WATFORD, England — Throughout their massive locker room in the bowels of London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, several Jacksonville Jaguars players just stood around as if they needed more time to comprehend what just happened.
Ameer Abdullah’s 53-yard kickoff return set up Cam Little’s 57-yard field goal as time expired for a 19-17 win/escape act over the Philadelphia Eagles.
“That was my first walk-off win,” center Robert Hainsey said. “Those last two plays? That’s as cool of an ending as I’ve been a part of.”
But how about you, Jaguars fans?
It was improbable because the Jaguars had no timeouts and as Hainsey said, he was preparing for one of those wild and crazy end-of-game plays where the football is pitched around a half dozen times looking
for a miracle. Remember the last time that worked? Exactly.
With the help of Jaguars senior correspondent Brian Sexton, I came up with the six most improbable wins in team history. (Email me at rohalloran@gannett.com if you have more suggestions).
Nov. 10, 1996: Baltimore
The Jaguars entered the game 3-6 and were staring at 3-7 as the Ravens built leads of 17-3 (halftime), 27-16 (6:23 remaining) and 27-22 (3:50 remaining).
The Jaguars started a drive at their 34-yard line with 2:31 left and quarterback Mark Brunell went to work.
“We looked at each other and said, ‘We’re going to win, period,’” receiver Keenan McCardell said.
Thirteen yards to tight end Pete Mitchell. Twenty-five yards to receiver Jimmy Smith. Thirteen yards to McCardell. And a one-yard touchdown run by Brunell, followed by a two-point conversion pass to McCardell with 46 seconds left. It was the Jaguars’ first lead.
The Jaguars sealed the game on defensive lineman Clyde Simmons’ sack/forced fumble/fumble recovery of quarterback Vinny Testaverde with 13 seconds remaining.
Final: Jaguars 30, Ravens 26. The Jaguars would lose at Pittsburgh the next week, but win their final five games to reach the playoffs.
About that fifth win …
Dec. 22, 1996: Atlanta
The Jaguars’ mission was simple entering the 1996 season finale: Beat the 3-12 Falcons to clinch the franchise’s first postseason berth in their second season of existence. If they lost, they needed help.
The Jaguars led 16-3 with 8:11 left in the third quarter. But then a whole bunch of trouble.
Falcons touchdown runs by Eric Metcalf and Craig “Ironhead” Heyward sandwiching a 42-yard field goal by the Jaguars’ Mike Hollis cut the Jaguars’ lead to two points.
The Jaguars went three-and-out and punted back to Atlanta with 3:57 remaining. The Falcons converted two third-and-5 plays and reached the Jaguars’ 13 with eight seconds remaining. Future Pro Football Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen trotted on for a 30-yard field goal.
He missed wide left with four seconds left.
“We’ll take it any way we can get it,” owner Wayne Weaver said. “I had almost written it off.”
Final: Jaguars 19, Falcons 17. (The next time the Jaguars played a 19-17 game was against Philadelphia at Tottenham). The Jaguars won at Buffalo and at Denver in the playoffs before losing to New England in the AFC Championship Game.
Nov. 14, 2010: Houston
The Jaguars trailed the Texans 17-3 at halftime and appeared headed to a final-minute loss when Houston crossed the Jaguars’ 40-yard line. The score was tied at 24.
But on third down, safety Sean Considine forced tight end Joel Dreessen to fumble at the Jaguars’ 37 and linebacker Justin Durant recovered with eight seconds remaining.
Quarterback David Garrard threw 11 yards to tight end Marcedes Lewis with three seconds remaining. After a Houston penalty, the Jaguars were at midfield.
Garrard lofted a pass into the end zone that safety Glover Quin batted down … and right to receiver Mike Thomas, who bobbled it before securing the catch at the 1-yard line and scoring the touchdown.
“It was like being a little kid at Christmas,” Thomas said.
Final: Jaguars 31, Texans 24.
Nov. 15, 2015: At Baltimore
The Jaguars and Ravens entered with matching 2-6 records. Baltimore was a 5 1/2-point home favorite.
Baltimore took a 20-19 lead with 7:30 remaining. The Jaguars punted. The Ravens punted, but not after burning 2:49 of game clock.
The Jaguars took over at their 20 with 1:06 left and no timeouts. They reached the Ravens’ 49 with one second remaining and quarterback Blake Bortles, after stumbling, was sacked by defensive end Elvis Dumervil. Game over? No. Dumervil grabbed Bortles’ facemask and the 15-yard penalty meant an untimed down from the Ravens’ 35.
Jason Myers’ 53-yard field goal was good, snapping the Jaguars’ 13-game road losing streak.
“I’m speechless,” left tackle Luke Joeckel said.
A day later, the NFL said the Jaguars were not set before the Bortles-Demervil play and the 10-second run-off would have ended the game.
Final: Jaguars 22, Ravens 20.
Nov. 22, 2022: Baltimore
Yes, another Ravens game.
The first Doug Pederson Jaguars team was 3-7 coming out of their bye when they hosted the Ravens.
The game was sleepy through three quarters. The Ravens led 12-10 behind four Justin Ticker field goals.
The fourth quarter was mayhem. The teams combined for 33 points and the lead changed hands three times.
Baltimore took a 27-20 lead on quarterback Lamar Jackson’s 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Josh Oliver and subsequent two-point conversion catch by tight end Mark Andrews.
The Jaguars were backed up to their 14-yard line after Calais Campbell sacked quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
No matter. Lawrence had completions of 16, 10, 17, 8, 1 and 29 yards to reach the Ravens’ 10 with 18 seconds remaining. He threw a 10-yard touchdown to Marvin Jones and Pederson opted to go for the win and receiver Zay Jones scored the two-point conversion catch.
Tucker’s 67-yard field goal was short as time expired.
“It’s evidence of what we can be, what we’re capable of and (it’s) motivation to get even better,” tight end Evan Engram said.
Final: Jaguars 28, Ravens 27. The Jaguars would lose the following week at Detroit before winning their final five games to win the AFC South.
Oct. 11, 2026: Philadelphia (London)
Jake Elliott’s 48-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining gave the Eagles a 17-16 lead. The Jaguars had no timeouts and, seemingly, no hope.
But coach Nick Sirianni opted to have Elliott kick the ball in play and Abdullah returned it to the Eagles’ 39, setting up Little’s game-winner.
One for the books, folks.
Final: Jaguars 19, Eagles 17.
Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays ("First Coast Football Friday" 4-7 p.m.).
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Add Eagles game to most improbable wins in Jacksonville Jaguars history
