Jaguars Win AFC South: For Jacksonville, Saturday Was the Culmination of a Lifetime

From Shad Khan down to every last fan inside TIAA Bank Field, Saturday night was a game that was a long time coming for a city and franchise that has always just wanted a winner.

For as long as the Jacksonville Jaguars have been a franchise, they have embodied the community and fan base that breathed life into their walls. 

The team nobody wanted. The bold city that nobody wanted to champion. For each step the Jaguars have taken, the city of Jacksonville has been right there with them.

That is why nights like Saturday at TIAA Bank Field matter. They are among the best examples of sports' impact on the communities they help bond together, with an entire city riding the waves of emotions that take place over three hours.

For 2022 version of the Jaguars, their Week 18 clinching of the AFC South in a 20-16 prime-time win over the Tennessee Titans did exactly this. It was the culmination of many things, but most of all it was among the most defining moments not just in the history of the Jaguars, but in the lifetime of Jacksonville as a city. 

"It was electric. It was what we were hoping for, and the crowd delivered," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after the sellout game, which held over 70,000 fans. "It was loud. They stayed until the end. I'm very proud of our fans."

"I mean, it's not going to be easy. These games are never easy, and I don't care what the score is. I just want more points than the opponent. That's a great football team. My hats off to Mike (Vrabel). He had his guys ready to go. It's always a physical game with them. But just so happy and proud. Happy for Mr. Khan obviously. It's been a while that he has had nine wins. Just so happy that we were able to do that for him today as well."

These games are never easy. But in Jacksonville, they don't have to be. Games will look ugly at times, such as throughout Saturday night when the Jaguars were trailing all the way until the final three minutes of the game. 

The resistance of the team in yet another heart-stopping win, capped off by a late-game strip-sack by Rayshawn Jenkins and scoop-and-score by Josh Allen, caught the same spirit as the fans that have tuned in and turned out, no matter the losing season, off-field drama, or late-season let-downs. 

Jacksonville's fans, like the city, have never given up hope. And on Saturday, neither did the Jaguars, who rode the momentum of the crowd with every swing and eruption.

"It says a lot. Just how the fans have rallied around us this year as this season has gone on, and obviously late in the year like we've been playing. To see the stadium packed tonight was awesome," Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said after the game. 

"One of the best game environments I've been in, honestly. It was special. They were loud all game. It was really, really cool. It was a cool experience. I'll always remember that, so hopefully we do the same thing next week. We're going to need it."

Nights like Saturday help erase the past 15 years, which has seen the Jaguars have seasons with double-digit losses all but twice. For a team that was once so downtrodden that the most popular connection to the national scene were rumors of their potential movement, the Jaguars proved that Jacksonville is a football city.

All they needed was a winner. Tonight, they got one.

"Yeah, that's just it. Listen, we understand too that we've got to do our jobs, and we've got to win football games. And in order to get crowds like that, you have to win on the field, and that's what our guys have done," Pederson said. 

"Here the second half of the season they've put themselves in this position. We've talked about playing meaningful games in the month of December and January, so here we are. The more success we have, the fans will show up, and they did that. So I'm very proud of our fans are. Again, it was a great atmosphere. Just electric and loud. Everything we expected."