Divisional Round: Jacksonville Jaguars at Denver Broncos (Mile High Stadium), with a Conference Championship spot at stake. Kickoff: Sat January 4, 1997 at 4:00pm. Winner advances to the Conference Championship. The losing team's season is over.[1][2]
The divisional round is where the bracket is supposed to take its real shape. Jacksonville Jaguars traveling to Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium, with the league watching to see whether the better team or the better matchup wins. Bye-week home favorites carry the weight of expectation; the visiting wild-card winner walks in with no one expecting them and nothing to lose.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Jacksonville Jaguars and Denver Broncos are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Mile High Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Jacksonville Jaguars versus Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Jacksonville Jaguars-Denver Broncos cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 10-6 | L2 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 9-7 | W5 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8-8 | W3 |
| Houston Oilers | 8-8 | W1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 4-12 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 11-5 | W1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 10-6 | W1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 9-7 | L1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8-8 | W2 |
| New York Jets | 1-15 | L7 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 13-3 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 9-7 | L3 |
| San Diego Chargers | 8-8 | W1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 7-9 | L2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 7-9 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Panthers | 12-4 | W7 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 12-4 | W2 |
| St. Louis Rams | 6-10 | W2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 3-13 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 3-13 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 13-3 | W5 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 9-7 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 7-9 | L1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6-10 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5-11 | L5 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 10-6 | L1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10-6 | W2 |
| Washington Redskins | 9-7 | W1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 7-9 | -- |
| New York Giants | 6-10 | L2 |
NFL's Greatest Games - 1996 AFC Divisional Playoff - Jacksonville at Denver
Mark Brunell Run vs Broncos Divisional Round (1996)
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#6: Jaguars Upset Broncos in 1996 Divisional Round | NFL Films | Top 10 Upsets
1996 | Jacksonville Jaguars vs Denver Broncos Highlights | AFC Playoffs | 1-4-1997
Jaguars Celebrate Playoff win over Broncos 1996 (pt1)
Jaguars Celebrate Playoff win over Broncos 1996 (pt2)
Jaguars Celebrate Playoff win over Broncos 1996 (pt3)Jacksonville Jaguars None, Denver Broncos None
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 0 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 013203030 |
| Denver Broncos | 12 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1212122727 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Broncos | Vaughn Hebron 1 yard rush | 0-6 |
| Broncos | Shannon Sharpe 18 yard pass from John Elway (pass failed) | 0-12 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Jaguars | Mike Hollis 46 yard field goal | 3-12 |
| Jaguars | Natrone Means 8 yard rush ( Mike Hollis kick) | 10-12 |
| Jaguars | Mike Hollis 42 yard field goal | 13-12 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Jaguars | Keenan McCardell 31 yard pass from Mark Brunell ( Mike Hollis kick) | 20-12 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Jaguars | Mike Hollis 22 yard field goal | 23-12 |
| Broncos | Terrell Davis 2 yard rush ( Terrell Davis run) | 23-20 |
| Jaguars | Jimmy Smith 16 yard pass from Mark Brunell ( Mike Hollis kick) | 30-20 |
| Broncos | Ed McCaffrey 15 yard pass from John Elway ( Jason Elam kick) | 30-27 |
Jacksonville Jaguars defeated Denver Broncos 30-27 at Mile High Stadium in the Divisional Round. The final scoring play was Broncos: Ed McCaffrey 15 yard pass from John Elway ( Jason Elam kick). The result came down to the final possession; Jacksonville Jaguars won by 3. Top line of the day: Mark Brunell: 245 pass yards on 18-of-29, 2 TD, 0 INT. Jacksonville Jaguars move on to the conference final.[1][2]
Jacksonville Jaguars walked out of Mile High Stadium as the team that survived a Divisional Round Denver Broncos will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 30-27. The game stayed within 3 points throughout, the kind of contest where every drive felt like a referendum and every defensive stop carried twice its usual weight. The final scoring play came from Broncos: Ed McCaffrey 15 yard pass from John Elway ( Jason Elam kick). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Jacksonville Jaguars move on to a conference championship.
