Chiefs vs Jaguars Game Day Newsletter 3Sept8Chiefs_Layout_JadDigitalMag | Page 32

TWENTY-FIVE SEASONS,
TWENTY-FIVE GAMES
In Their Own Words
The Jaguars’ 1997 regular-season opener was
big for multiple reasons. It was a chance for
the Jaguars to start showing the run to the AFC
Championship game the previous season was no
fl uke. For Johnson, it was fi nally a chance to start
after being a backup for two seasons.
Johnson: “That was crazy. We were playing in
old Memorial Stadium, and I just remember
how excited I was for my opportunity. I hadn’t
played in two years. I had played in preseason,
but it was my fi rst real start. I was super-
excited and super-focused. I couldn’t wait for my
opportunity.”
Johnson’s hot start gave the Jaguars a 14-0
lead. The Ravens tied the game 14-14 early
in the second quarter, and it was close after
that. The Ravens took a 24-21 lead on Vinny
Testaverde’s third touchdown pass of the game
– a 54-yarder to wide receiver Michael Jackson
– and Johnson’s ankle forced him from much of
the next series. Third-team quarterback Steve
Matthews drove the Jaguars to the Ravens 33,
but the drive stalled. Johnson played the rest
of the game, with the ankle injury limiting his
mobility.
Johnson: “It hurt. It completely wrecked it. I had
one [a high-ankle sprain] in college and it was
the only two games I missed in college. You don’t
understand how much a high-ankle sprain hurts.
It’s ridiculous.”
Still, Johnson was determined to play. He was
carted from the fi eld for X-rays early in the third
quarter, but missed just part of one series.
The Ravens took a 27-21 lead with a 25-yard fi eld
goal by kicker Matt Stover with 8:46 remaining.
Johnson immediately drove the Jaguars 80
yards, moving the offense deep into Ravens
territory with passes of 23 and nine yards to
McCardell and 23 yards to Mitchell.
On fi rst-and-10 from the Ravens 28 – one
play after the 23-yarder to Mitchell – Johnson
completed the biggest pass of his Jaguars
career: a 28-yard touchdown to his left to Smith
that split the safety and cornerback and allowed
Smith to run the last few steps into the end zone.
Means: “Rob Johnson! He had a throw through
Cover-2 that was awesome. He made some
throws in that game where guys were like, ‘holy
----.’ He fi t it into a window, and everyone was
like, ‘----.’’
The Jaguars needed more than Johnson against
the Ravens. They needed big defensive plays late
and got them, stopping the Ravens three times
after Smith’s go-ahead touchdown. Cornerback
Deon Figures intercepted Testaverde with 2:01
remaining. After the Ravens recovered a fumble
by Means, the Ravens had a fi rst down at the
Jaguars 42. Testaverde was sacked once by
Jaguars linebacker Eddie Robinson, then threw
incomplete on fourth-and-18 from the 50 to
secure victory for the Jaguars.
For more information on the
Jaguars’ 25th season celebration, please visit
www.jaguars.com/25years.
“That was crazy. We were playing in old Memorial Stadium and I just remember
how excited I was for my opportunity. I hadn’t played in two years. I had played in
preseason, but it was my fi rst real start. I was super-excited and super-focused. I
couldn’t wait for my opportunity.”
– QB Rob Johnson