Courtesy of Jacksonville Jaguars public relations

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (3-1) at NEW YORK JETS (1-3)

Monday, October 11, 1999, 9:00 p.m. EDT
Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

This week
Back in a first-place tie in the AFC Central Division, the Jacksonville Jaguars will make their first-ever road appearance on "Monday Night Football" when they travel to New Jersey to face the New York Jets on Monday in Giants Stadium. Kickoff is at 9:00 p.m. for the nationally televised game.

The Jaguars, who own the second-best road record in the NFL in the last two-and-a-half seasons, are coming off a 17-3 victory over the Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium — their first victory ever in Pittsburgh. They have won both road games this season, one of only five teams to do so. Jacksonville is one of only four NFL teams with a road record better than .500 since November 24, 1996.

The game matches Tom Coughlin vs. Bill Parcells for the third time, but Coughlin is 0-3 against the coach he considers his closest mentor (losing twice to the New England Patriots in 1996 and once to the New York Jets in last year's playoffs). The Jets are 1-3 so far this season after defeating the Denver Broncos last Sunday.

The Jaguars have the third-best record in the NFL over the last 41 regular-season games. Their 30-11 record in that time trails only San Francisco and Green Bay.

Television and radio
The Jaguars-Jets game will be televised nationally by ABC and locally by WJXX Channel 25, with Al Michaels calling the play-by-play, Boomer Esiason adding analysis and Lesley Visser serving as the field reporter.

All of the Jaguars' games are broadcast on WOKV (690 AM), WBWL (600 AM) and WKQL (96.9 FM) and the Jaguars Radio Network. Brian Sexton calls the play-by-play and former NFL quarterback Matt Robinson adds analysis, with Dan Hicken serving as a sideline reporter. Sexton and Robinson are in their fifth season together. Robinson, Jennifer Kumik, Vic Ketchman and Cole Pepper handle the pre-game show, and Pepper and ex-Oakland Raider Pete Banaszak do the post-game show. A total of 18 affiliates in three states on the Jaguars Radio Network will also broadcast the game. The radio broadcast is also simulcast live worldwide on the Jaguars' Official Website, www.jaguars.com.

The game will also be broadcast nationally on Westwood One radio network, with Dave Garrett calling the play-by-play and former Steeler Jack Ham adding color.

The opponent
The Jets were charter members of the American Football League and were originally called the New York Titans. They won Super Bowl III 16-7 over the Baltimore Colts behind the quarterbacking of Joe Namath, in what is generally considered the biggest upset in pro football history. Following 11 consecutive years out of the playoffs, the Jets advanced to the AFC Championship game in the strike-shortened 1982 season. Following that year, they appeared in the playoffs in only three of the next 14 years until hiring Bill Parcells as head coach in 1997. The Jets went 9-7 that year and finished 12-4 in '98, when they won their first division title since 1969, defeated the Jaguars in the Divisional Playoffs and advanced to the AFC Championship game before losing to eventual Super Bowl champion Denver. This season, the Jets are 1-3. They lost their first three games after quarterback Vinny Testaverde suffered a season-ending injury in the opener, and they got their first win of the year last Sunday 21-13 over the Broncos.

QUOTEBOOK

"It's just frustrating. You get him back. He's apparently ready to go. What happens with a hamstring is you make a cut under duress with somebody in a bad position. You've got the weight of their body and the weight of your body and he gets a little bit sore again in that area. So we made the decision to keep him on the sideline." — Tom Coughlin on RB Fred Taylor's injury "It gives us confidence to win on the road. We came in here knowing we had to win, and we did. That's the biggest thing of all. The story is we came here knowing that we had to win here to put ourselves right back in position in our division. We won the game, and hopefully that will give us the confidence we need." — Coughlin on win in Pittsburgh "It feels incredible to finally win here. It was a tough game. You've got to give the Steelers a lot of credit. They played tough, particularly their defense. They know how to play. But we got the win. We finally got that monkey off our back. Hopefully we can build on this and move on." — QB Mark Brunell on last week's win

The series
This will be the fourth meeting between the Jaguars and the Jets, with the Jets holding a 2-1 edge (1-1 in regular season, 1-0 in postseason). They first played on September 17, 1995 in the Jaguars' third game ever, with the Jets winning 27-10 at Giants Stadium, as mark Brunell made his first NFL start on his 25th birthday. On October 13, 1996, the Jaguars defeated the Jets 21-17 at ALLTEL Stadium. The Jets returned the favor by defeating Jacksonville 34-24 on January 10,1999 at Giants Stadium in the Divisional playoffs.