Jacksonville Jaguars 30, Denver Broncos 27. Round: Divisional Round. Attendance: 75678. Q1: 2 scoring plays. Q2: 3 scoring plays. Q3: 1 scoring play. Q4: 4 scoring plays. Top performers:
- Mark Brunell: 245 pass yards on 18-of-29, 2 TD, 0 INT
- Natrone Means: 140 rush yards on 21 carries
- Jimmy Smith: 3 catches for 71 yards
Divisional Round, played at Mile High Stadium. Final: Jacksonville Jaguars 30, Denver Broncos 27, with Jacksonville Jaguars taking the result by 3. **First quarter**
- Broncos: Vaughn Hebron 1 yard rush
- Broncos: Shannon Sharpe 18 yard pass from John Elway (pass failed)
Second quarter
- Jaguars: Mike Hollis 46 yard field goal
- Jaguars: Natrone Means 8 yard rush ( Mike Hollis kick)
- Jaguars: Mike Hollis 42 yard field goal
Third quarter
- Jaguars: Keenan McCardell 31 yard pass from Mark Brunell ( Mike Hollis kick)
Fourth quarter
- Jaguars: Mike Hollis 22 yard field goal
- Broncos: Terrell Davis 2 yard rush ( Terrell Davis run)
- Jaguars: Jimmy Smith 16 yard pass from Mark Brunell ( Mike Hollis kick)
- Broncos: Ed McCaffrey 15 yard pass from John Elway ( Jason Elam kick)
Top performers
- Mark Brunell: 245 pass yards on 18-of-29, 2 TD, 0 INT
- Natrone Means: 140 rush yards on 21 carries
- Jimmy Smith: 3 catches for 71 yards
A 3-point margin in Divisional Round is the kind of result that defines reputations on both sidelines.
| Jaguars | Broncos | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 22 | 21 |
| Total Yards | 443 | 351 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 18/29 | 25/38 |
| Pass yards | 245 | 226 |
| Pass TD | 2 | 2 |
| Interceptions | 0 | 0 |
| Sacks taken | 2 | 1 |
| Sack yards lost | 5 | 1 |
| Net pass yards | 240 | 225 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 36 | 21 |
| Rush yards | 203 | 126 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 2 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 0 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties | 3 | 8 |
| Penalty yards | 18 | 64 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAX | |||||
| Mark Brunell | 18/29 | 245 | 2 | 0 | |
| DEN | |||||
| John Elway | 25/38 | 226 | 2 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAX | ||||
| Natrone Means | 21 | 140 | 1 | 21 |
| Mark Brunell | 7 | 44 | 0 | 29 |
| James Stewart | 8 | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| DEN | ||||
| Terrell Davis | 14 | 91 | 1 | 47 |
| John Elway | 5 | 30 | 0 | 19 |
| Vaughn Hebron | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAX | ||||
| Jimmy Smith | 3 | 71 | 1 | 44 |
| Keenan McCardell | 5 | 59 | 1 | 31 |
| Natrone Means | 4 | 46 | 0 | 29 |
| Willie Jackson | 3 | 35 | 0 | 19 |
| James Stewart | 1 | 25 | 0 | 25 |
| Pete Mitchell | 2 | 9 | 0 | 8 |
| DEN | ||||
| Anthony Miller | 5 | 67 | 0 | 18 |
| Ed McCaffrey | 5 | 54 | 1 | 15 |
| Shannon Sharpe | 2 | 31 | 1 | 18 |
| Terrell Davis | 7 | 24 | 0 | 6 |
| Dwayne Carswell | 2 | 18 | 0 | 10 |
| Aaron Craver | 3 | 17 | 0 | 7 |
| Rod Smith | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
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