The Jacksonville Jaguars will open and close the 1997 regular season on the road for the first time in franchise history, and a Monday night home game against the AFC Central Division champion Pittsburgh Steelers is included in the NFL schedule that is being released today.
The Jaguars begin the season at 4:00 p.m. Sunday, August 31 when they visit the Baltimore Ravens, a team they defeated twice in 1996. They will play their first home game at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium the following week when they host the New York Giants in a 4:00 p.m. contest. The game will be the first regular-season meeting between the Jaguars and Giants. The Jaguars are playing four teams from the NFC Eastern Division for the first time this year.
The Jaguars will spend the third weekend of the season idle. In each of the last two seasons, the Jaguars¹ bye week was the 10th week of the season. The Jaguars return to action on Monday night, September 22, when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers on ³Monday Night Football.² It will be the Jaguars¹ first-ever regular-season appearance on ³Monday Night Football.² The Jaguars close out the month with a trip to Washington on September 28 to face the Redskins in new Redskins Stadium. That game will also be the first of three against NFC teams in a four-week span.
The October schedule begins with back-to-back home games against the Cincinnati Bengals on October 5 and the Philadelphia Eagles on October 12. The Jaguars then go on the road for three consecutive weeks for the first time ever, with the first two games going against defending
division champions. They visit the Dallas Cowboys on October 19 and then travel to Pittsburgh on October 26 for the rematch between the Jaguars and Steelers.
November begins with the third straight road game, a November 2 contest at Houston. The Jaguars return home for the first time in a month on November 9 when they play the Kansas City Chiefs for the Jaguars¹ only game against a non-division foe in a six-week period. On November 16, the Houston Oilers will come to Jacksonville to play the Jaguars for the second time in three weeks. The Jaguars play their final road game against an AFC Central Division opponent on November 23 when they travel to Cincinnati, and then they close out their division schedule by hosting the Baltimore Ravens on November 30.
In December, they play two of the three teams they met during the playoffs last season. The Jaguars will play their final home game of the season on December 7 against the New England Patriots, the only team to defeat the Jaguars twice in 1996 and the AFC representative in Super
Bowl XXXI. On December 14, Jacksonville travels to Buffalo to face the Bills. The 1997 regular season ends on December 21 with the Jaguars¹ only West Coast trip of the season, a December 21 game against the Oakland Raiders.
Thirteen of the Jaguars¹ 16 regular-season games will be televised on NBC and locally on WTLV-TV. FOX will broadcast the September 7 game against the New York Giants and the October 12 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. ABC will carry the home game against Pittsburgh game the night of September 22.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 1997 SCHEDULE
PRESEASON
Sun., August 3 CAROLINA PANTHERS 3:00 p.m. NBC/WTLV
Sat., August 9 at New York Giants 8:00 p.m. WTLV
Mon., August 18 at San Francisco 49ers 8:00 p.m. ABC/WBSG
Fri., August 22 ATLANTA FALCONS 7:30 p.m. WTLV
REGULAR SEASON
Sun., August 31 at Baltimore Ravens 4:00 p.m. NBC
Sun., September 7 NEW YORK GIANTS 4:00 p.m. FOX
Sun., September 14 IDLE
Mon., September 22 PITTSBURGH STEELERS 9:00 p.m. ABC
Sun., September 28 at Washington Redskins 1:00 p.m. NBC
Sun., October 5 CINCINNATI BENGALS 1:00 p.m. NBC
Sun., October 12 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 1:00 p.m. FOX
Sun., October 19 at Dallas Cowboys 1:00 p.m. NBC
Sun., October 26 at Pittsburgh Steelers 4:00 p.m. NBC
Sun., November 2 at Houston Oilers 4:00 p.m. NBC
Sun., November 9 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 1:00 p.m. NBC
Sun., November 16 HOUSTON OILERS 1:00 p.m. NBC
Sun., November 23 at Cincinnati Bengals 4:00 p.m. NBC
Sun., November 30 BALTIMORE RAVENS 1:00 p.m. NBC
Sun., December 7 N.E. PATRIOTS 1:00 p.m. NBC
Sun., December 14 at Buffalo Bills 1:00 p.m. NBC
Sun., December 21 at Oakland Raiders 4:00 p.m. NBC
HOME GAMES IN CAPS
ALL TIMES ARE JACKSONVILLE TIME
JAGUARS SCHEDULE NOTES: The Jaguars¹ first two home games of 1997 are at 4:00 and 9:00 p.m. and the last six home games are at 1:00 p.m. Five of the eight road games kick off at 4:00 p.m. EST....Five of the Jaguars¹ 1997 opponents were playoff teams in ¹96: Pittsburgh, New England, uffalo, Dallas and Philadelphia. The Jaguars play Pittsburgh twice in ¹97....Eight of the Jaguars¹ 16 games in 1997 will be against teams that had a winning record last year. Four others are against clubs that had 8-8 records.... Of the Jaguars¹ eight regular-season road games, five will be played on artificial turf, including one in a dome stadium....All 20 of the Jaguars¹ preseason and regular-season games will be broadcast live on the Jaguars¹ flagship radio station, WOKV (690 AM) and WKQL (96.9 FM), and on the Jaguars Radio Network. Calling the action will be play-by-play man Brian Sexton and analyst Matt Robinson.
JAGUARS OPEN PRESEASON AT HOME VS PANTHERS; TWO GAMES ON NATIONAL TV
The Jacksonville Jaguars will play two of their four 1997 preseason games on national television, including a rematch with their 1995 expansion brethren, the Carolina Panthers.
The Jaguars open the 1997 preseason at home when they host the Panthers in a nationally televised afternoon game on NBC from Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. It is the first game of a home-and-home preseason series; in 1998, the Jaguars will travel to Charlotte, N.C. to face the Panthers.
Jacksonville goes on the road for the next two weeks of the preseason. They will play the New York Giants on Saturday, August 9 in the Meadowlands. On August 18, the Jaguars will make their first appearance on ³Monday Night Football² when they face the San Francisco 49ers at 3Com Park. The Jaguars will close out the preseason four days later by hosting the Atlanta Falcons at 7:30 p.m. Friday, August 22.
The games against Carolina, the New York Giants and Atlanta will be televised live in Jacksonville on WTLV-TV Channel 12. The Monday night game against the 49ers will be televised nationally by ABC and locally on WBSG, the new ABC affiliate in Jacksonville.
1997 PRESEASON SCHEDULE
Sunday, August 3 CAROLINA PANTHERS 3:00 p.m. NBC/WTLV
Saturday, August 9 at N.Y. Giants 8:00 p.m. WTLV
Monday, August 18 at S.F. 49ers 8:00 p.m. ABC/WBSG
Friday, August 22 ATLANTA FALCONS 7:30 p.m. WTLV
HOME GAMES IN CAPS
ALL TIMES ARE JACKSONVILLE TIME
