Blake Bortles Toughs It Out in Thursday Night Victory

The Jacksonville Jaguars have had a tough 2014 campaign, and at best they can only hope to match their 2013 win total if they beat the Houston Texans in the final week of the season. Despite the meager win total, Jaguars fans have plenty to get excited about heading into 2015 and that includes their first round pick.

Blake Bortles was questionable heading into Thursday night’s 21-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans, but he gutted through a foot sprain and willed his offense to points when they were in desperate need of them.

Bortles only amassed 115 yards through the air on 13/26 passing attempts, but he made huge plays with his feet when the Jaguars needed him to. Before halftime, the Jaguars were facing a 3rd-and-9 down 10-0 when Bortles took matters into his own hands, scrambling for 9 yards and giving the Jaguars life in the redzone. He followed it up with a gorgeous pass to Marcedes Lewis in the endzone, giving the Jaguars all the momentum heading into halftime.

The Jaguars started the game with 4 laughably bad offensive drives, gaining only 16 yards before going on that emphatic 80 yard touchdown drive late in the 2nd quarter. The Jaguars really had nothing to hang their hat on offensively until then, and the game turned when Toby Gerhart and Bortles marched down the field.

Ultimately, this won’t be the defining game for Bortles in his rookie season, but it will be one of the many small indicators of why he will be successful. He played through an injury and made just enough plays to get this team a win.