Jacksonville Jaguars: Blake Bortles plays huge role in Week 2 victory

Blake Bortles led the Jacksonville Jaguars to a huge win over the New England Patriots, 31-20, in Week 2 with a fantastic performance.

Jacksonville Jaguars starting quarterback Blake Bortles is the one of the most criticized NFL signal-callers in the league. Many people questioned the Jaguars giving him a contract extension, especially with the available free agent quarterbacks hitting the market. However, he played a huge role in defeating the New England Patriots, 31-20, in Week 2.

News broke that Leonard Fournette would not play. The game was thus put on the throwing arm of Bortles without his power running back. He came out firing and did not cool off.

Bortles threw touchdown passes on the Jaguars’ first two drives. He threw to Donte Moncrief to open the scoring barrage. Bortles then hit Keelan Cole for a 24-yard touchdown pass to jump out to a 14-0 lead.

Jacksonville lead, 21-3, at halftime, after Bortles threw a touchdown pass to Austin Serferian-Jenkins. Josh Lambo kicked a third quarter field goal of 28 yards for a third quarter lead of 24-3. New England finally answered with 10 points to make the game closer at 24-13. Then, lightning struck in the middle of the fourth quarter.

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Bortles threw to a wide-open Dede Westbrook on a short crossing route over the middle. Corey Grant and Cole made key blocks to spring Westbrook for a game clinching 61-yard touchdown reception. New England scored late to make the final score 31-20.

Sunday’s victory showcased the game management skills of Bortles. Although he threw one interception, Bortles’ feet helped as much as his arm. He ran six times for 35 yards. Bortles threw 45 passes due to the absence of Fournette. He completed 29 for 377 yards with four touchdowns. His quarterback rating was an impressive 111.1.

Most of all, Bortles was able to get the ball into the hands of T.J. Yeldon and Corey Grant out of the backfield. Yeldon caught two passes for 13 yards. Grant caught six passes for 56 yards. In the absence of the power running game, Jacksonville utilized the swing passes like running plays in the West Coast offense.

Don’t expect Bortles to suddenly silence his critics. However, he is becoming an efficient game manager. It’s going to be great to see him further develop as the season progresses.