Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are one of Florida’s three National Football League teams. The Jaguars, along with the Buccaneers and Dolphins, enjoy the sunshine nearly year-round. Jacksonville has had a professional football franchise since 1993, and their first season came in 1995. The Jaguars came into the league at the same time as the Carolina Panthers. Jacksonville started in the AFC Central and then moved to the South in 2002. Here is some more on the Jaguars:

Every home game that the Jaguars have played has been at TIAA Bank Field. Now, the name has changed throughout the years. The venue started as Jacksonville Municial Stadium in 1995 before moving to Alltel Stadium from 1997-2006. There was no sponsorship name for the 2007-2010 seasons, but ever since then – EverBank Stadium has been the name of the stadium.

The stadium is located in the downtown district of Jacksonville. It took nearly 20 months of time and $134M to finish. The first-ever game was an exhibition game in 1995 when the St. Louis Rams came to town. The stadium started with a capacity of 73,000 before moving up to 76,877, and since then lowered to its current mark of 67,814. Several Soccer matches and VIP concerts have been held at TIAA Bank Field over the years.

One fun fact about TIAA Bank Field – it was the host of the New Orleans Saints during the 2021 season as the team had to relocate from Caesars Super Bowl following Hurricane Ida.

Like many teams in the National Football League – the Jacksonville Jaguars had a fan vote for the name of their team. There were many choices, such as Jaguars, Sharks, Stingrays, and Panthers, but the Jaguars were the ones selected. It’s recorded that December 6th, 1991, was the day they became the Jaguars.

Another part of the story was the Jaguars were excited to start a “new” team name, as no other professional sports team in the US had a team named it. And finally, the Jacksonville Zoo during that time held a 24-year-old Jaguar, which was the oldest in North America.

One of the most popular and successful names in Jaguar’s history – Fred Taylor, is going to remain in the record book for a long time. Taylor finished his career with more than 11,200 rushing yards, a record most feel will not be touched. Another record that many feel will not be touched due to several reasons – is Jimmy Smith and his team-leading 12,287 receiving yards. Smith played with Jacksonville between 1995-2005.

On the defensive side, Tony Brackens leads the team with 55 sacks. He was a tough player for the Jaguars between 1996 and 2003. Lastly, when Trevor Lawrence was a rookie, he threw for 3,641 passing yards, which was a rookie record for the Jaguars.

The Jaguars of Jacksonville have never won a Super Bowl title. In fact, heading into the 2023 season, they are one of four franchises that have never been in a Super Bowl. The other three are the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and divisional rival Houston Texans. Jacksonville has four divisional titles. Two of them came in the AFC Central, back to back, in 1998 and 1999. The other two were in the AFC South in 2017 and 2022.

Jacksonville has reached the postseason 8 times. The first time was in 1996, and 2022 was the most recent. The Jaguars went from 2007 to 2017 and failed to reach the postseason every season during that time.

The best run in franchise history was in 1996, when Tom Coughlin was in his second year as the head coach. The Jaguars went 9-7 and finished second in the division. Jacksonville grabbed a wildcard spot due in large part to the Falcons missing a late field goal.

In the postseason, Jacksonville beat the Buffalo Bills 30-27. In the second round, it was the exact same score as they took down the Denver Broncos on the road. In the AFC title game, it was all Patriots defense, as they held Jacksonville to just 6 points in the 20-6 affair.

With a lack of success comes a lack of successful quarterbacks in the franchise. Jacksonville has just four quarterbacks that have won a postseason game. Mark Brunell went 4-4 during the late 1990s. David Garrared won a game during the 2007 season, Blake Bortels won two games in 2017, and Trevor Lawrence got a recent one in 2022. Byron Leftwich reached the postseason in 2005, but the Jaguars lost the game.

Brunell leads all quarterbacks in starts in franchise history. Between 1995-2003, he started 117 games and won 63. That’s the second-best win percentage behind Byron Leftwich. Leftwich went 24-20 in his 44 games started. Second, on the list is David Garrard, with a 39-37 record, while Brotels is third, with 73 starts, but he won just 24 games.

Obviously, Brunell leads in passing attempts and touchdowns, but also interceptions as well. He finished with 144 touchdowns and 86 interceptions. Bortels, despite his team losing a lot, finished with 103 touchdowns. Third on the list is David Garrard. Heading into the 2023 season, Trevor Lawrence was fifth on the list with 7,754 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions. Lawrence has made 34 starts in his career.

It was not until 2022 that the Jacksonville Jaguars got their first player ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Big #71 Tony Boselli, the big strong offensive tackle with the Jaguars from 1995-2001, was inducted.

Boseli is one of four players in the team’s Hall of Fame. Fred Taylor, Mark Brunell, and Jimmy Smith are all part of it. Taylor was running back, while Smith was wide receiver during the best times in franchise history. Smith was the most recent, as he was inducted in 2016.

Currently, as it stands, Tony Boseli and his #71 is the only number retired in franchise history.

The Jaguars have had 9 coaches in their team history. Tom Coughlin still remains the most successful, as he won nearly 53% of his games. Jack Del Rio was the longest-tenured coach from 2003-2011

During the 2012 season, the Jaguars won two games. In the next four seasons, they combined for just 15. The 17 wins in five seasons are among the worst of all time. But 2020 was an all-time low for the franchise, with just one win.