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Record-setting day in St. Louis

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Week eight of the 2003 NFL season finds the Jaguars hosting the Tennessee Titans. Here's what happened in past years' week-eight games. They're ranked in the order of their prominence in Jaguars history.

Rams 17, Jaguars 14 (10-20-96)

It is one of the most infamous games in Jaguars history. The Jaguars established offensive team records that stand today, but red-zone turnovers betrayed the Jaguars in the St. Louis TWA Dome.

Mark Brunell threw for 421 yards, Keenan McCardell caught 16 passes for 232 yards, and James Stewart rushed for 112 yards, but 538 yards later the Jaguars still needed one more play to send the game into overtime. They were denied that play, as the clock ran out as center Dave Widell attempted to snap the ball.

The Rams intercepted Brunell five times in the red zone: the Rams' eight, 12, goal line, seven and two-yard lines. Anthony Parker returned one interception 92 yards for a score that gave the Rams a 7-0 lead.

Jacksonville took a 14-10 lead in the third quarter, but the Rams put together their only real drive of the game, as quarterback Tony Banks capped a nine-play, 86-yard drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Eddie Kennison.

How lopsided were the statistics? Well, the Jaguars gained 334 more yards and held the ball 23 minutes longer than the Rams. McCardell's 16 catches represented the third-best receiving game in NFL history, and Stewart posted his first-ever 100-yard effort. The Jaguars set team records with their 538 total net yards, 420 net passing yards, 11 of 14 third-down conversions, 41:34 time of possession, no punts and just three penalties for 15 yards.

They left St. Louis 3-5.

Jaguars 23, Browns 15 (10-22-95)

The expansion Jaguars scored their third win in the month of October and, in of all places, venerable Cleveland Stadium. Little did anyone know on this day that it would be the last time the Jaguars would ever play in Cleveland Stadium, as it was announced in early November that the Browns were leaving Cleveland for Baltimore.

On this day, however, the Browns were 3-3 and playing for the AFC Central Division lead. Brunell turned in his best performance as a starting quarterback, in just his fifth pro start. He only threw for 156 yards, but he scrambled 11 times for 58 yards, time and again converting third-down plays (12 of 17) by rushing for the necessary yardage.

Cornerback Mickey Washington intercepted a Vinny Testaverde pass and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown, giving the Jaguars a 13-0 lead in the first quarter.

The Jaguars held the lead for the entire game, but it took a big play by safety Harry Colon, who jarred the ball loose from Andre Rison in the end zone as Rison attempted to catch a touchdown pass.

At 3-5 at the midway point in their first season, the Jaguars found themselves only a half game out of the division lead, with a trip to Pittsburgh just ahead.

Cowboys 26, Jaguars 22 (10-19-97)

In Jacksonville's first-ever performance in Texas Stadium, the visitors let a win get away.

Herschel Walker, a somewhat forgotten player for the Cowboys, went 64 yards with a short pass from Troy Aikman, and the Cowboys held off the Jaguars' last-ditch efforts to secure a win that left the Jaguars at 5-2.

Omar Stoutmire's interception with 1:24 to play and the Jaguars at the Cowboys 36-yard line, was the first interception Brunell had thrown in three weeks. Brunell threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns, and rallied the Jaguars from a 19-7 deficit, but the Jaguars defense was unable to hold the lead.

Titans 28, Jaguars 24 (11-4-01)

Steve McNair rallied the Titans to a touchdown with 44 seconds to play and the Jaguars' record sagged to 2-5 with their fifth consecutive loss.

The Jaguars held a 17-7 lead at halftime at Adelphia Coliseum, but the Titans grabbed a 21-17 edge with 77 and 80-yard drives early in the second half.

Mark Brunell and the offense countered with an impressive eight-play, 84-yard touchdown drive that grabbed the lead at 24-21 with 3:05 to play in the game. But McNair proceeded to beat the Jaguars with a combination of timely scrambles and short passes to running back Eddie George and tight end Frank Wycheck, resulting in a 10-play, 59-yard drive.

At issue was the Jaguars' defensive scheme. Defensive Coordinator Gary Moeller was criticized by his own players for playing zone defense in the final minutes.

Broncos 37, Jaguars 24 (10-25-98)

It was a battle of the once-beaten Jaguars against the undefeated Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium, where the Jaguars had scored the biggest upset in NFL postseason history in the 1996 season. The two teams had developed a unique rivalry as a result of that game, and Denver returned the favor at Mile High with a playoff win over the Jaguars in '97.

This time, the outcome was decided quickly, as the Broncos' second-quarter offensive barrage buried the Jaguars. The Jaguars cut their deficit to 27-17 in the third quarter, but they were kept at arm's length the rest of the way.

Denver running back Terrell Davis rushed for 136 yards and three touchdowns, and quarterback John Elway posted 295 yards passing. Brunell threw for 353 yards and three touchdowns, but most of that effort was in the second half when the game was out of reach. Reggie Barlow had a 91-yard kickoff return, and set a Jaguars record with 206 yards on six kickoff returns.

The Broncos controlled the clock for 13-and-a-half minutes longer than the Jaguars, who considered this game to be a measuring stick. If that was the case, they were still not up to their '96 levels.

Titans 27, Jaguars 13 (10-16-00)

It was supposed to be a Monday night thriller. It turned out to be something much less than that.

After the Jaguars took a 3-0 lead at Adelphia Coliseum, the Titans scored 24 unanswered points and coasted to victory. Eddie George rushed for 165 yards, a Jaguars opponent record, and Steve McNair threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns.

The lone bright spot for the Jaguars was Fred Taylor's 112 yards rushing, the first of what would be nine consecutive 100-yard games for Taylor, who had a 71-yard run, the second-longest regular-season run in Jaguars history.

At 2-5, the Jaguars had lost their fourth game in a row and their Monday Night Football record dropped to 5-2. They were 8-5 in prime-time games, 0-3 in 2000.

Texans 21, Jaguars 19 (10-27-02)

The Jaguars' fast start had since faded, but the season seemed to crash with this loss to the expansion Houston Texans at Alltel Stadium. It all hinged on a trick play.

Houston's Kris Brown kicked a game-winning, 45-yard field goal with 2:11 to play, but it was a 47-yard punt return off a cross-field lateral pass that set up Brown's game-winning kick.

It was another late-game collapse by the Jaguars, who had made a habit of such failings in recent seasons. Houston took an 18-12 lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Jaguars regained the lead with 7:42 to play when Stacey Mack capped a seven-play, 70-yard touchdown drive with a two-yard scoring run.

The Jaguars quickly got the ball back and were in kill-the-clock mode, but stalled. Then came the punt and what resulted was the beginning of the end for coach Tom Coughlin and his attempt to save his job.

Jaguars 41, Bengals 10 (10-31-99)

Fred Taylor made his return from a season-long hamstring injury. He rushed for 128 yards and his 8.5 yards-per-carry average established a team record.

The Jaguars went out to an easy 27-0 lead at halftime, and Brunell, who was iffy for the game as a result of a rib injury, was able to throw for 145 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game for safety after the first half.

Jacksonville's offense scored in a team-record 15 straight quarters, and had scored in 26 of 28 quarters of the season to date.

The Jaguars were 6-1 and in first place in the AFC Central Division.

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