Green Bay Packers Rewind: First Intriguing Meeting With Expansion Jacksonville Jaguars In 1995

When the Green Bay Packers journey to EverBank Stadium to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday, the paths the two teams are currently traveling are very similar to the ones they both were traversing upon their first-ever meeting in 1995. The Packers are riding high and bring a three-game winning streak and a 5-2 record to Florida, while the Jaguars, although they were able to take care of business last week in London by beating the Patriots, limp in with only two wins in their first seven games.

The Jaguars, who were playing in their franchise’s fourth-ever game in that contest on Sunday, September 24, 1995, had yet to taste victory. The Packers, who were on their way to playing in the NFC Championship Game that year, were clearly setting a different course.

National Television Game for the 1995 Green Bay Packers v. Jacksonville Jaguars Game

Back in 1995, the TNT network covered the Sunday night game of the week, and most likely in an attempt to rile the home crowd into a frenzy and create a buzz across the country, the national broadcast in Week 4 brought its show to Jacksonville to televise the Jaguars against the perennially playoff-bound Green Bay Packers. It marked the very first time the Jaguars were shown to the entire nation.

The Packers received the opening kickoff and drove 52 yards in 11 plays down to the Jacksonville nine-yard line. However, Jaguar safety Monty Grow stepped in and picked off a Brett Favre pass at the two-yard line, thwarting the initial Green Bay drive.  After two Jacksonville punts and a missed 47-yard field goal attempt by Packers’ kicker Craig Hentrich, the game was scoreless after one quarter. Ironically, this was the only miss in Hentrich’s career; he was the Packers’ regular punter but did, in fact, make four of his five field goal attempts throughout his 16 years in the NFL.

Packers Breakthrough in the Second Quarter, Coast to Victory

Hentrich atoned for his earlier miss and drilled a 49-yarder for the game’s first points with 11:07 left in the 2nd quarter. The two teams traded punts, and the Packers took over at their own 21-yard line with 5:35 to go in the first half. On the ninth play of the drive, Favre found Robert Brooks in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass, and Green Bay took a 10-0 lead into the intermission.

More of the same transpired after the halftime break. Jacksonville could not figure out the Green Bay Packers defense as they punted twice more and lost another possession on downs. Meanwhile, the Packers continued to navigate the gridiron efficiently and meticulously and found paydirt once again when Dorsey Levens barreled in from two yards out to extend the Packers’ lead to 17-0.

Finally, Jacksonville’s offense found some traction and put together a scoring drive that drifted into the fourth quarter and spanned only 20 yards thanks to a 25-yard punt return by Desmond Howard. Mark Brunell connected with Willie Jackson on an 8-yard touchdown to make the score 17-7. Then, the game took an interesting turn when the Jaguars completed a successful onside kick, and just like that, the competitive nature of the contest returned. Jacksonville had the ball on their own 45, plenty of time on the clock, and a wealth of momentum on their side.

However, that boost did not last. The Packers held on 4th-and-1 and began the process of bleeding the clock. Anthony Morgan caught a 29-yard scoring pass from Favre, and after a meaningless Jacksonville touchdown, the second from Willie Jackson, the game ended with the Green Bay Packers on the winning side of the 24-14 score.

The Jaguars would have to wait one more week for their first-ever win, a 17-16 thriller over the Houston Oilers.

This Year’s Game

The Green Bay Packers will enter Sunday’s game as a 4.5-point road favorite and look to extend their winning streak in their Jacksonville series to four. Just as in 1995, both teams enter blazing different paths near the midway point of the season. If the Packers hope to reach the heights attained 29 years ago, games like this need to be put into the win column.