Jacksonville Jaguars defeat the Seattle Seahawks 30-24: Quick Notes

Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars offense put on an impressive show, taking down the Seattle Seahawks 30-24 in a big statement win.

Alone in first place of the AFC South, the Jacksonville Jaguars are riding high thanks to a masterful performance by Blake Bortles and the offense. The Jaguars defense was unusually leaky late in their 30-24 win against the Seahawks and Bortles gave the Jaguars enough of a cushion to bail the defense out.

Here are some more quick notes from today’s big win:

• Russell Wilson may be in the running for the league MVP, but Blake Bortles was the MVP of this game. Without a doubt, this was Blake Bortles’ best game as a professional quarterback. The Jaguars needed Bortles to put some distance between them and Wilson because the Seattle quarterback can will his team to a come from behind win at any time. Blake was making absolutely perfect bucket throws throughout the game and the last few drives he had that produced points were what won the game. Blake is always going to be questioned and doubted considering how bad he’s played when things are sour, but this was a big time win against a playoff team and a reason for optimism. If Blake plays like this, the Jaguars can beat anyone.
• Leonard Fournette was struggling entering this contest but boy did he get right. He was aggressive and showed the kind of burst we saw at the beginning of the season that made him a frontrunner for rookie of the year. The Jaguars needed to milk the clock in the 4th quarter and he helped generate drives of 7+ minutes and 5+ minutes to shorten the game and wear down the Seattle defense. Some of the time off he had in the middle of the season may actually be a blessing as the Jaguars head towards the playoffs.
• The Jacksonville defense was outstanding… outside of two plays. The Jacksonville secondary, the best in the league by a considerable margin, gave up two long touchdown passes at the absolute worst time. They were both coverage breakdowns, a startling trend that almost cost the Jaguars a game that the offense tried to put away. This is something the Jaguars can’t afford to do on a consistent basis.
• Two other quick notes: the referees were horrific today and the Seahawks were pathetic at the end of the game. On the zebras – they missed obvious calls on both sides for a majority of the game (apparently holding doesn’t exist if Russell Wilson is your QB), and they also failed to contain the animosity that grew as the game went on. Things came to a head when the Jaguars were in victory formation and the Seahawks, led by Michael Bennett, decided to be sore losers instead of letting the game end.

More on this statement win by the Jaguars as the week goes on.