The last time
The Jaguars' 1998 season ended on January 10, 1999 at Giants Stadium, as the Jets defeated the Jaguars 34-24 in the Divisional playoffs. Scoring on their opening drive, the Jets took a 7-0 lead and after the two teams traded punts, the Jets struck again on a 52-yard field goal to extend their lead to 10-0. Chris Hudson intercepted a pass, but on his return an attempted lateral was recovered by the Jets, leading to a New York touchdown on an end-around by Keyshawn Johnson. Just before the half, Mark Brunell passed 52 yards to Jimmy Smith to make the score 17-7 at the half. The Jets took a 31-14 lead in the second half, then Smith's second TD and a Hollis field goal cut the lead to 31-24 as the Jaguars' hopes came to life late in the fourth quarter. With the Jets deep in Jaguars' territory, Donovin Darius attempted to run an interception out of the end zone and was downed at the one-yard line. The Jaguars went three-and-out, and a Jets field goal with 30 seconds left made the final score 34-24.

A Jaguars victory over the Jets would …
Give them a 4-1 record and keep them at least in a tie for first place in the AFC Central Division (the Titans host Baltimore). It would also give them a 2-1 regular-season mark against the Jets and be their second straight road victory in October after seven consecutive losses.

Injury update
The only player injured in the Steelers' game was RB Fred Taylor (reaggravated hamstring). DE Renaldo Wynn (ankle) was inactive and MLB Bryan Schwartz (recovering from a hamstring injury) did not play. The status of all injured players will be updated during the week.

The coaches
Jacksonville head coach Tom Coughlin (38-30 in regular season, 3-3 in postseason) has led the Jaguars to the playoffs each of the last three seasons — a first for an NFL expansion team and one of only six teams in the NFL to do so — and the 1998 AFC Central Division championship with an 11-5 record. They defeated the New England Patriots in a Wild-Card game before losing to the New York Jets in the Divisional playoffs. In 1997, the Jaguars finished 11-5 and finished second in the AFC Central, and they were defeated by Denver in the Wild-Card playoffs. In their second season in 1996, the Jaguars advanced all the way to the AFC Championship game, finishing the regular season in second place in the division with a 9-7 record. In the playoffs, the Jaguars upset the Bills and Broncos on the road before losing at New England. In 1995, Coughlin's Jaguars finished with four victories in their inaugural season. He became head coach of the Jaguars on February 21, 1994 following three successful seasons as head coach at Boston College. Coughlin compiled a record of 21-13-1 from 1991 to '93 at Boston College, and had two appearances in bowl games and a ranking of 13th in the final AP poll of 1993. A veteran of 30 years of coaching, he was previously an NFL assistant coach with the New York Giants (wide receivers, 1988-90), Green Bay Packers (wide receivers and passing game coordinator 1986-87) and Philadelphia Eagles (wide receivers, 1984-85).

In just two seasons with the New York Jets, Bill Parcells took the team from a 1-15 record to a division title. Last year, New York lost to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. Parcells has led the team to a 22-14 regular-season record. Parcells joined the Jets in 1997 after taking the New England Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI. Returning to coaching in 1993 after a brief retirement, he improved the Patriots from a 2-14 team in 1992 to a Super Bowl team in 1996. He became only the second coach in NFL history to take two different teams to the Super Bowl (Don Shula, Colts and Dolphins, was the first). Parcells spent eight years with the Giants (1983-1990), leading the team to victories in Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl XXV. The Giants had nine losing seasons in the previous 10 years, then Parcells led them to six winning seasons. He began his pro career with the Patriots in 1980 before becoming the Giants' defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Parcells played linebacker at Wichita State (1961-63) and began coaching as an assistant at Hastings (Neb.) College (1964). He was an assistant at Wichita State (1965) and at Army (1966-69). He was head coach at Air Force (1978) after holding three assistant jobs: Florida State (1970-72), Vanderbilt (1973-74), and Texas Tech (1975-77).

