1996 Jacksonville Jaguars: An Improbable AFC Championship Game Trip

The 1996 Jacksonville Jaguars were in just their second season of existence. To no one’s surprise, they had gone 4-12 in their first year. To everyone’s surprise, they made a stunning late season push in 1996 to sneak into the playoffs. And to everyone’s shock, Tom Coughlin’s Jags then made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game.

Mark Brunell had a Pro Bowl year at quarterback, and he made big plays. The lefty averaged 7.8 yards-per-attempt, the best in the NFL. He did it with efficiency, a 63 percent completion rate that ranked third among starting quarterbacks. Interceptions were a problem—20 picks and a 3.6 interception rate was only 21^st. But Brunell gave Jacksonville a viable passing game and he ran for nearly 400 yards to boot.

Keenan McCardell was the primary target, catching 85 passes for over 1,100 yards and making the Pro Bowl himself. Jimmy Smith stretched the field, with his 83 catches averaging 15 yards a pop. Tight end Pete Mitchell was reliable, hauling in 52 passes. Willie Jackson added 33 receptions, and James Stewart came out of the backfield to catch 30 more.

The running game, with James Stewart and Natrone Means often struggled, with both backs averaging less than four yards per carry. But it was the rushing attack that started to click in some of the season’s biggest games, behind an offensive line anchored by Pro Bowl left tackle Tony Boselli.

Overall, Jacksonville’s offense was respectable, ranking 14^th in a 30-team league for points scored. The defense didn’t’ have a lot in the way of playmakers. There were no Pro Bowlers on that side of the ball and Clyde Simmons’ 7 ½ sacks was the most notable stat. The Jaguar defense ranked 19^th in points allowed.

In the alignment that existed prior to 2002, Jacksonville was in the AFC Central, a division that included Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, the Houston Oilers (today’s Tennessee Titans), and Baltimore (who had just relocated from Cleveland). The Steelers were fresh off a Super Bowl appearance, and they came in for Week 1.

The Jaguars sent the entire league an early message. Brunell hit Jackson on a 38-yard touchdown pass to get everything rolling. Brunell went on to go 20/31 for 212 yards. The defense played good all-around football and Jacksonville struck with a 24-9 upset.

But the defense couldn’t hold up the next week at home against Houston. While Brunell went 27/38 for 302 yards and McCardell had 100 yards receiving, the Jags were outrushed 181-72. That was the difference in a game where both teams threw the ball well and Jacksonville took a 34-27 loss to a team that would join them on the playoff fringe.

The Jaguars went west to face the mediocre Oakland Raiders. This time the offense bogged own. They still had a chance late, trailing 10-3 in the fourth quarter. But Brunell threw an interception that came back 66 yards the other way. The game ended 17-3 and it was the third straight two-interception game for the starting quarterback.

New England was a contender and a team that Jacksonville would see more of before all was said and done. The trip to Foxboro started poorly, as the Jags fell behind 22-0 and could get nothing going on the ground. Then Brunell opened up. He finished 23/32 for 432 yards and pulled Jacksonville into a 25-25 tie before they ultimately lost in overtime.

Now 1-3, the promise of that early win over the Steelers was fading fast. The Jaguars came back home to face the Carolina Panthers—another team that had been birthed into existence in 1995 and who would also make the conference championship game this year. Playing with urgency, Jacksonville muscled up. Stewart ran for 96 yards, they controlled the line of scrimmage and won 24-14.

On a late afternoon road trip against lowly New Orleans, the Jaguars outrushed the Saints 141-36. Brunell went 28/35 for 250 yards and made no mistakes. But red zone problems doomed the Jags. They settled for a pair of short field goals and that was the difference in a bad 17-13 loss.

An even worse team, the New York Jets, came south in another game Jacksonville now had to have. They played clean football and didn’t turn the ball over. Smith caught five passes for 135 yards. The pass protection was a problem, with Brunell getting sacked five times, and the Jags repeatedly shot themselves in the foot with 15 penalties. But they were good enough to win 21-17 and get their record to 3-4.

Jacksonville went to St. Louis to face a bad Rams team. It was a mess. They turned it over six times and Brunell got sacked five times. Even though the Jaguars outgained the Rams 538-204, they lost the game 17-14. Then they traveled to play mediocre Cincinnati. Stewart ran for 80 yards and Jacksonville led 14-7  after three quarters. But Brunell threw a couple more picks, the fourth quarter got away, and the Jaguars lost 28-21.

Now, the record was 3-6. Moreover, the last four games had been against mediocre-to-poor teams, and Jacksonville had lost three of them. To expect anything more than just improving on last year’s four wins would have been wildly optimistic.

Baltimore was a bad team, and they came to Jacksonville for the first of two meetings in three weeks. For three quarters in the late afternoon window, it was more of the same. The Jags trailed 27-16, were getting outrushed and Brunell was sacked six times. In the fourth quarter, the worm finally started to turn. Brunell threw a touchdown pass to Stewart, ran for another and Jacksonville escaped with a 30-27 win.

The road rematch with the Steelers went poorly. Six more sacks of Brunell, no running game and four turnovers led to a 28-3 loss. After the game, veteran wide receiver Andre Rison clashed with Brunell and ended up getting released. It proved to be good for all concerned. Rison was picked up by Green Bay and became an important part of a team that won the Super Bowl. But while the timing might be coincidental, Jacksonville also began its rise.

