JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When a team starts the season 0-3 somebody is going to be the one to take the blame. In the NFL perhaps more than any other league, that person is often the quarterback. Only Tom Brady had more touchdown passes than Blake Bortles in 2015. There was a hope and expectation that the Jaguars signal caller would build on last year’s performance.
Through three games that hasn’t happened and Bortles is the first to admit it.
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“We had unbelievable field position and continued to tremendously underachieve as an offense,” said Bortles following Sunday’s 19-17 loss to Baltimore. “That’s nobody’s fault outside of mine, I believe. I think Olly (offensive coordinator Greg Olson) called some plays that put us in good positions and we didn’t get it done. We had way too many turnovers, played careless with the ball.”
Bortles has raised his completion percentage this season but turnovers continue to be a problem. Through three games he has a TD:Turnover ratio of 5:7. During Monday’s press conference Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said that their 0-3 start doesn’t fall on one person and that Bortles isn’t lacking confidence.
“He’s hurting there’s no doubt about it,” said Bradley. “He puts the weight on his shoulders. Like any quarterback he’s going to be his own worst critic. When there’s criticism he’s going to accept that. He knows that he wants to play better and give more to this team.”
Outside of the turnovers the Jaguars lack of a running game hasn’t made things easier on Bortles. So far this season Jacksonville is averaging a meager 2.8 yards per carry. That lack of production takes away one of the Jaguars greatest weapons, which is the play action pass.
Opposing teams haven’t had to respect the run and that has limited Bortles opportunities to attack down the field.
In three games the Jaguars have run a total of 194 offensive plays. Only six qualify as a big plays (runs over 10 yards and passes over 25 yards), which is tied with Minnesota for last in the league.
At this rate the Jaguars are on pace for 32 big plays. Last season they were ninth in the NFL with 83.
“I think for him, he looks and there’s missed opportunities for explosive plays,” said Bradley. “We had three explosive plays on offense. That’s not who we are. When you take a look at them, it’s not like the routes were not designed opportunities for explosive plays. We just missed them.”