Mark Brunell is conducting a two-minute drill deep within his own half. He passes most of the seventy-eight yards to the goal line, except for a nifty quarterback draw that nearly finishes the drive.

His first pass hits the ground five yards in front of the receiver. A wide-open end drops another. Each time Brunell shakes it off, returning to the same side of the field with first down strikes. After a penalty nullifies one leaping grab by a wide receiver, Brunell nails another receiver on the sideline.

Next, it's a running back coming over the middle to convert a quick flip into a twenty-five yard gain. After a false-start penalty, Brunell scoots fifteen yards closer. He closes by throwing to the same back at the end line, faking a run to lure the defensive backs out of position.

One minute fifty-seven seconds and seven points. Only this day it will be too little, too late. The Jaguars still trail 21-28. Cincinnati runs out the clock as two Jacksonville players head for the hospital after an onsides-kickoff collision. Their wounds symbolise the Jaguars, limping back to Florida at three wins, six loses for the season so far.

Inside the bowels of the stadium, the opponents are a study in contrasts. Winners just twice, the Cincinnati Bengals are on the rise under a new head coach. The mercurial Jacksonville Jaguars have just suffered their fifth loss in the fourth quarter.

With the media, Brunell remains under siege. Before donning an ice pack to soothe his battered left arm, reporters pepper him with questions about incomplete passes and the interception that led to Cincinnati's clincher. 'Do you sense gloom during the game?' one reporter asks. 'No, I haven't felt that at all in the game,' he replies, calm despite the disappointment etch ed in his face. 'I go out there and give my best. My job is to lead the team. I'm the quarterback.' 'What's this team lacking?' fires another. 'What's it going to take to put you over the top?' 'I wish I could tell you,' Brunell responds, listing off problems with offense, consistency and missed opportunities. 'We've got the talent and the ability, we've just got to do it.'

This scene took place during the 1996 season. It was a year capped by a stirring comeback that earned Mark Brunell a spot among the premier quarterbacks of the National Football League (NFL).

Although it ranks as a mere memory next to later successes, it's still worth noting. After all, that year nobody did it in bigger fashion. Not since Major League Baseball's 1951 New York Giants snatched the National League pennant did a come-from-behind playoff drive so capture the sporting fans’ imaginations.

Following that day in Cincinnati, Jacksonville kicked, scratched and clawed out six wins by an average of four points, then added a pair of field-goal-wide playoff triumphs. Suddenly, the Jaguars were no longer a relatively new expansion entry hoping for respectability, but a team to watch in the NFL.

Months later the 183cm, 97kg quarterback didn't remember any stirring coaches' remarks or playerinspired pep talks. He simply says that each man got tired of losing and took it upon himself to improve.

Even New England's goal-line interception that snuffed out their Super Bowl hopes in the AFC Championship game didn't dim the valiant comeback. 'Initially, it was very disappointing, knowing that we had gotten so close,' says Brunell. 'But looking at it now, I'm very proud of what we accomplished. I don't have any bad feelings. I know that we did a lot better and won more games than people expected.'

Although 1996 was Brunell's fourth year in the NFL, it was his first full season as a starter. Trailing only one quarterback in passing attempts, he threw nearly four kilometres, the best in the league. He also had the best average gain per pass, highest completion percentage and the fourth-best quarterback rating. Yet for Mark, personal statistics take a back seat to team success.

'The goal of every quarterback is to win - to lead his team to victory,' he says. 'If a team wins and is successful, then individual goals pretty much take care of themselves. As far as touchdowns and passing yards, I really don't have any specific goals.'

Brunell was traded to the Jaguars from the bench of the Green Bay Packers in 1995, as the first purchase of the new expansion team. The Jacksonville coach, Tom Coughlin, says: 'I had scouted him and felt he was a young man who had great potential. I knew he had character, toughness and was a competitor. I thought he would be a young man we could build our team around.'

His field awareness, performance and accuracy have all improved since then, the coach says, although his greatest skill is the ability to find a gap and run into it.

For Coughlin, however, it's the quarterback's character which is vitally important. 'It goes along with leadership and virtue and the fact that others, when they see the genuineness of the individual, will put their faith in him. Mark's very strong in that category.'

His teammates agree. 'You can't be a good leader without good character,' says offensive tackle Tony Boselli, who earns accolades for his expert quarterback protection. 'Mark's a man of his word, a man of integrity. When he says he'll do something, you know it's going to get done. That's what you need in a quarterback.'

Stamina is another characteristic of Mark Brunell. Jim Lambright saw it when he was defensive coordinator with the University of Washington Huskies, admiring how he rehabilitated from surgery to take his game to a higher level. The Huskies' former head coach also watched as he devoted time to strengthening player relationships and volunteering for charitable activities, while leading the team to four Rose Bowl appearances.

