Few Jacksonville Jaguars have been as proud to be members of the franchise as Maurice Jones-Drew.
From his electric rookie season to his final run with the team, Jones-Drew was one of the most influential Jaguars of his generation and is still one of the most appreciated and beloved former players today.
As such, it is little surprise to see Jones-Drew go for bat for the Jaguars' fan base in a recent NFL.com list of the fan bases most deserving of a Super Bowl title.
"Jags fans have experienced plenty of ups and downs since 1995 (the year the franchise began play), with the team making only two postseason appearances in the last 15 seasons," Jones-Drew wrote.
"Stints of postseason glory have been separated by stretches of losing seasons, but optimism is higher than ever heading into 2023. The franchise and fan base finally experienced sweet success last season, when Doug Pederson, Trevor Lawrence and Co. downed the Los Angeles Chargers in epic comeback fashion on Super Wild Card Weekend, then nearly knocked off the Chiefs at Arrowhead in the Divisional Round. The Jags and their following are hungrier than ever for a title."
Jones-Drew spent his first eight NFL seasons with the Jaguars, compiling 8,071 rushing yards, 2,873 receiving yards and 79 touchdowns. He was selected to the three Pro Bowls, including in 2011, when he led the NFL in rushing. He holds Jacksonville's franchise record for rushing touchdowns and ranks second on the team's all-time rushing list.
Jones-Drew was also a member of a team he believes should have already won a Super Bowl: the 2007 Jaguars squad that knocked off the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road in the Wild Card Round before falling to the New England Patriots.
“I’m in Jacksonville, it was 2007. We used to have, they called it a Rookie Tuesdays and it'd be at a rookie’s house," Jones-Drew said in 2021. "Everyone would come over, we’d gamble, watch TV hang out, just have a good get-together. We tried to keep that tradition going after, but that 2007 team - we should have went to the Super Bowl."
"We were right there in New England, we had ‘em beat. Right. One play away," Jones-Drew said. "But what I loved about it was John Henderson opened a club. We'd always meet at the club on Sunday after the games. Right. We went 11-5 that year and beat Pittsburgh twice in Pittsburgh, but it was a family-type atmosphere."
"But what broke us apart was money, right. We needed guys to get paid. They didn't get paid, they ended up paying guys from outside that ruined it, but that year was special," Jones-Drew said.
"That 2007 team, like we had it and we just ... we just messed it up right at the end but it was a great time.”
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