The Jacksonville Jaguars will open their eighth NFL season at home for the fifth time when they host the Indianapolis Colts - their new division rival in the AFC South - on September 8, and they will close the season on the road for the fourth time in franchise history in Indianapolis on December 29.

In the 2002 NFL schedule released today, the Jaguars will be featured once on national television when they travel to New Jersey to play the New York Giants on November 3 on ESPN. All 16 games during the 2002 season will be played on Sundays.

The Jaguars begin their season with their home opener at 1:00 p.m. Sunday, September 8, when they host the Colts at ALLTEL Stadium. It marks the sixth season that the Jaguars have opened against a divisional opponent. The Jaguars have won six straight opening games - the second-longest active streak in the NFL - and seek to make it seven straight against the Colts. The following week, the Jaguars will travel to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs on September 15, marking Jacksonville's first regular-season road game at Arrowhead Stadium. The Jaguars' open week follows, as all NFL teams will have one bye between Weeks 3 and 10. The Jaguars will close out the opening month on September 29 by hosting the New York Jets.

The Jaguars will be home for the second straight week on October 6 when they host the Philadelphia Eagles. Then comes back-to-back road games at Tennessee and Baltimore on the 13th and 20th. Over a four-week period, the Jaguars will face three 2001 playoff teams in the Jets, Eagles and Ravens. On October 27, the Jaguars will host the expansion Houston Texans - the NFL's newest team and also a divisional foe - at ALLTEL Stadium.

November begins with the Sunday night nationally televised ESPN game at the New York Giants on the 3rd. On November 10, the Jaguars will host the Washington Redskins, who are coached by former Florida Gators coach Steve Spurrier. The Jaguars will then travel to Texas on successive weeks when they face the Houston Texans at new Reliant Stadium on the 17th and then the Dallas Cowboys on the 24th.

The December schedule features five games for the second straight year, the first three of which are against foes from the old AFC Central Division. On December 1, the Jaguars will host the Pittsburgh Steelers, and on the 8th, the Cleveland Browns will come to ALLTEL Stadium. On December 15th, the Jaguars will travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals, the third straight year Jacksonville has played in Cincinnati in December. The Jaguars' final home game of the season is December 22 against the Tennessee Titans, and the regular season will close with the game at Indianapolis on the 29th, marking the fourth time in eight seasons the Jaguars have closed on the road.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 2002 SCHEDULE

HOME GAMES IN CAPS ALL TIMES ARE JACKSONVILLE TIME

JAGUARS SCHEDULE NOTES: 13 of the Jaguars' 16 regular season games will be televised on CBS and locally on WJXT-TV. FOX will broadcast two games and ESPN one. … There are four playoff teams on the schedule - the Jets, Eagles and Ravens (who will face the Jaguars in a four-week period in the first half of the season) and the Steelers. … This marks the second time the Jaguars will have their bye week in the third week of the season; it also happened in 1997. … With only four teams in each division under the new realignment, the Jaguars will play their fewest divisional games ever - six. From 1995 to '98, the Jaguars played eight division games, and from 1999 to 2001 they played 10 division games. … The season begins with three of four games at home, followed by five of seven on the road. … Four of the Jaguars' 16 games will be against teams that had a winning record last year, and one team (Washington) that finished the season at .500. … Five of the eight home games are at 1:00, with one 4:05 kickoff and two 4:15 starts. Five of the eight road games kick off at 1:00, with one 4:05 start, one 4:15 start and the 8:30 ESPN game. … Of the Jaguars' eight regular-season road games, two will be played on artificial turf (Dallas and Indianapolis), including one in a domed stadium (Indianapolis). … After this year, in eight NFL seasons, the Jaguars will have played 30 of the league's 31 other teams. The Jaguars still have not played the San Diego Chargers (they are scheduled to play in 2004). … All 20 of the Jaguars' preseason and regular-season games will be broadcast live on the Jaguars' flagship radio stations: WOKV (690 AM) and WKQL (96.9 FM), on the Jaguars Radio Network and on the Jaguars' website, www.jaguars.com Calling the action for their eighth season together will be play-by-play man Brian Sexton and analyst Matt Robinson.