Jacksonville-Jets connections
Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin was the WR coach for the New York Giants (1988-90) under Bill Parcells, contributing to the Super Bowl XXV victory over the Buffalo Bills in his last season with the Giants … The Jaguars have only one former Jet on their roster: TE Kyle Brady, the Jets' first-round draft pick in 1995 who joined the Jaguars prior to this season as a transition free agent … The Jets have one former Jaguar on the roster: DT/DE Ernie Logan, who was one of the "Original 10" Jaguars signed on December 15, 1994 … Jaguars special teams coordinator Larry Pasquale was born in Brooklyn and was the Jets' WR coach (1980) and special teams coach (1981-89) … Five Jaguars are from the New York/New Jersey area: S Donovin Darius (Camden, N.J.), QB Jay Fiedler (Oceanside, N.Y.), DT Kevin Landolt (Burlington, N.J.), DT Seth Payne (Victor, N.Y. and Cornell) and LB Erik Storz (Rockaway, N.J.). In 1997, Fiedler was an assistant coach at Hofstra, where the Jets have their training facility. … Four Jets are from the state of Florida: PK John Hall (Port Charlotte), DE Anthony Pleasant (Century), LB Marvin Jones (Miami and Florida State) and CB Corey Sawyer (Key West and Florida State) … Jaguars WR coach Pete Carmichael was born in Plainfield, N.J., played college ball at Montclair State (1962-64) and was head coach at Trenton State (1973) … Jaguars TE coach Fred Hoaglin was the OL coach for the New York Giants (1985-92) and coached on two Super Bowl championship teams for Parcells … Two Jaguars played for the New England Patriots when Parcells was head coach: TE Rich Griffith (1993) and G Rich Tylski (practice squad 1994). … Jaguars strength and conditioning coach Jerry Palmieri was born in Englewood, N.J. … Three Jets coaches have ties to Florida State: head coach Bill Parcells was the LB coach from 1970 to '72, QB coach Dan Henning was the QB coach and offensive coordinator from 1968 to '70, and TE coach Pat Hodgson was the TE/WR coach in 1971 … Jaguars P Bryan Barker (1994) played for the Philadelphia Eagles with Jets C/G John Hudson and CB Otis Smith in 1994 … Jaguars WR Keenan McCardell (1992-95) and C Quentin Neujahr (1994-95) played for the Cleveland Browns with DE/DT Ernie Logan (1991-92), DE Anthony Pleasant (1990-95) … Neujahr (1996-97) also played for the Baltimore Ravens with Jets DE Pleasant (1996).

Next week
The Jaguars will return home to host the Cleveland Browns at 1:00 p.m. EDT at ALLTEL Stadium. It will be the first meeting of the season between the two teams (Jacksonville travels to Cleveland on December 19). In 1995, before the Browns moved to Baltimore, the Jaguars won both games, 23-15 in Cleveland and 24-21 in Jacksonville. The Browns, who are coached by former Jaguars offensive coordinator Chris Palmer, are 0-4 so far this season.

Last week
The Jaguars won for the first time in Pittsburgh, handing the Steelers a 17-3 defeat at Three Rivers Stadium. The victory, along with a loss by Tennessee, put Jacksonville back into a tie with the Titans for the AFC Central Division lead. The Jaguars' defense kept Pittsburgh out of the end zone and even scored two safeties, as the Steelers were held to 216 yards on offense. The Jaguars' offense generated only 204 yards, but Mark Brunell connected with Keenan McCardell for a seven-yard touchdown and Mike Hollis added two field goals before the defense scored safeties on Pittsburgh's final two possessions.

