JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – I'm not going to call it a Christmas miracle, but it might be close. The Jaguars enjoyed a near-perfect day as they beat the Tennessee Titans 38-17. We witnessed a complete day with the Jaguar defense AND the Jaguar offense executing at a season-best level.
Most impressive was the play of Blake Bortles. His numbers told the story -- more than 300 passing yards with a touchdown pass AND a touchdown catch. He looked comfortable and confident. He made good decisions with the football and in an un-Bortles-like way, he didn’t turn the ball over. It begs the question: where was this in the first 15 weeks of the season?
In his defense, we saw it at times -- a quarter here, a quarter there, but, on Saturday, Blake was excellent for four quarters.
Against the Titans, we saw what Blake can be. One more performance like this, and perhaps the questions of whether he is our future will be put to rest. Either way, Bortles is certainly going to get the chance to prove he is the quarterback for years to come.
For me, the jury is still out. Regardless of how this year plays out, the 2016 season was not good for our quarterback. He certainly has the talent and the ability. It will be interesting to see how he develops under a new head coach and another offensive system.
The offense wasn’t the only bright spot of Saturday’s win, defense, once again, showed up. Marcus Mariota never got into a rhythm and was simply off all day. It was a bad day in the air, and it was a bad day on the ground for the Titans. The highlight was certainly the pick-six for Jalen Ramsey. Get used to seeing a lot more of those in the years ahead.
PHOTOS: Titans vs. Jaguars
UNCUT: Doug Marrone post-game | Blake Bortles post-game
Congrats to Doug Marrone, who clearly made a case for having his name in the running for the new head coach opening. Don’t be surprised if he's in the mix. Marrone has head coaching experience at the college and pro level and has done well everywhere he has been. I was with Marrone in New Orleans where he was the offensive coordinator, and in charge of the offensive line. He's a good coach and will certainly be a head coach in the NFL again.
So what was the difference today? Most fans would probably say it was the departure of Gus Bradley. In no way do I believe that. Today was a very good day for the home team. Let’s not forget it’s the same team that entered today at 2-12. I'm looking forward to seeing if this Marrone-led team can do the same against the Colts next Sunday.