The Jaguars mascot’s bungee jump backflip went wrong and he got stuck

The Jacksonville Jaguars are perennially one of the saddest franchises in professional sports. The Jags have made the NFL playoffs just once over the last 14 seasons. There was hope coming into this year with No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence taking over at quarterback and head coach Urban Meyer making the jump to the NFL, but instead things have been bleak for Jacksonville since the very start of the campaign. It probably shouldn’t be a surprise that this is one of the worst teams in the NFL once again.

One of the few bright spots the Jags can count on every year is having one of the NFL’s most entertaining mascots — Jaxson de Ville. The mascot often begins games by doing a backflip from the top of the stadium while tied to a bungee cord. When it works how it’s supposed to, he lands on midfield and the crowd gets hyped just before kickoff. Jaxson de Ville has had this stunt down pat for more than a decade, and he’s even traveled to London to do it.

As the Jags took on the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Jaxson de Ville again began the game with a bungee cord flip — only this time, he got caught and had to be lowered into the stands for safety.

You can watch the flip here. There is not a more fitting metaphor for the last decade of Jags football.

Jags fans took photos of the mascot in the stands once he was lowered to safety:

The Jags lost again, 21-14, to a Falcons team that entered the game as losers of three of its last four. Lawrence has shown flashes of promise, but it’s clear he can’t be the franchise’s savior without a lot of help. That probably starts with a new head coach and another high draft pick ahead of next year.

Whether Meyer is back for next season or not, the Jaguars need to get on their mascot’s level as a whole. Just please don’t accidentally kill him in the process.