Before the NFL realigned their divisions,perhaps the Baltimore Ravens biggest rivalry was with the Jacksonville Jaguars. These were two of the best teams ten years ago in what was then the AFC Central. The games were always close and hard-fought (sound familiar), ad for the most part, the Jaguars always found a way to win these battles. In fact, from the Ravens inaugural season of 1996 through 1998, the Jags went 8-0 against our Ravens, playing them twice a season, with five of the eight games decided by a field goal or less (sound even more familiar?).
That changed in the 2000 season, which saw Baltimore sweep Jacksonville on their way to their Super Bowl title. In the first game, the Ravens came back from a 23-7 halftime deficit to win the game 39-36 in the final minute on a Tony Banks to Shannon Sharpe TD pass.
Since then, the Ravens have pretty much owned the Jaguars, winning seven of the last eight, including the most recent 27-7 victory in 2008. Next week's game is on Monday Night Football and while the Ravens are flying high at 4-1, the Jaguars are stumbling along at 1-5 with a rookie QB, having lost their last five games, including the past two to the Ravens AFC North rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals.
For more on recent happenings on the Jacksonville Jaguars, head on over to SB Nation's blog, Big Cat Country.