Today's Jaguars can't fully grasp the impact of the gut-wrenching AFC Championship 23 years ago against the Titans, Gene Frenette writes. But the ‘99 Jags feel that pain, and they don’t want Doug Pederson’s team to experience the same feeling.
“Oh, man, it’s real,” Beasley said. “I might play a video game, but not against the Titans. If I play Madden, it’s never against the Titans. I don’t even want to look at them. It still haunts me.”
“The magnitude of this game, for getting into the playoffs, this is probably another version of that ‘99 AFC Championship game because it’s the Titans,” said former Jaguars running back Fred Taylor. Indeed, three starters and third-team running back Snoop Conner didn’t come into the world until after that fateful day on Jan. 23, 2000. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, then 15-weeks-old, and 18 teammates on the Jaguars’ current 53-man roster were still in diapers.
A week earlier, the Jaguars sent Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino into retirement with a 62-7 rout of the Miami Dolphins, jumping out to a 41-0 lead in the second quarter. Suddenly, the Jaguars’ running game that worked so well in the first half became a non-factor. Tennessee turned Brunell’s second pick into a TD to close out the scoring, highlighted by McNair scrambling for a 51-yard run prior to his 1-yard plunge into the end zone.
“I know why we lost: they were just the better team,” said Taylor. “I don’t want to carry something to my grave, thinking ‘Oh, we should have done this or that.’ No, they kicked our ass.”A month ago, before the Jaguars beat the Titans 36-22 in Nashville for the first time since 2013, few envisioned a scenario where the regular season finale would decide the AFC South crown.
“The anxiety for the [Jaguars] players won’t be because of the past, it’s about the division and the playoffs being on the line,” said former Jaguars defensive end Jeff Lageman, also the team’s game-day radio analyst. “This one game is everything.For good reason. All signs point to Pederson’s team continuing their hot streak, while also administering a little payback on behalf of the ‘99 Jaguars.
On the flip side, Lawrence has the luxury of attacking the NFL’s worst pass defense , which he did last month by throwing for career bests of 368 yards and 8.8 yards per attempt. One thing can surely make it better: watching a 23-year-old quarterback like Lawrence blossom before their eyes and securing the franchise’s second AFC South title by taking down the Titans.
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