Notes from the Steelers game
The victory over the Steelers was the Jaguars' first win on the road in October since 1995. They were 2-0 on the road in their first season, then dropped the next seven games in 1996, '97 and '98. … The Jaguars and Steelers fell one game shy of setting an unusual record. A Pittsburgh win would have given the home team nine straight victories since the series began in 1995; instead the Jacksonville-Pittsburgh rivalry ties the New Orleans-Philadelphia series as the longest to start with home wins. … The Jaguars have won eight of their last 11 division games, and Mark Brunell is 19-8 as the starting quarterback in the division. … For only the second time ever (also 12/20/96 vs. Atlanta), the Jaguars scored just one touchdown and won a game. … With the victory, the Jaguars are 3-3 on artificial turf the last two seasons after going 3-11 in their first three seasons. … The Jaguars were outgained (204 yards to 216), had fewer first downs (13 to 14) and less time of possession (28:47 to 31:13). … Jacksonville's 85 gross passing yards was the second-fewest ever and the fewest since the team's first game (69 on 9/3/95). … The Jaguars converted only 3 of 15 third downs (33 percent) and held the Steelers to 5 of 16 (31 percent). In four games this year, Jaguars opponents are 12 of 52 on third downs.

The Defense Shines: The Jaguars have allowed the Steelers no touchdowns and only two field goals in the last two meetings and have let up just one offensive touchdown in the last three games. … The Jaguars have allowed just one field goal in two of four games played so far this season (and three of the last five going back to the 1998 season finale). … The Jaguars have allowed only five touchdowns in 1999, tied for the fewest of any team that has played four games. … After not getting any safeties in the franchise's first 72 games, the Jaguars have three in the last two games.

Jimmy Smith caught two passes for 18 yards, snapping his streak of three straight 100-yard games, but he kept alive his streak of catching at least one pass in 60 consecutive games, extending his team mark. … Keenan McCardell led the team with three receptions for 24 yards. … James Stewart rushed 21 times for a game-high 73 yards. In his last five games as the main ballcarrier, Stewart has rushed 125 times for 513 yards and four TDs. … Before leaving the game with a reaggravated hamstring, Fred Taylor rushed eight times for 28 yards. He moved ahead of Natrone Means to rank third in Jaguars history for career rushing yards. Means rushed for 1,330 yards in 1996 and '97, and Taylor now has 1,352 yards. Mark Brunell ranks second with 1,411 yards. … Brunell completed 10 of 25 passes for 85 yards, his lowest total ever in a full game as a starter. … Mike Hollis was successful on both of his field goal attempts and has converted 23 of his last 24 dating back to the 1998 season. Hollis has now scored in 53 consecutive regular-season games. … Steve Lindsey kicked off four times with two touchbacks, giving him nine in four games. His shortest kickoff was to the two-yard line. … Bryan Barker punted eight times for a 41.5-yard average and a long of 55, and he had a team-record six kicks inside the 20-yard line (previous: 5, 11/9/97 vs. Kansas City). Of the six inside-the-20 kicks, two were downed at the one-yard line and another at the two-yard line, and the others at the 5-, 12- and 11-yard lines. Four of his punts were kicked from inside the Steelers' 42-yard line, and only two of his kicks were returned, one of them for no gain at the 5-yard line.

Brackens Shines: DE Tony Brackens had his best game of the season. He made 2.5 sacks, three forced fumbles (recovering one) and 11 tackles. … In his past five games against the Steelers, Brackens has six sacks. … In four NFL seasons, Brackens has 16 forced fumbles and eight fumble recoveries, both team records. Dave Thomas made his first interception of the season, giving him at least one in four consecutive seasons. He now has six for his career, two away from the team record held by Aaron Beasley and Chris Hudson. … In addition to Brackens' 2.5 sacks, Joel Smeenge added a sack on his safety and Aaron Beasley had half a sack. Smeenge now has 24.5 sacks with the Jaguars, the team record. … The Jaguars were sacked only one time. They have been sacked only five times all season, the league's second fewest for teams that have played four games. … WLB Kevin Hardy and MLB Lonnie Marts led the team with 14 tackles each, followed by DE Tony Brackens with 11 tackles. … Every player who dressed played except QB Jay Fiedler and MLB Bryan Schwartz. Friday's inactives were: MLB Chester Burnett, G Anthony Cesario, DT Kevin Landolt and DE Renaldo Wynn; Sunday's inactives were: CB Corey Chamblin, RB Stacey Mack, OT/G Steve Ingram and QB Jonathan Quinn (third QB). … Jaguars captains were OT Tony Boselli, MLB Lonnie Marts and CB Aaron Beasley.