Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Dallas Cowboys series history: All even on head-to-head matchups

It was a wake-up call for the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5, as the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs soundly beat the Jaguars. A depleted Jacksonville team is trying to weather the storm of injuries, and will look to bounce back this week against the Dallas Cowboys.

Series history

All-time regular season series record: Tied 3-3

Postseason record: N/A

Last Jaguars win: Oct. 31, 2010 (35-17)

Last Cowboys win: Nov. 9, 2014 (31-17)

Current Streak: Cowboys with one win

Biggest Jaguars win: 35-17 (Oct. 31, 2010)

Biggest Cowboys win: 31-17 (Nov. 9, 2014)

Interesting takeaway: Sunday’s matchup between the Jaguars and Cowboys will be the fifth time in seven all time games that the two teams meet in Texas. The Jaguars are 2-2 as the road team in this series. Only one game has actually been played in Jacksonville, as the last meeting was played in London.

Quick thoughts: These two inter-conference franchises aren’t very familiar with each other, having only played each other six times total from 1997 through 2014. The teams usually trade wins (so it must be Jacksonville’s turn, right?), as the only two-game winning streak in series history was when Jacksonville won back-to-back meetings in 2006 and 2010. It’s a small sample size, but the teams are pretty evenly matched, with each squad winning three games and a close scoring average per game. Jacksonville has the slight advantage there with 23.3 points per contest versus 21.5 for Dallas.

Last Matchup

Winner: Cowboys

Score: 31-17

Date: Nov. 9, 2014

Location: Wembley Stadium, London, U.K.

Team Stats: Jacksonville — 290 passing yards, 71 rushing yards, 20 first downs
Dallas — 254 passing yards, 151 rushing yards, 16 first downs

Quick recap: Back when the Jaguars were trotting out such players as Denard Robinson and Ace Sanders — both players lost fumbles in this game — the Jaguars fell to 1-9 after this game. In Robinson’s defense, he did score both touchdowns for the Jaguars on this day, including a 32-yard score. Blake Bortles also threw an interception and, unsurprisingly, the Jags lost the turnover battle 3-1. This game was actually all Cowboys and the final score was closer than it looked. Dallas built a 31-7 lead behind strong games from Tony Romo and Dez Bryant. The Jags generally play well in London, but never threatened in this one.

Previous Matchup:

Winner: Jaguars

Score: 35-17

Date: Oct. 31, 2010

Location: Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Team Stats: Jacksonville — 260 passing yards, 149 rushing yards, 20 first downs
Dallas— 379 passing yards, 50 rushing yards, 25 first downs

Quick recap: Jon Kitna got the start for an injured Tony Romo and actually threw for 379 yards, but also threw four interceptions, which helped the Jags get the easy win. Derek Cox had two of the picks, while Rashean Mathis and Terrance Knighton had one each. The Jaguars built a 28-3 lead in the third quarter and controlled the majority of the game. David Garrard had a near perfect passer rating of 157.8 with 260 yards, four touchdowns and zero picks. Maurice Jones-Drew added 135 yards on the ground and Mike Sims-Walker had a monster day with eight catches for 158 yards and a touchdown.

Series By Decade:

1990s: Dallas 1-0

2000-2010: Jacksonville 3-1

2011-Present: Dallas 1-0

Quick thoughts: The Cowboys won the lone meeting of the ‘90s, while the Jags won three out of the next four in the first decade of the 2000s. Dallas then took advantage of a Gus Bradley-coached Jaguars team in 2014 to knot the series up at three wins a piece. Jacksonville won its lone game played in Duval in 2006 and has split in Dallas/Arlington (and lost the one in London). Sunday’s matchup will serve as an all-time series tie breaker for this series.

Looking at 2018’s upcoming meeting, the Jaguars first-ranked pass defense should provide plenty of challenges for the Cowboys’ 30th-ranked passing attack. Ezekiel Elliott provides a huge threat on the ground game and is the focal point for Dallas on offense. If the Jaguars can contain him and force Dallas to pass the ball, the Jags will be in good shape. However, it’s hard to predict which version of the Jacksonville offense will show up. Bortles must make better decisions, the offensive line must protect much better and the Jaguars are going to have to get something out of this makeshift backfield, though I am confident in T.J. Yeldon. Bortles and the offense is always the wild card.

On paper the Jaguars should win this game. However, Dallas has a pretty stout defense and good running game on offense. What happens?