Jacksonville Jaguars Running back Natrone Means MILE-HIGH MIRACLE Expansion teams in the National Football League NFL usually need several seasons before they can compete with other teams The Jacksonville Jaguars began play in 1995 The team lived up or down to this expectation It won just four games The following season season started out a bit better The Jaguars won 4 of their first 11 games Then they caught fire They won their next five games In the season’s final game they beat the Atlanta Falcons by two points With a 9 7 mark Jacksonville slipped into the playoffs The Jaguars traveled to New York They played the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round They overcame a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter The Jaguars stunned the Bills They won 30 27 9
Jacksonville Jaguars Then the Jaguars went to Denver They faced the Broncos Denver’s 13 3 mark was the best in the American Football Conference AFC that year Denver was favored to win A local sports columnist suggested that Jacksonville was not a worthy opponent How do you get worked up to play somebody called Jacksonville with a bunch of nobodies he wrote Jacksonville Is that a semi-pro team or a theme park Who do these upstart Jagwads think they are anyway coming to Mile High Stadium where the Broncos haven’t lost this season and only once ever in the playoffs Denver scored two touchdowns in the first quarter Its defense kept the Jaguars from getting a single first down Then a funny thing happened Jacksonville adjusted The Jaguars scored two field goals and a touchdown in the second quarter They clamped down on the Broncos offense Then came one of the greatest plays in Jacksonville history The ball was at midfield Quarterback Mark Brunell dropped back to pass He was nearly sacked But he squirmed away He scrambled to Denver’s 21-yard left Running back James Stewart 10
Jacksonville Jaguars Tony Boselli Left Tackle Jaguars seasons 1995 2001 Height 6-foot-7 Weight 324 pounds GRIDIRON GREATS TONY THE JAGUAR Tony Boselli was one of the best offensive tackles of the 1990s He excelled at pass protection He blasted holes for running backs Then he was chosen by the Houston Texans in the NFL’s 2002 expansion draft Injuries prevented him from playing Four years later he signed a one-day contract with Jacksonville This allowed him to retire as part of the team Soon afterward he was inducted into the Jaguars Ring of Honor It’s appropriate to have Tony as the first member of the Ring of Honor as one of the all-time great Jaguars said team owner Wayne Weaver 11
