Since the Jacksonville Jaguars were formed ahead of the 1995 season in the NFL, they have had quite the storied matchup history with the Pittsburgh Steelers, twice ending promising seasons with shocking playoff upsets — both in Pittsburgh.
Even in recent years, the Jaguars have been a thorn in the Steelers’ side, all while wearing some of the ugliest uniforms in football.
That might not be the case in 2024 though, as the Jaguars rolled out their “Prowler” throwback uniforms, harkening back to the original uniforms in the mid 90s.
With Jacksonville in the news due to the throwback jerseys, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the first time the Steelers and Jaguars met in Pittsburgh, back on Oct. 25, 1995 at Three Rivers Stadium.
That day, the Steelers flat-out dominated the Jaguars, rolling to a 24-7 win that was nowhere near as close as the final score might have hinted.
Previously, the Steelers had traveled to Jacksonville on Oct. 8 of that year for the first matchup against the AFC Central Jaguars, losing 20-19, handing the Jaguars just their second ever win.
Two weeks later, the Steelers had revenge on their mind.
After trading punts early in the first quarter, the Steelers found their rhythm offensively on the second drive of the game, leaning heavily on running back Erric Pegram.
Pegram ripped off a 10-yard run on the first play of the second drive, shaking off some would-be tacklers in the process, churning out the first down, setting the tone of the drive for the Steelers.
Following a 15-yard gain on a screen pass from quarterback Neil O’Donnell to Pegram, and then a 14-yard connection to wide receiver Yancy Thigpen, a gain of 11 yards to Charles Johnson and another 14-yard completion to Pegram, the Steelers were on the doorstep of the end zone.
Pegram kicked the door down, barreling through a handful of Jacksonville defenders to find pay dirt, giving the Steelers a 7-0 lead.
After Pegram’s touchdown, the Steelers defense stood tall, forcing a Jacksonville punt thanks to a big sack from linebacker Jerry Olsavsky and then a run stuff from Olsavsky and Greg Lloyd on 3rd-and-1.
The Steelers offense looked to take advantage of the change in possession, but quickly went three-and-out, forcing a Ron Stark punt.
That’s when disaster struck for the Jaguars.
Returner Ernest Givins muffed the punt, leading to a recovery by Fred McAfee deep in Jacksonville territory.
Pittsburgh’s offense immediately took advantage as O’Donnell hit Thigpen over the middle for a 15-yard touchdown, staking the Steelers to a quick 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Holding a 14-0 lead, the Steelers simply took over.
At one point, the Steelers held a 201-41 total yards gained advantage over the Jaguars, completely suffocating Jacksonville’s offense led by quarterback Mark Brunell.
Another quick three-and-out from Jacksonville gave the Steelers the ball right back, and O’Donnell went deep to Thigpen, who turned in a highlight-reel reception.
Thigpen leaped high over Jacksonville cornerback Vinnie Clark and hauled in a 32-yard reception, igniting the home crowd.
The play seemed to give the Steelers offense another boost, but ultimately the Steelers fumbled the football away, giving the Jaguars new life. But Jacksonville again quickly stalled offensively and punted the football back to the Steelers and an offense that was rolling.
Pittsburgh stayed hot offensively as O’Donnell hit Thigpen across the middle for a gain of 22 yards, and then hit Johnson for a gain of 11. Then, Jacksonville linebacker Keith Goganious was called for a personal foul for kicking and punching offensive lineman Justin Strzelczyk, setting the Steelers up near the 5-yard line.
O’Donnell then fired a strike to running back John L. Williams, who made a great diving catch for the 6-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead for the Steelers.
Up three scores, the Steelers continued to roll, completely suffocating the Jaguars offense.
Brunell was under siege all game long, whether it was Lloyd, Levon Kirkland, or even nose tackle Brenston Buckner putting heat in the kitchen. In fact, Buckner had a nice 8-yard sack in the third quarter, putting the Jaguars behind the chains again.
Eventually, the Jaguars were able to find their footing offensively late in the third quarter.
Still trailing 21-0, the Jaguars put together a scoring drive. Brunell scrambled for a gain of 21 yards, found Curtis Marsh for gains of 11 and 15 yards, and later hit Jimmy Smith for a gain of 7 yards. Then, on a 4th-and-10 from the Steelers’ 16, Brunell made magic happen.
Breaking out of a collapsing pocket and working to his right, Brunell threw across his body to tight end Pete Mitchell for a 16-yard touchdown, making it a 21-7 game.
The Steelers responded quickly though as Johnson returned the ensuring kickoff 40 yards to near midfield, setting up a Steelers’ scoring drive.
Pegram ran for gains of 11 and 7 yards, and 15 more were tacked on due to a face mask penalty on Vinnie Clark.
Four plays later, kicker Norm Johnson drilled a 36-yard field goal to make it 24-7, which would ultimately hold up as the final score.
During the win in Pittsburgh over the Jaguars, Pegram rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, while Thigpen hauled in 5 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. O’Donnell finished the day 17-of-25 for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Brunell, on the other hand, was 18-of-33 for 189 yards and a touchdown but was sacked 7 times in the defeat.
Ray Seals had 2 sacks for the Steelers, while Buckner had 1.5. Kevin Henry, Carnell Lake and Olsavsky also had one sack each, while Kevin Greene added half a sack in the win.
The win over Jacksonville improved the Steelers to 4-4 on the season, and helped kickstart a red-hot stretch as the Steelers eight straight games before losing the season finale to finish 11-5. Then, the Steelers rolled through the AFC playoffs, defeating the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs before falling to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX.
