Jaguars vs. Titans: A Hatred That Rivals Any Other

The Roots Go As Deep As Jacksonville's Inception

When the average fan thinks of NFL rivalries, there's a few that come to mind first. Those could include the Ravens vs. Steelers, Chiefs vs. Raiders, Packers vs. Bears, and Eagles vs. Cowboys. What doesn't come to mind unless you happen to root for the team in North Florida is the Jaguars vs. Titans. Although it may not have as storied of a history as the aforementioned rivalries, there is a deep hatred that runs between the Jaguars and Titans.

In the early days, Jacksonville was among the best teams in the NFL with star players all across the board. These include Tony Boselli, Mark Brunell, Fred Taylor, Jimmy Smith, and Tony Brackens just to name a few. The Jaguars first found their footing in 1996 where they turned a 3-6 start into an AFC Championship appearance against the New England Patriots. After that initial success, the Jaguars became a yearly playoff contender with several winning seasons to follow.

Heading into 1999, Jacksonville had led the all-time record between the two teams at 5-3. The Jaguars had what was undoubtedly the best season in franchise history with an impressive 14-2 run that nearly made it to the Super Bowl. During that season, they even took over the record of the largest blowout victory in the playoffs. However, the Jaguars came up short with a third loss of the season in the AFC Conference Championship. There was one thing in common with all of those losses, they were against Tennessee.

In their fifteen matchups against other opponents that season, the Jaguars gave up thirteen turnovers. In their three matchups against Tennessee, they had just as many including a baffling six turnovers in the final game. Mind-blowing stats like that raise so many questions about what was going on. There was even a claim made by Renaldo Wynn, one of Jacksonville's players that season, that a Titans coach had admitted to him that they had stolen their playbook and used it against them that season. That coach was Gregg Williams, known for being punished in Bountygate just a decade later. Take that information how you'd like.

Tennessee Has Dominated A Struggling Jaguars Team Up Until This Season

At the turn of the century, things quickly went south for Jacksonville. Coach Tom Coughlin was fired only a few years later and the Jaguars only made three playoff appearances in the twenty two seasons that followed. More and more as time went on, the Jaguars trended towards the gutter of the league. Tennessee defeated Jacksonville in the majority of their contests up to this season with a record of 28-16.

There's no doubt in my mind that what happened in 1999 haunted this team for the years to come. Despite the vast amounts of talent across the board, the Jaguars came up empty and moved on from vital players to the organization including their first draft selection Tony Boselli. With the bad seasons that came after, the Jaguars quickly became thought of as a poverty franchise to the broad NFL fanbase(not Jacksonville) that was never fond of them in the first place.

Both Tennessee and Jacksonville were struggling teams throughout the early 2010's, but the Titans found new life when they drafted Derrick Henry in the second round of the 2016 draft. If it wasn't clear before, the Titans made it clear when they matched up against the Jaguars that they had no respect for their opponent. Back in 1999, it was Jeff Fisher referring to Alltel Stadium as one of Tennessee's homefields, and over the past few years it's been in the press conferences and team meetings in Nashville.

Jacksonville Can Establish A New Order In This One-Sided Rivalry on Saturday

The Jaguars have the ultimate weapon to exorcize the past demons of this franchise, a team that doesn't care about what was and wants to prove what can be. Precedence has been completely thrown out the window. What we've been able to watch this year will likely go down in history as what turns Jacksonville into a respected NFL franchise. These players know that Tennessee doesn't respect them and they embrace it. Doug Pederson told this team in the middle of the season that they would be fighting for the AFC South in Week 18 and this team has manifested it.

Jacksonville could've surrendered the division with a loss in Week 14, but they came from behind and demolished Tennessee in an environment they weren't supposed to ever win in. Since then, it's been the Titans who are reeling with a six-game losing streak heading into the final matchup. For the decades of struggling that Jacksonville has endured after Tennessee's 1999 sweep, there's no doubt that we owe this to them.

On Saturday, the Jaguars have the perfect chance to show the world that they aren't a doormat any longer. The Titans will have to accept that if they want to compete with the Jaguars again, they'll need to respect them. This won't just be the most meaningful regular season game at home in Jacksonville's history, but it's an opportunity to send their biggest rival back to the dark ages. The icing on the cake would be doing it in front of the entire nation.

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