Blake Bortles vs Tom Brady: Week 3 QB duel

Blake Bortles and Tom Brady will highlight the Jacksonville Jaguars vs New England Patriots game on Sunday.

With the high-flying Brady-led Patriots offense looking to set up a ridiculous number of points yet again, it will fall to Blake Bortles and the Jaguars to try and keep up. This could mean a lot of throwing for the second-year quarterback, especially because Brady has been rocking through the first two weeks.

In this week’s quarterback duel, we may finally see a true gunfight between two QBs. Last week we saw Blake Bortles go big in the first half and then sit quietly in the second while Ryan Tannehill picked apart the defense.

In Week 3 we won’t see Tom Brady wait his turn to rack up yards and take shots at the end zone.

Bortles will have to really step it up to keep pace with Brady. So far, Bortles has just 456 yards (19th in the NFL) compared to a whopping 754 (second in the NFL) for Brady. Brady also has seven touchdowns (tied with Carson Palmer for tops in the league) compared to Bortles’ three (tied for 12th).

If Bortles has to keep up with Brady (and I expect Brady will keep his pace up, even with a decent Jags defense) he may have to start forcing some throws and that could be problematic. Bortles was mistake free in Week 2, but he tossed two interceptions in Week 1. One pass against the Miami Dolphins probably should have been intercepted in Week 2 as well. Meanwhile, Brady has managed to throw zero interceptions. Brady has almost 20 more attempts than Bortles as well.

In this quarterback duel it may be flashy and expected to see both of the players throw the ball around as much as possible. A future Hall of Famer vs an up and coming talent.

If I’m the Jacksonville Jaguars coaching staff, however, I wouldn’t give into that temptation and try and take away Brady’s opportunities with the running game. Behind T.J. Yeldon, the Jaguar say be able to keep the time of possession in their favor and force Tom Brady and his receivers to make plays with less time. This would help relieve pressure on Blake Bortles to be the the entire offense in what could be a high scoring affair.

No matter what happens, we’re in store for a show on Sunday with what is probably the best quarterback duel of the season for the Jags. And to think it almost didn’t happen because of a suspension.

Next: What will be fact and what will be fiction on Sunday?

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