Thursday Marks 25th Anniversary of First-Ever Jaguars Game
Today marks the 25th anniversary of Jacksonville's first-ever professional football game, and what a strange, entertaining, and ultimately eventful 25 years it has been since the first time the Jaguars took the field in a regular season NFL game a quarter-century ago.
On Sept. 3, 1995, the expansion team Jaguars played their first-ever regular season game against the Houston Oilers, making the dreams of an NFL franchise in Jacksonville officially come to life. Jacksonville was officially awarded an expansion franchise in November 1995, but it wasn't until 25 years ago today that things truly began.
In front of a home crowd in Jacksonville that saw over 70,000 people fill the stadium, former head coach Tom Coughlin led the Jaguars to their first-ever Sunday battle against Jeff Fisher and the Oilers.
The Jaguars would, unfortunately, fall in their first game, losing a close 10-3 game to the Oilers that saw the Jaguars hang around until the very end. The only touchdown was a Haywood Jeffires catch on a four-yard pass from Chris Chandler, while the Jaguars didn't score the first points in franchise history until a 26-yard Mike Hollis field goal in the fourth quarter.
During Jacksonville's first game, they recorded 10 first downs, 101 rushing yards, and forced one turnover. Jacksonville's passing game was anemic, however, with starting quarterback Steve Beuerlein going 7-for-17 passing for 54 yards. Future franchise quarterback Mark Brunell would get his first action as a Jaguar, however, though he had his own struggles. Jacksonville's eventual best-ever quarterback went 3-for-9 passing for 15 yards and one interception in his first appearance as a Jaguars.
But even with the loss, it can't be understated how big of a moment it was for the Jaguars. The anticipation of the first game was nearly two years in the making, but can likely be traced far before that. The area of Jacksonville and Northeast Florida in general loves its football, with most residents being raised in the way of Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles or Georgia Bulldogs football.
But the city never had a team that could call itself a heavyweight of professional sports. They had other football teams come through, but none to the scale of importance the Jaguars had. The Jaguars first-ever game was not just a special moment in Jaguars history, but it is one of the most significant moments in the history of Jacksonville as a whole.
The Jaguars would find much greater success after their inaugural season. The 1995 Jaguars would go 4-12, not finding their first win until a 17-16 win over the Oilers in Houston in Week 5. But the following years would be the golden age of Jaguars football, with the team making the playoffs in each of the next four seasons, reaching the AFC Championship twice in that span.
Jacksonville is still looking for its first Lombardi Trophy, and the prospects of them winning that anytime soon are admittedly bleak at best. But until then, the team will continue to build upon the history that was kicked off 25 years ago today. That 1 p.m. kickoff in 1995 changed Jaguars and Jacksonville's history and ultimately deserves to be remembered today.
