Browns have colorful history against Jaguars

--Jacksonville was the final opponent of the former Browns franchise on Christmas Eve 1995. A week after saying goodbye to fans in Cleveland with a victory over the Bengals, the Browns lost to the Jaguars 24-21.

--The Browns returned to the NFL as an expansion team in 1999 and had another memorable game against Jacksonville. They were playing the Jaguars on Dec. 19 that year when referee Jeff Triplette threw a penalty flag through the facemask of Orlando Brown, hitting Brown in the eye.

Brown was so angry he charged back onto the field and leveled Triplette. Brown was suspended, but it didn't matter because the eye injury kept him out of football for three years. The Browns lost that game, 24-14.

--Two years later, the Browns played another bizarre game against the Jaguars. It will always be known as Bottlegate in Cleveland.

Late in the game, Tim Couch threw a pass to Quincy Morgan around the Jacksonville 20. The pass was ruled complete. The Browns hurried to get off the next play, but just as Couch took the snap, the referee waved his arm to stop the play, saying he was buzzed from the replay booth. The play was reviewed and ruled incomplete. The Browns turned the ball over on downs.

Fans began hurling bottles filled with water and beer onto the field in protest. Players and officials ran off the field, fearing for their safety. The NFL office in New York ordered the game be completed. Players returned, some wearing jerseys that weren't their own, and played out the final moments of a game the Browns lost, 15-10.

--The Browns and Jaguars played in Jacksonville last season. Nothing strange occurred, but it was a heartbreaker for Cleveland nonetheless. The Browns gave up 75 yards on a screen pass to Maurice Jones-Drew. Joe Haden tackled Jones-Drew at the 1, and then Jones-Drew scored a touchdown with 1:06 left to give the Jaguars a 24-20 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS
12 -- Offensive touchdowns scored by the Browns in nine games this season.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"Football is so team-oriented, more than some of the other sports out there, and because of that kind of emotional almost spiritual commitment to it, it makes it tough and makes the losses really, really tough to swallow." -- Linebacker Scott Fujita.

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