The Jacksonville Jaguars will open their seventh NFL season at home for the fourth time when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 9, and they will close the season at home for the fifth time in franchise history against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 30.
In the 2001 NFL schedule released today, the Jaguars will play two nationally televised games from ALLTEL Stadium - a Thursday night game on October 18 vs. the Buffalo Bills on ESPN, and a "Monday Night Football" game against the Green Bay Packers on December 3 on ABC. The remaining 14 games will all be played on Sundays.
The schedule includes two three-game stretches of note: a midseason run of games vs. Buffalo and at divisional rivals Baltimore and Tennessee, and then three straight December road games at Cincinnati, Cleveland and Minnesota.
The Jaguars begin their season with their home opener at 1:00 p.m. Sunday, September 9, when they host the Steelers at ALLTEL Stadium. They travel the following week to Chicago to take on the Bears on September 16. The Jaguars return home for the last two Sundays in September with a game against their AFC Central archrivals, the Tennessee Titans on September 23, and then they host the Cleveland Browns on September 30.
In October, the schedule begins with a trip to Seattle on the 7th, marking the team's first west coast trip since 1997 and their first-ever visit to Seattle. The Jaguars' open week follows, as the team will not play on October 14. Then comes the Thursday night game vs. the Bills on October 18, which will be Buffalo's first trip to Jacksonville. That will be followed by road trips to the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens on October 28 and the defending AFC Central champion Tennessee Titans on November 4.
November continues with a home game against the Cincinnati Bengals on the 11th, followed by the Jaguars' first trip to the Pittsburgh Steelers' new stadium on November 18. The Jaguars close out November when the Baltimore Ravens come to Jacksonville on the 25th, marking only the second time a team defending the Super Bowl has played in Jacksonville.
The December schedule features five games for the first time, beginning with the Monday night contest vs. the Green Bay Packers on the 3rd. The Jaguars then head to the road for games in Cincinnati on the 9th, in Cleveland on the 16th and at Minnesota on the 23rd (their only indoor game of the season). The Jaguars close the regular season with the Kansas City Chiefs on the 30th.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 2001 SCHEDULE
PRESEASON
Friday, August 10 Carolina Panthers 7:30 p.m. WJXT
Thursday, August 16 at New York Giants 8:00 p.m. ESPN
Thursday, August 23 Kansas City Chiefs 7:30 p.m. WJXT
Thursday, August 30 at Dallas Cowboys 8:30 p.m. WJXT
REGULAR SEASON
Sunday, September 9 PITTSBURGH STEELERS 1:00 p.m. CBS
Sunday, September 16 at Chicago Bears 4:15 p.m. CBS
Sunday, September 23 TENNESSEE TITANS 1:00 p.m. CBS
Sunday, September 30 CLEVELAND BROWNS 4:15 p.m. CBS
Sunday, October 7 at Seattle Seahawks 4:05 p.m. CBS
Sunday, October 14 OPEN DATE
Thursday, October 18 BUFFALO BILLS 8:30 p.m. ESPN
Sunday, October 28 at Baltimore Ravens 1:00 p.m. CBS
Sunday, November 4 at Tennessee Titans 1:00 p.m. CBS
Sunday, November 11 CINCINNATI BENGALS 1:00 p.m. CBS
Sunday, November 18 at Pittsburgh Steelers 4:15 p.m. CBS
Sunday, November 25 BALTIMORE RAVENS 1:00 p.m. CBS
Monday, December 3 GREEN BAY PACKERS 9:00 p.m. ABC
Sunday, December 9 at Cincinnati Bengals 1:00 p.m. CBS
Sunday, December 16 at Cleveland Browns 1:00 p.m. CBS
Sunday, December 23 at Minnesota Vikings 4:15 p.m. CBS
Sunday, December 30 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 1:00 p.m. CBS
HOME GAMES IN CAPS ALL TIMES ARE JACKSONVILLE TIME
JAGUARS SCHEDULE NOTES: 14 of the Jaguars' 16 regular season games will be televised on CBS and locally on WJXT-TV. ABC will broadcast one and ESPN one (none will be televised on FOX). … Of the six non-division teams on the schedule, only the Minnesota Vikings were in the playoffs last season. … The season begins with three of four at home, followed by seven of 11 on the road. …Eight of the Jaguars 16 games will be against teams that had a winning record last year, and one team (Buffalo) that finished the season at .500. … Five of the eight home games are at 1:00, with one 4:15 start, one Sunday night game and one Monday night game. Four of the eight road games kick off at 1:00, with one 4:05 start and two 4:15 starts. … Of the Jaguars' eight regular-season road games, two will be played on artificial turf (Minnesota and Seattle), including one in a domed stadium (Minnesota). … The Jaguars will travel to Seattle for the first time, and it will be the Jaguars' first trip to the west coast since the 1997 preseason. The Buffalo Bills will be making their first trip to Jacksonville. … The Baltimore Ravens will become the second defending Super Bowl champion team to face the Jaguars (in 1999, the Jaguars hosted the Denver Broncos). … In seven NFL seasons, the Jaguars will have played 29 of the league's 30 other teams. The Jaguars still haven't played the San Diego Chargers. … All 20 of the Jaguars' preseason and regular-season games will be broadcast live on the Jaguars' flagship radio stations: WOKV (690 AM), WBWL (600 AM) and WKQL (96.9 FM), on the Jaguars Radio Network and the Jaguars' website, www.jaguars.com Calling the action for their seventh season together will be play-by-play man Brian Sexton and analyst Matt Robinson.
