Do you believe in destiny? Or de ja vu?
Let’s go back 26 years to the Jaguars ’96 season. No surprise the second-year franchise was 3-6 and seemingly going nowhere. Then Coach Tom Coughlin benched Andre Rison in favor of Jimmy Smith. The Jaguars won 6 of their last 7 games, including their last 5, and — poof! –! they were in the playoffs.
In the final game, the Jaguars won thanks to Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen missing a 30-yard field goal in final minute.
Now to 2022. The Jaguars were a struggling 2-6 team and injuries were piling up. But the light went on in 2nd-year QB Trevor Lawrence’s head and the Jaguars won 7 of their last 9 games, including their last 5, and were AFC South champs and playoff bound.
The ’96 Jaguars won playoff games at Buffalo and Denver before losing at New England. This year the Jaguars play host to the Los Angeles Chargers, in the first round. The Jaguars haven’t hosted a playoff game since 2017.
After the ’96 playoff victory at Denver — still the team’s finest moment — the Jaguars went on a 3-year run as one of the NFL’s strongest teams.
Will this team be among the top NFL teams over the next several years? Or will destiny come crashing down?
