Have the memories of Minshew Mania faded? Here's a refresher on his two seasons in Duuuval
Gardner Minshew is returning to Jacksonville — where Minshew Mania began in 2019 when he was a rookie quarterback for the Jaguars.
Minshew will start on Sunday for the Indianapolis Colts (1 p.m., CBS) after last week's injury to Colts starter Anthony Richardson. It will be the first time an ex-Jaguar quarterback has played against his old team since Blaine Gabbert started for Tennessee in 2018 and the ninth time overall.
Minshew was drafted in the sixth round from Washington State in 2019 and came to rookie mini-camp to compete for the No. 2 spot behind Nick Foles. Minshew was then forced into action in the opening game against the Kansas City Chiefs when Foles was injured.
With a swashbuckling style of play and his flowing locks and Fu Manchu mustache, the native of Brandon, Miss., captured the hearts of Jaguars' fans. The Jags went 6-10 that season but they were 6-6 when Minshew started and he threw for 3,271 yards, 21 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
It didn't last long. After he led the Jaguars to a victory over the Colts to open the 2020 season, it spiraled downhill with 15 consecutive losses. Minshew injured his thumb (and failed to inform the team, putting him on the outs with coach Doug Marrone) and eventually went 1-8 as a starter.
With that 1-15 season, the Jaguars earned the top overall draft pick — which they used to draft Trevor Lawrence. The handwriting was on the wall, despite Minshew getting first-team reps during the preseason and he was traded to Philadelphia on Aug. 28, 2021.
With Lawrence weathering a difficult rookie season under coach Urban Meyer, then coming back to lead the Jaguars to the AFC South title and a playoff victory, Minshew memories may be fading for Jaguars fans. Here are 10 of them:
1. Minshew's promise to Khan
Before Minshew was drafted he made an impression on Jaguars owner Shad Khan and team vice-president Tom Coughlin when they interviewed him during the NFL combine. When Khan mentioned to Minshew that almost all of the analysts said he would go undrafted, Minshew responded: "OK, I know the book on me. I’m too short. I don’t have the arm strength. I’m too slow. But I won 11 [expletive] games last year [for Washington State]."
Khan later said: “They won’t say anything, they’ve been programmed. They’ll answer, ‘Yes, sir … no, sir … blah, blah, blah. Gardner was the opposite of that. He was just as loose and relaxed, but a million times more prepared."
2. An immediate impression
When Kansas City's Chris Jones knocked Foles out of the opening game of the 2019 season, Minshew had to play far sooner than anyone expected.
Minshew completed his first eight passes, for 123 yards. He finished by going 22 of 25 for 275 yards in the Jags' 40-26 loss, with a 15-yard TD pass to Dede Westbrook.
3. Late heroics in Houston
Minshew got his first NFL start the following week at Houston, and the offense floundered miserably in the first three quarters. Trailing 13-3, Minshew found the spark and led two late scoring drives by going 10 of 16 for 126 yards.
He completed 6 of 7 passes for 86 yards on a drive that ended with Josh Lambo's field goal, then hit on 5 of 9 passes for 36 yards and scrambled twice for 22 yards on a scoring that ended with a 4-yard TD pass to D.J. Chark with 30 seconds left, cutting the score to 13-12. One of his scrambles, for 18 yards, converted a fourth-and-10 from the Texans' 31.
However, Marrone opted for a two-point conversion instead of kicking the extra point for overtime, and a run by Leonard Fournette was stuffed inches short of the goal line.
4. "Do it for Uncle Rico"
With Minshew's signature civilian look — jean shorts, t-shirts, headband — Washington State fans began to notice that he bore a striking resemblance to "Uncle Rico," the character in the movie "Napoleon Dynamite" who bragged that he could throw a football "a quarter-mile ... over them mountains."
When the chatter about the Uncle Rico resemblance followed Minshew to the NFL, ESPN jumped on it for one of the most viral moments of the 2019 NFL season.
Jon Gries, the actor who played Uncle Rico, was tracked down and flown to Jacksonville, where he filmed a piece for ESPN's pregame show. The two met at EverBank Stadium, where they both threw a ball over them mountains (actually the scoreboard, with the help of cutaway shots). The piece ended at Jacksonville Beach with Uncle Rico staring at the ocean and imploring Minshew to "do it for Uncle Rico ... do it for all the dreamers."
5. Thursday night victory
Minshew won his first NFL game on a Thursday night, 20-7 over the Tennessee Titans. Minshew threw first-quarter TD passes for James O'Shaughnessy and Chark and completed 20 of 30 for 204 yards. The defense did the rest with nine sacks and holding Derrick Henry to 44 yards.
6. Surgery on live TV
When Minshew appeared on WJXT's Mark Brunell Show at Sneakers sports bar in Jacksonville Beach, a fan volunteered to have Minshew take a pair of scissors and turn his jeans into jorts — while the fan was still wearing them. Minshew proved to have a steady hand and the jorts were created without any bloodshed.
7. Bucking the Broncos
Minshew's single signature play as a Jaguars is a 7-yard TD pass to Ryquell Armstead in the third quarter of a game at Denver. On a third-and-five play, Minshew took the snap and then ducked three would-be tacklers after the pocket collapsed, and found Armstead in the end zone.
Minshew (19 of 33, 213 yards) led a drive that ended in Lambo's game-winning field goal to win 26-24 by completing two passes for 49 yards after the Jags took over with 1:32 left.
8. Ruining the Raiders' last ride in Oakland
The Jaguars had the dubious honor of being the final visiting team to play the Oakland Raiders in Oakland-Amameda Coliseum on Dec. 15, 2019.
It took another miracle finish by Minshew to spoil the Raiders' final game in the decrepit but historic stadium.
Trailing 16-3 late in the third quarter, Minshew directed scoring drives on the Jaguars' last three possessions, a field goal by Lambo and TD passes of 6 and 4 yards to Chris Conley. The latter came with 31 seconds left in the game for a 20-16 victory. Minshew was 13 of 17 for 128 yards and gained 24 yards on four rushes on those last three drives.
9. Dominating the Colts, 2019 edition
Minshew erased a 20-14 halftime deficit with TD passes to Armstead and Dede Westbrook to lead the Jaguars to a 38-20 victory at home in the final game of the season. He completed 27 of 29 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns.
10. Dominating the Colts, 2020 edition
The Jaguars faced the Colts at home to open the 2020 season and Minshew was almost flawless, completing 19 of 20 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-20 victory. But it was his final victory in a Jaguars' uniform as the team went on to lose 15 in a row — setting them up to seal Minshew's future with the drafting of Lawrence.
In two seasons with the Jaguars, Minshew threw for 5,530 yards, 46 touchdowns, 15 interceptions and completed 62.9 percent of his passes. He had a passer rating of 93.2.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Gardner Minshew's two years with the Jaguars was filled with magic moments
