Well a rookie's gonna learn, right? Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars had good looks from the rookie from UCF. He was 29-37 for 253 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions in a showing that tells a different story from the statline. Blake Bortles got out of the pocket, rolled out, made plays with his feet, and avoided sacks from the San Diego Chargers, who were coming after him in his debut.
Blake Bortles looks to move forward from this defeat in San Diego and looks to be the Quarterback the Jags wanted to see. The Jaguars' 2 interceptions were the only downside from the rookie today, with one of them coming from a play that Cecil Shorts III pulling his hamstring. However, the completion percentage was still at 78.4% when the game was all said and done.
However, Bortles was critical of his own play today, as well as the rest of the offense.
"I didn't play very well, (I) need to get better... We were successful moving the ball. (We) need to continue with that in the second half."
The running game finally found it's first touchdown since November of last season against the Houston Texans in over 230 carries. Toby Gerhart, who ran in the touchdown, however, struggled to move the ball on big down situations, including the second fourth down conversion attempt by the Jaguars and only getting 32 yards on 10 carries. The rest of the offense had 43 yards with Denard Robinson (25 yards on 9 carries) and Blake Bortles (24 yards on 5 carries) carrying the football.
The Jaguars receivers had a day that looks ready and focused with Blake Bortles passing the football. Recently signed costless agent Tight End Nic Jacobs caught his first pass in the NFL for a 2 yard touchdown in the red zone on his NFL debut. The rest of the receivers were led by another Tight End Clay Harbor that just came back from a calf injury that sidelined him since Training Camp and led the way with 8 receptions and 69 yards. However, the Jaguars may have had a big loss at Wide Receiver with Cecil Shorts III pulling his hamstring once again. However, they do look for 2013 Forth Round pick Ace Sanders to return to the roster after serving a 4-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley says, "When the offense moves the ball it helps the defense."
"It felt better offensively... when the offense moves the ball it helps the defense."
"We tackled much better, our coverage was better, just gave up some big plays."
Looking at the other side of the ball, the defense is still looking for an answer to stop the opposing offense. Wide Receiver Keenan Allen had a monster day for San Diego with 10 receptions and 135 yards against the Jaguars secondary that ranks last in the NFL. The defense also allowed for Malcom Floyd and Eddie Royal to grab a total of 3 touchdowns, all over 20 yards.
What the defense did right, however, was only allowing the Chargers to run for 42 yards in an also last ranked rush defense by the Jaguars. They held Running Back Donald Brown for only 19 yards on 10 carries in what was a win for the defensive line for the Jaguars.
The Jaguars now look on to next week against the Steelers. Whatever happens throughout the next couple of weeks, Blake Bortles looks to keep on learning from his mistakes as Quarterback and he may lead to the Jaguars to victory after a tough stretch to start the season.