Jaguars back home after storm kept plane on tarmac 7 hours

ByMICHAEL DIROCCO
January 6, 2025, 8:19 AM

The  Jacksonville Jaguars arrived home early Monday morning after the winter storm that snarled travel across the central United States delayed their return from Indianapolis.

The team's charter was delayed for seven hours, with players and staff remaining on the plane on the tarmac at Indianapolis International Airport after Sunday's 26-23 loss to the  Colts. The chartered flight touched down in Jacksonville at 2:50 a.m. ET Monday morning.

Indianapolis was among the cities under a winter storm warning into Monday. The National Weather Service forecast called for heavy snow at times, an accumulation of 2 to 5 inches, freezing drizzle and wind gusts of up to 40 mph in central Indiana.

The Jaguars (4-13) had hoped to get out of Indianapolis before the worst of the storm, but Sunday's game went to overtime and caused enough of a delay that players, coaches and staff got stuck.

The charter flight finally was cleared to leave at 1 a.m. EST and landed in Jacksonville two hours later. It delayed owner Shad Khan's scheduled meeting with coach Doug Pederson to decide their path moving forward.

The Kansas City Chiefs decided to remain overnight in Denver following their game against the  Broncos because of the storm.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.