On This Date in Sports December 22, 1996: Morten's Miss Gets Jaguars into Playoffs
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The Jacksonville Jaguars make the playoffs in just their second season, as they beat the Atlanta Falcons 19-17 to finish 9-7 and earn the fifth seed in the AFC. The Jaguars ended the season with a five-game winning streak. They had a 19-10 lead late in the fourth quarter at home but had to sweat out the final moments as the usually reliable Morten Andersen missed a 30-yard field goal with four seconds left to hold on to a 19-17 win. In the postseason, the Jaguars would upset the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos before their season ended with a 20-6 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
Two big stories of the NFL in 1996 were the success of the expansion teams that came into the league in 1995. The Panthers, who went 7-9 in their first season, won the NFC West at 12-4 and went to the NFC Championship Game in year two. The Panthers were strong all season, while the Jaguars, who went 4-12 in 1995, had a steeper climb to respectability.
The Jaguars started the 1996 season with a 24-9 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the reigning AFC Champions. However, Jacksonville dropped their next three games before beating the Panthers 24-14 in the first regular-season meeting between the two newest teams. Through nine games, the Jaguars were 3-6 heading into a bye week. After the bye, Jacksonville split games against the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers before going into Baltimore and ending November with a 28-25 win in overtime. That win helped spark a five-game winning streak to get the Jaguars into the playoff picture.
Heading into the season's final game at 8-7, the Jaguars had destiny in their hands. A win would get Jacksonville into the playoffs just like the Panthers. With a capacity crowd at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, the Jaguars scored the first time they got the ball, with Mark Brunell scoring on an 11-yard sneak. In the second quarter, the Falcons got on the board with a 46-yard field goal. The Jaguars would answer driving to the Atlanta five-yard-line before settling for a 23-yard field goal by Mike Hollis. Jacksonville got a second short 26-yard field goal by Hollis and led 13-3 at the half.
The Jaguars received the second-half kickoff and again drove to the doorstep of the Atlanta end zone. The Falcons, on their first possession of the second half, found the end zone, as Eric Metcalf caught a four-yard pass from Bobby Hebert. With fans tasting the playoffs, the Falcons had a long drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Craig "Ironhead" Heyward. However, the drive stalled again, leading to a third field goal by Mike Hollis from 22 yards. As the fourth quarter began, the Jaguars were moving again but could not complete the drive, as Mike Hollis hit a 42-yard field goal to extend the lead to 19-10.
With their lead cut to 19-17, the Jaguars suffered a three and out as Atlanta got the ball back with 3:57 left, with the ball on their own 30. The Falcons had a perfect drive, taking time off the clock, forcing the Jaguars to exhaust their final timeout. Down to the Jacksonville 13, the crowd was silenced as it appeared that 3-12 Falcons would play spoilers. June Jones was a lame-duck coach for Atlanta as he would be fired one day later, and the team looked determined to get him one last win. The Falcons had a tumultuous season as Jones clashed with quarterback Jeff George in a Sunday night game. George was released as the Falcons struggled all season after making the playoffs in 1995. With time running down, Morten Anderson stepped on the field for a 30-yard field goal. Andersen had not missed from that distance all season and was a future Hall of Famer. However, fate was on the side of the Jaguars as the kicked sailed wide left, enabling the Jaguars to win 19-17 and qualify for the playoffs.