Brunell's character was further recognised in November 1998, when his Jacksonville teammates voted him as the Ed Block Courage Award recipient. Each year the Ed Block Courage Award is presented to a player who overcomes adversity on the field, possesses strong character and a will to endure life's trials, and who continuously strives for excellence on and off the field.

The quarterback grew up in Santa Maria, on the central coast of California. 'Sports were a big part of my life growing up,' he says. 'It seems we were always playing either baseball, basketball or football - depending on what time of year it was. There was never an off-season. My brother and I were constantly in the front yard shooting hoops, hitting ground balls or throwing passes to each other. Whatever sport we were in, we gave 100%, had a good attitude and never quit.'

'In high school I enjoyed baseball and basketball, but football was the most exciting sport to me. After my sophomore year, I made it a goal of mine to get a football scholarship to a Division One college. That was my dream. Early on it seemed to be a long shot, but in my senior year it looked like a possibility. In February 1988, I signed a letter of intent to become a Husky, at the University of Washington. As it turned out, it was one of the best decisions I ever made.'

While growing up, Mark wasn't solely committed to sports, he also got involved with the youth group at a local church. 'Although I was committed to the group,' he says, 'I really didn't know the Lord. The problem was that I never saw how my sin grieved God and, consequently, I never repented. It was more important for me to please other people than to please God. I was afraid of what my friends at school would say if they knew what I believed. In high school, because of my contradiction, I seemed to live two lives. When I was at church or at a youth group function, I acted like a perfect Christian. I said and did all the right things. I thought I was fooling the people at church, but I definitely was not fooling God. When I was at school I was just like any other student. It was important for me to be popular, so I did everything I could to keep my cool reputation. On the playing field I was considered a leader, but off the field I was very much a follower. Whatever the in crowd was doing, I made sure I was right there.'

Mark Brunell's time at the University of Washington, in Seattle, marked a crucial point in his life. 'Before leaving for college, I was both nervous and excited about being on my own. I had never been away from home for more than a week while I was growing up, so this was a new experience. Unfortunately, being on my own was something I was not ready to handle. Without having my parents there to set boundaries, I made some bad decisions. The worst decision I made was not finding a church. I went to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings and the chapel services, but I never went to be challenged. I only went to make myself feel good. I had no desire to read the Bible or pray. I was playing games with God. I still was saying all the right things, but I was full of pride and cared only about myself. Jesus was not the Lord of my life. By the end of my freshman year, my lifestyle away from Jesus began to catch up with me. I knew the way I was living was wrong. I knew that I needed to be serving God and not myself.'

Around this time, one of Mark's teammates invited him to a Christian meeting being organised by one of the campus groups. 'The meeting was held across the street from the Washington campus. At first I was very uncomfortable. I knew only one person in the whole building. I remember thinking, "What in the world am I doing here?" I really wanted to just get up and leave.'

Fortunately he stayed, and heard the speaker talk about how God had a plan for his life. He heard that part of that plan involved him turning to God as his Lord and Saviour. This was no different from what Mark had heard in high school, but this night it made a profound difference.

'In high school,' he says, 'I was willing to make Jesus Christ my Saviour, but I was not willing to let him be my Lord. I liked the fact that I was going to heaven, but in the meantime I refused to let him be in control of my life. That night I found out what I suspected, you can't have it both ways. You can’t have him be Saviour and not Lord. That night I decided that I wanted Jesus to have control of my life.'

Since that time, the quarterback's football career has turned into his childhood dream, but sport is not what gives his life meaning. 'If football ended for me right now,' he says, 'I know my life would still have meaning because of the love Jesus Christ has shown me.'

'It may sound as if my life has been problem free since I've become a Christian,' he adds. 'But it hasn't. I have gone through difficult times and have had some setbacks, but God has always restored me. His love is not given to us on the basis of performance. He gives it freely. God wants nothing more than to have a relationship with you and me.'

While he realises that believing in God is no guarantee of success on the football field, for Mark Brunell the purposes of serving him go far beyond the goal posts. The NFL is a mission field in itself. Many players are hurting after buying the big lie that they need more money and fame, only to feel empty when they learn that isn't true, he says.

The opportunity to share his faith doesn't stop at the stadium, however. 'I want to be used by God to make a difference in the lives of people. God has blessed me so much by allowing me to play in the NFL. In having this platform, I have been able to tell others about Jesus Christ. That is the most important thing I can do.'

Article courtesy of Ken Walker and Peter Furst