FAKE RONJAN!!Box Score Monday: a game between two 5-7 teams that changed a season
December 1st, 1996. The Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars headed into their late-season matchup standing at 5-7, each with the faintest of playoff hopes, both knowing that the loser was all but out of the running. Not exactly setting the stage for a memorable contest, are we?
Cincinnati started 1-6 in 1996, leading to the firing of head coach David Shula (career record of 19-52) and the promotion of Bruce Coslet. The firing seemed to turn the team around, as they won four of their next five games thanks to a strong passing attack from QB Jeff Blake and star WRs Carl Pickens and Darnay Scott. The playoffs were a long shot at 5-7, but there was a feeling that the Bengals were finally headed in the right direction.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville was in its second season, ever, improving upon a 4-12 inaugural season with a 5-7 start. The team was led by 3rd-year quarterback Mark Brunell and star receivers Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell, and they were in full growth mode, hoping to finish strong to set up for a playoff run in 1997.
So set up a dime-a-dozen December "let's see what we have so we can make a run next year" match-up in Jacksonville.
It turned out to be a wild, back-and-forth affair in which both teams scored in all four quarters. Mark Brunell and Jeff Blake both topped 300 yards passing, and Carl Pickens caught three touchdowns. In the end, the Jaguars won a tight one, 30-27, and that was that. A fun game to close out the season for both teams.
Or was it? The aftermath of this game is where it gets much more interesting, because as it turns out, neither team would lose again for the rest of the season! The Bengals finished 8-8, and the Jaguars stayed one step ahead of them at 9-7, getting into the playoffs as the last team in.
The Jags' reward? A visit to Buffalo to face the Marv Levy / Jim Kelly / Thurman Thomas / Andre Reed era Bills, who had been to four Super Bowls and had a perfect 9-0 playoff record at home together. Naturally, the Jaguars came from behind to win by a familiar 30-27 score.
The victory meant the Jags would next have to travel to Denver to face the top-seeded 13-3 Broncos, who were ready to make another Super Bowl run and hadn't lost at home all season. Again, the Jaguars came from behind to win by the same 30-27 score.
The Jaguars would finally lose in the 1996 AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots, but they busted brackets, surpassed expectations, and looked to be juggernauts for years to come.
Sadly, neither the Bengals nor Jaguars were able to meaningfully build off of this success.
The 8-8 season would turn out to be the best record the Bengals had between 1991 and 2002, and Cincinnati still has yet to win a playoff game since 1990. In retrospect, this game against Jacksonville represented Cincinnati's closest shave with a playoff berth in the 1990s.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars would make the playoffs in the next three seasons (1997, 1998, and 1999), but they never made it further than they did in 1996. In retrospect, this game against Cincinnati kick-started what is still to this day Jacksonville's most memorable season ever, slightly beating out the 1999 season when the Jags lost only three times all season, but all against the Tennessee Titans.
While this game may not have had a lasting impact on each team's futures, the Jaguars' ensuing upset wins completely changed the complexion of the 1996 playoffs. And while the Denver Broncos would rebound from their loss to win the next two Super Bowls, the Buffalo Bills still haven't won a playoff game since.
Not a bad impact for a throwaway game between two 5-7 teams!
-rj