Blake Bortles vs Philip Rivers: The upstart vs the proven veteran
By Luke Sims
Blake Bortles made an unbelievable jump from year one to year two, but he’ll need to show he belongs by hanging in games with some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
Heading into the Week 2 matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the San Diego Chargers, it’s easy to overlook just how important this game is for Jags quarterback Blake Bortles. He wants to win every game, obviously, and is disappointed his team didn’t come out on top in an improbable fashion in Week 1.
But this week is also about the beginning of his establishment as one of the best in the NFL at his position.
In Week 1, Bortles had the game literally on his arm the entire time. With almost no running game to speak of and the need to outperform Aaron Rodgers, Bortles delivered over 300 yards, completed over 60 percent of his passes, and looked incredibly sharp all game. People came away from that game seeing Bortles stand toe to toe with one of the NFL’s best and come away looking every bit like a franchise quarterback.
Just last season, fans were wondering if Bortles can even lead the team effectively in a game or through a whole season after his worst-in-the-NFL rookie debut. 2015 saw him put up huge numbers and finish in the top-10 in yards and top two in touchdown passes.
The first game of 2016 against the Packers showed that Bortles is consolidating the progress he made in year two. He showed that he is every bit the franchise quarterback he hinted he could be in 2015.
Now he needs to do it again. And again. And again. The tests never end in professional football. Week 2 brings a big challenge in the Chargers and Philip Rivers.
Rivers and the Chargers haven’t delivered on their talent level in recent years, failing to win more than nine games since 2009. Still, Rivers is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and going toe to toe with him and coming out at the same level or better will be a big step forward for Blake Bortles and his legacy as a quarterback.
It’s year three and he knows it is time to prove himself. He needs to beat these wily, cerebral and powerful quarterbacks.
Here at B&T we like to track how Bortles does compared to his own cohort (Derek Carr and Teddy Bridgewater) but it is actually against players like Rivers, Rodgers, Tom Brady, and even Cam Newton that Bortles aims to be compared to and against. It’s Andy Dalton, Tony Romo, and Russell Wilson that he hopes to make his peers, not the other upstarts.
Next: New challenges arise for the Jags defense
For Week 2, the quarterback duel is going to be between the upstart Bortles and the established veteran Rivers. It’ll be an exciting game to watch for both quarterbacks.