Jacksonville Jaguars 2009 Playoffs
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a short franchise history, but have a stellar postseason presence in those 13 seasons with six seasons giving fans Jaguars playoff tickets. Perhaps the greatest of those seasons was 1999. That year, just their fifth in existence, ended with a regular season record of 14-2 and an AFC Central division title. Jacksonville Municipal Stadium was home to an offensive assault with quarterback Mark Brunell throwing 14 touchdowns, running backs James Stewart and Fred Taylor scoring 19 touchdowns combined, and Jimmy Smith setting a record with 116 receptions and 1,636 yards. The sixth best scoring offense and best scoring defense took their dominance into the divisional round where they pounded the Miami Dolphins 62-7. The game would be Dan Marino’s last. Next the Jaguars played the Titans in the AFC Championship game. The Titans came away victorious 33-14 and the Jaguars went into a five year slump.
The return to the postseason came with a new quarterback. Byron Leftwich was the new star behind the center in Jacksonville. The 12-4 season landed the Jaguars in the wild card round against the New England Patriots. The Patriots defense abused Leftwich and won 28-3. Just two seasons later Leftwich had taken too many hits and was replaced by long time backup David Garrard. Garrard had an incredible season with 18 touchdowns and only 3 picks in 12 games. He took his quarterback rating of 102.2 into the 2007 playoffs. A surprise victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers made playoff tickets available of the divisional round game against the New England Patriots. The perfect Patriots ended the postseason run with a 31-20 victory.
Jacksonville Jaguars Background
The Jaguars are hoping to return to the playoffs this season, but a brutal division schedule stands in the way. The offense is going to have to rely on Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew to carry much of the load as the running backs. David Garrard has been a very good quarterback, but Troy Williamson and Jerry Porter are not much help at receiver. The defense was stellar last season, only allowing 304 points over the course of the season. Rashean Mathis is a solid corner, John Henderson is a powerful defensive lineman, and Mike Peterson and Daryl Smith are good linebackers. The defense is without definite star, but play well together as a cohesive unit. The team will need cohesive play across the board to make up for the lack of star power. Jaguars playoff tickets are not out of reach by any means for the club, but the division and the talent deficiency at key positions will mean young players will have to emerge to make those postseason aspirations happen.