In 1996 the Jaguars were an average football team that did above average things. Although they were carried by a passing offense that led the league in yards, their offense was unable to convert those yards into points and were the 14th ranked scoring offense. Their 19th ranked scoring defense wasn't particularly bad in any facet, but was by no means good in any area.
But on the back of a 5 game win streak to end the season, highlighted by a lucky break on a Morten Andersen miss from 30 yards, the Jaguars made the playoffs. Not only did they make the playoffs, they won. Twice. All the way to the AFC Conference championship where there storybook season came to a close.
The 1996 Jacksonville Jaguars were a special group that won because they were the little engines that could. The team that fate just seemed to favor. Anybody else starting to get that feeling about the 2010 Jaguars?
The 2010 Jaguars are not one of the best team's in the NFL. Their offense is 16th in scoring. Their defense is 28th. They're 5-4. With four come from behind victories and two coming with the time in regulation play expiring, the Jaguars have won 5 games. All logic tells you that it shouldn't be so.The Houston fans have had to go through years of scenarios in which their team seems to find a way, any way to snatch a defeat from the jaws of victory. These 2010 Jaguars have done the opposite. They've managed to play their best football and grittiest football in situations where the game is close. Outside of the Cowboys game, every game this season has been one that the Jaguars could've lost.
But they're not losing these games. Somehow it seems like fate is on their side. Even when their most dependable players has a down day, the rest of the team pulls through. I'm feeling a magic with this team. How else can you explain victories like the Jaguars had over the Texans and the Colts. Those are two of greatest, if not the greatest, moments in the franchise's history at home and they happened in the same season.
Hop on the bandwagon, Jacksonville, because this team is fun to watch. Ups and downs are all part of the ride. Stick with them because the wagon is being pulled along by the little engine that could, version 2.0.