JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Blaine Gabbert and the Arizona Cardinals did just enough to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars yesterday in an absolute thriller.
The Cardinals were in control most of the game until both the Jaguars offense and defense made huge plays in the fourth quarter. It was Phil Dawson's 57-yard game winning field goal that was the crushing blow.
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There is a lot to get mad about watching the end of that football game. Many are upset about the late Bortles' pick to Tyraan Mathieu that stopped a drive that could've won the football game. I wasn't so quick to get that upset. And neither should our fans. Here it is plain and simple: Blake Bortles, at this stage of his career, is what he is. When the game is on the line and your quarterback has to make a play for you, Blake is likely to make a critical mistake. He just is. We've seen it too many times. Now that doesn't mean he's going to stay there. He can improve and probably will.
But right now our football team can't be in a situation where we have to play from behind at the end of the game. Opposing defenses know that to beat the Jaguars offense, you must make Blake throw the football. In games that we have lost or it's been close, Blake has thrown too many times. I'm still waiting for that game when Blake puts the team on his shoulders and wins one at the end. It'll happen at some point.
Fans are also upset about Doug Marrone's apparent time mismanagement with under two minutes in the fourth quarter. People want to put the blame on the head coach for this one. I disagree. Sure, if he had to do it all over again, he might've called a run on second down. This would've kept the clock running and probably would not have given the ball back to Arizona with enough time.
But Doug Marrone didn't drop the perfectly thrown football from Blake Bortles on second down. Marqise Lee did. If Lee does his job, the clock keeps running and just maybe he gets enough yards to get a drive going. I'm simply not going to put all the blame on a coach when a player can't make an easy play in a critical situation. I know many will disagree with me on this, but that's okay. Players need to make plays especially when the game is on the line.
If we want to get mad at something, there is plenty to get mad at besides a late interception and poor play call on the last drive. How about the fact that our run game struggled? When your quarterback is BY FAR your best running back on the day, something might be wrong and something is definitely wrong with Leonard Fournette. He needs to get healthy soon. 25 yards on the ground by your best player on offense isn't going to work. How about getting upset at the fact that our offense had a total of 219 yards?
We are in a race to get to the playoffs and that is unacceptable. We need to find a way to generate more yards, points and time of possession. Also, one reception for Marqise Lee? He's our best receiver right now. Defensively, how in the heck does a Blaine Gabbert led team beat us? Two touchdown passes against the best in the NFL? And how is it that we couldn't get much pressure on him except for the end of the game? OK, I know I sound negative. There is certainly a lot to get excited about. But when you lose, none of that really matters, does it?
Colts are next in the Bank. 8-4 is only a week away. Go Jaguars!