Why Jacksonville Jaguars fans should be excited for 2016

Dec 13, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley smiles against the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth quarter at EverBank Field. The Jaguars won 51-16. Mandatory Credit: Jim Steve-USA TODAY Sports

The 2015-16 season is coming to an end and even though the Jacksonville Jaguars are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet, it seems very likely that they will be. There have been a lot of ups and downs this season for Jaguars fans, the 51-16 victory over the Colts was a great moment for the Jaguars but the team has dropped three out of their last four contests which basically killed their chance of winning the division.

Coming into this season, I thought it would be realistic for the Jaguars to win six or seven games and they very well could but with the way this season has been going, it seems anything under eight wins is a disappointment. Despite there being a high amount of letdowns this season, the team has drastically improved from last year and it all starts with the man under center, Blake Bortles.

Dec 20, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles (5) throws the ball against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

1. The emergence of Blake Bortles

After Blake Bortles’ rookie season a lot of fans and experts wanted to write him off and consider him a bust but boy has he proved them wrong. Bortles is currently fifth in league with 31 touchdowns which is already 20 more touchdowns than last season. The young Jaguars quarterback is seventh in the league in passing yards and his 305 yards on the ground are the sixth best among all quarterbacks.

He leads all sophomore quarterbacks in passing touchdowns and passing yards, the stats are clearly impressive but that isn’t what stands out to me most. Throughout this season, Bortles has become superior at extending time in the pocket and making plays. Only Alex Smith has been sacked more than Blake Bortles and if it wasn’t for Bortles’ ability to make defenders miss then he would have easily been the most sacked quarterback in the NFL by a wide margin.

Jaguars fans should be very excited for the future of their team because they finally got a quarterback that is on his way to elite status. I may not have been the biggest fan at first but I am so thankful that the Jaguars decided to select Blake Bortles with the third overall pick in the 2014 draft.

Next: Calling the A-Team