A road trip to Baltimore was shaping up to be a season-ender, as the Jaguars trailed 25-10 in the fourth quarter. But the passing game opened up. Smith and McCardell both cleared 100 yards receiving. Brunell tossed late TD passes to Jackson and Mitchell that tied the game. An overtime field goal won it, 28-25.

Jacksonville was now 5-7 and had improved on last season. And though no one had any expectations beyond that, they were still on the outer fringes of the wild-card race, where the San Diego Chargers held the final wild-card spot at 7-5, and there were a handful of 6-6 teams in between.

The Bengals were another 5-7 team, and they came to Jacksonville for a de facto elimination game. While the Jaguars were decisively outrushed, Brunell went 21/34 for 356 yards. Smith had a big day, catching seven balls for 162 yards. Jacksonville pulled out a 30-27 win.

San Diego lost, and now things were getting interesting. You had the Chargers, Indianapolis Colts, and the Oilers all 7-6 in the race for one spot. The Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, and Raiders were 6-7.

That made a road trip to Houston positively enormous. The youthful Jags played like veterans on the road, taking care of the football and winning turnovers 4-1. They sacked Steve McNair five times and pulled out a 23-17 win. Meanwhile, the Chargers also lost. Only the Colts at 8-6 were ahead of the Jaguars, now one of four teams at 7-7.

Jacksonville’s home game with mediocre Seattle was on Sunday Night Football. By the time kickoff arrived, San Diego, Oakland, and Houston had all lost. The Jaguar offense was a little sluggish and they trailed 13-7 after three quarters. But they were steering clear of mistakes. Means rushed for 92 yards. Smith caught eight passes for 124 yards. Jacksonville controlled the final period and won 20-13.

Something was happening in the broader AFC wild-card race. Buffalo and Kansas City, who seemed to have a lock on the first two  of the three berths, were flailing. When the Bills lost on Monday Night, those two teams, along with the Colts were all 9-6, putting all three teams within striking distance for the Jaguars entering the final week.

And it gets even better—Jacksonville’s tiebreaker position was strong, and Kansas City and Buffalo were playing head-to-head in the season finale. A 9-7 Jaguar team would finish ahead of either the Chiefs or Bills at 9-7.

What all of this improbably adds up to is that not only was Jacksonville very much alive, they virtually controlled their own destiny. It was win and you’re in against the lowly Atlanta Falcons at home, so long as KC-Buffalo didn’t end up in a tie.

Means was starting to find his groove in the running game, and he racked up 110 yards. Brunell went 18/29 for 222 yards. Some red zone problems kept the game close, as the Jaguars settled for three field goals inside the Falcons’ ten-yard line. But Jacksonville’s overall control of the game was thorough, and they won 19-17. They were going to the playoffs.

Wild-Card Weekend opened early Saturday afternoon with Jacksonville’s road trip to Buffalo. The Jaguars were 8 ½ point underdogs. They fell behind 7-0, but Simmons changed momentum with a 20-yard interception return for a tying touchdown. Trailing 14-10 in the second quarter, Means ripped off a 30-yard TD run. It was 17-17 at the half.

The two teams traded field goals in a tense third quarter. Brunell’s mistake tendencies resurfaced, and he threw a Pick-6 of his own in the fourth quarter. The Jags trailed 27-20.

But Means was getting it done. He rolled up 175 yards on the ground and the Jacksonville defense stopped Buffalo’s running game. Brunell found Smith on a two-yard TD flip to tie the game and then drove Jacksonville into field goal range with three minutes to play.

Mike Hollis came on for the 45-yard field goal attempt. It clanged off the upright…and in. The defense held. The Jaguars had a 30-27 upset.

Jacksonville was an even bigger underdog against the AFC’s top seed, the Denver Broncos, led by John Elway and Terrell Davis, the following Saturday.  With the Jags gave up a pair of early touchdowns, that (+12 ½) point spread looked right, even with the Broncos missing an extra point and then a two-point conversion.

But trailing 12-0 in the second quarter, Jacksonville got things turned around, and again it was Means. En route to a 140-yard day, Means ran for a second quarter TD that was sandwiched around two field goals. The Jags led 13-12 at the half.

Brunell was also sharp, finishing the day 18/29 for 245 yards and no mistakes. He hit McCardell on a 31-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter. Another field goal in the fourth quarter extended the lead to 23-12. A shocker was brewing.

The Broncos scored and cut the lead to 23-20, but Brunell came right back with a touchdown pass to Smith. Elway led one last-ditch drive for another TD, but that was it. In a season that stunned the entire NFL world, Jacksonville had pulled off a massive upset. For the fourth time this season, and for the second straight week in the playoffs, they had won a game 30-27.

They still didn’t have a ton of respect from the oddsmakers, as they traveled to New England to face Bill Parcells, Drew Bledsoe, and the Patriots for the AFC Championship Game. The Jaguars were a (+7 ½) underdog. But on a wet late afternoon, they again hung in there. This one was a defensive game, and Jacksonville trailed 13-6 going into the fourth quarter.

They shut down the Patriot running game, but four turnovers did them in. The biggest was a fumble that was returned 47 yards to the house and sealed the Jaguars’ fate in a 20-6 loss.

It was still an improbable ride, and it was the start of a good four-year run for the young franchise. Coughlin and Brunell got to the playoffs each of the next three seasons, including another AFC Championship Game appearance in 1999.