark Brunell, franchise record, most passing yards in one season, 4,367 yards[5]
  • Mark Brunell, led NFL passing yards, 4,367 yards[6]
  • Mark Brunell, Pro Bowl MVP Award[7]
  • Mike Hollis, franchise record, most field goals in one game, 5 field goals (December 1, 1996)[5]
  • Keenan McCardell, franchise record, most receptions in one game, 16 receptions (Oct 20, 1996)[5]

Milestones

  • Keenan McCardell, 1,000 yard receiving season (1,129 yards)[8]
  • Jimmy Smith, 1,000 yard receiving season (1,244 yards)[8]

References

  1. ↑ Prisco, Pete The 1996 Jaguars: An oral history CBS Sports. January 27, 2016
  2. ↑ "NFL Football Highlights, Clips & Analysis". NFL.com. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  3. ↑ Outsiders, Football. "Rest Stopped: The 1996 Denver Broncos | Football Outsiders". Football Outsiders.
  4. ↑ "Divisional Round – Jacksonville Jaguars at Denver Broncos – January 4th, 1997". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  5. 1 2 3 4 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 52
  6. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 438
  7. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 202
  8. 1 2 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440
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