The 2011 season was the Jacksonville Jaguars' 17th in the National Football League (NFL). It was also their ninth season under head coach Jack Del Rio, but he was fired on November 29 after going 3âÂÂ8 in the team's first 11 games and replaced on an interim basis by defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. Del Rio finished his tenure in Jacksonville with an overall 69âÂÂ73 record in the regular season and 1âÂÂ2 in the playoffs. He was also just 4 wins shy of surpassing his predecessor, Tom Coughlin, as the winningest head coach in Jaguars history. The Jaguars had hoped to improve on their 8âÂÂ8 record from 2010, but exceeded their loss total in Week 13, and were officially eliminated from postseason contention. With the 10th pick in the 2011 NFL draft, they selected quarterback Blaine Gabbert from the University of Missouri, and Gabbert would replace Luke McCown as the starting quarterback in Week 3.
The 2011 season saw a dramatic increase in production from the Jaguars defense. This was due in part to offseason acquisitions Dwight Lowery, Dawan Landry and Drew Coleman in the secondary; linebackers Clint Session and Paul Posluszny; and defensive linemen Matt Roth and John Chick. The development of players such as Terrance Knighton, Tyson Alualu, and Jeremy Mincey also helped improve the pass rush. Even after suffering a multitude of injuries, the Jaguars defense managed to finish with the sixth-ranked overall defense in the NFL (The team had finished 28th overall in 2010). Jacksonville's offense, however, was not as efficient. The Jaguars finished last in the NFL in passing yards and total offensive yards gained in 2011.
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
The loss ended the Jaguars' seven-game home winning streak against the Bengals and marked their first home defeat to Cincinnati since the 1995 season.