After going 4-12 in their first season in 1995, the Jacksonville Jaguars quickly improved to become AFC contenders by the late 90s. Under head coach Tom Coughlin, Jacksonville got better and all that improvement culminated in a 1999 season that saw the young franchise churn out its best team of all time.
The 1999 Jaguars were dominant on both sides of the ball and would end up winning a franchise-record 14 regular-season games. Unfortunately, the Jaguars had a very clear kryptonite: the Tennessee Titans — a team that contributed to all three of their losses for the season.
Regardless, a deeper dive into a dominant team from a not-so dominant franchise always warrants a look back.
Under center, the Jaguars were led by quarterback Mark Brunell. While Brunell's stats of a 58.7 completion percentage, 3,060 yards, 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions may seem pedestrian by today's standards, passing in the NFL wasn't nearly as advanced as it was today, and Brunell's average stats were enough for him to be named a Pro Bowler in 1999.
At the same time, Brunell wouldn't have been as successful as he was if he didn't have a fantastic pair of wideouts to throw to. Veteran wideout Jimmy Smith had the best season of his career when he recorded a league-high 116 catches for 1,636 yards and six touchdowns. On the other side, former 12th-round pick Keenan McCardell added 891 yards and five touchdowns.
While Smith enjoyed a fantastic season, the Jaguars were far more successful running the ball than they were passing. The team ranked second in the league in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns which is especially impressive considering Jacksonville didn't even produce a 1,000-yard rusher that season.
James Stewart served as the main back for the team as he recorded 931 yards and 13 touchdowns. However, the more explosive of the backs was second-year RB Fred Taylor who rushed for 732 yards and six touchdowns despite only playing 10 games.
While players like Smith, Brunell, and Stewart may get a lot of credit, the real engine carrying the Jacksonville offense that season was All-Pro left tackle Tony Boselli, who had established himself as the best offensive tackle of his era.
The Jaguars offense was good, but the team's defense that year was flat out dominant. For starters, Jacksonville allowed just 13.6 points per game — the best mark in the entire league.
The team had a trio of elite pass rushers in defensive end Tony Brackens, linebacker Kevin Hardy, and defensive tackle Gary Walker — all of whom recorded double-digit sack numbers led by 12 from Brackens.
Brackens also recorded eight passes defended, an incredible eight forced fumbles and two interceptions while Hardy notched 96 total tackles and was named a First-Team All-Pro.
Relentless pressure on the quarterback certainly made passing the ball harder for opponents but it certainly didn't help that the '99 team also featured one of the best cornerbacks in the league at the time, as well as a fearsome safety duo.
Fourth-year cornerback Aaron Beasley recorded an impressive six interceptions and 18 passes defended as well as 66 total tackles. At safety, Carnell Lake was a star in the former Pittsburgh Steelers player's first year in Jacksonville as he made his fifth Pro Bowl, while second-year strong safety Donovan Darius was second on the team with four interceptions and also chipped in 78 tackles and 12 passes defended.
All in all, the Jaguars were dominant all season against teams not named the Tennessee Titans and after beating a Dan Marino-led Miami Dolphins team 62-7 (!!!) in the first round of the playoffs, Jacksonville looked like it could win a Super Bowl.
Unfortunately, that never happened, but the greatness of this young expansion franchise remains one of the greatest stories in the league history.
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