By Ellen S. Levy
NFL.com
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Oct. 11, 1999) — Nearly 10 months ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars left the Meadowlands with serious concerns about their defense. After Monday night's 16-6 triumph, they left applauding it.
The Jaguars rebuilt their defense in the offseason, hoping to wipe away the memory of a unit that surrendered 429 yards in a playoff loss to the New York Jets last January. The biggest move by far was the hiring of defensive whiz Dom Capers, and his attacking-style defense has been more than Jaguars fans could have hoped for.
"It's the kind of defense that can carry a team when the offense is struggling," quarterback Mark Brunell said.
There's no doubt Brunell and friends have been struggling, but the offense's inability to punch the ball into the end zone hasn't had a damaging effect thanks to the defensive unit's newfound ability to dominate games. The Jaguars, in fact, haven't allowed a touchdown in three of their four victories and have surrendered only 52 points overall.
"Holding offenses to field goals, we'll take that any day," said free safety Carnell Lake, who was reunited with Capers during the offseason after spending the first 10 years of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. "We can be as good as we want to be and we want to be the No. 1 defense."
Jacksonville's smothering defense only grudgingly allowed the Jets to cross midfield for the first time with a little over 10 minutes remaining in the first half. The Jaguars later snuffed out the Jets' comeback hopes with a pair of fourth-down stops in the final 5:33.
COUGHLIN VS. PARCELLS: Last week, the Jaguars conquered the Three Rivers Stadium mystique. Monday night, they shot down the Bill Parcells factor.
The Jaguars entered their Monday night matchup with the Jets having never beaten a Parcells-coached team in three tries, including twice in the playoffs. That streak came to an end on the Meadowlands turf as Tom Coughlin earned his first victory over his mentor.
'"We haven't played very well in here, and a win is a good feeling to have," said Coughlin, who spent three seasons as receivers coach under Parcells with the New York Giants
The Jaguars are now 4-0 on Monday nights in their young history and 3-0 this season on the road after also producing victories at the Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: The Jets defense stood tall Monday night, but no one stood taller than linebacker Mo Lewis. The ninth-year pro wreaked some havoc on the field and earned a place in Jets history off it.
Lewis' two sacks on the evening moved him past former Jet and Jaguar Jeff Lageman into ninth place in club history with 35. No Jets linebacker has more sacks than Lewis.
PUNT THIS WAY: One week after being named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, Jaguars punter Bryan Barker put himself into contention for another.
Jets kicker Tom Tupa started the punting festivities, nailing a 54-yarder that was downed on the 1-yard line. Four plays later, Barker returned the favor, booting an 83-yarder that bailed out the Jaguars offense from the shadow of its goal line. The punt, which initially landed near the 50 before bouncing to the 12, was the longest of Barker's career and the longest against the Jets in their history. Former Jet Steve O'Neal holds the NFL mark for longest punt — a 98-yarder in 1969.
Barker also continued his knack for dropping the ball inside the five-yard line — only this time he didn't get as much help. One week after placing six punts inside the 13-yard line, including four inside the 6, Barker gave his teammates three opportunities to down the ball inside the 5. They only managed to do so once, however.
Coughlin even singled out Barker for his hands. Three times the Jaguars lined up for a field goal, and three times Barker snatched bad snaps from midair to place them down for kicker Mike Hollis. The result was successful field goals of 32, 44 and 21 yards.
