Jacksonville Jaguars Week 16 Power Rankings: Blake Rising
By Daniel Lago
The Jacksonville Jaguars are peaking at the right time, partly thanks to the stellar play of Blake Bortles. They’re firmly in the top 10 of power rankings.
Don’t look now, but the Jacksonville Jaguars look like on of the best teams in the NFL and it’s happening at the exact right time in the NFL calendar.
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After working out some kinks over the first half of the season, Blake Bortles has steadied his play and looked like a Pro Bowl quarterback over the last 3 weeks. Two of those games have been against tomato cans (the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans) but he also absolutely shredded a good Seattle Seahawks defense.
Still, people are hesitant to buy into Bortles, with the logic now being that he’ll crumble under the pressure in January.
I guess we’re going to find out, as the Jaguars are one of the few teams who have clinched a playoff berth.
So where does that leave them this week in the power rankings? Lets find out:
"6. Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4, LW: 7)Let’s be very clear: If Blake Bortles plays anywhere near the level he has played at for three weeks (903 yards, seven touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 128.6), the Jaguars can absolutely win a Super Bowl. There’s no weakness if Bortles plays like this. Now, do I believe Bortles will plays like this in January? No. But it’s impossible to ignore what he has done lately."
"6. Jaguars – They are a playoff team as of right now, but they want a lot more than that. That defense is special."
"7. Jacksonville JaguarsIf you had any doubts about the viability or legitimacy of the Jaguars, I hope you at least caught the highlights of the Texans game on Sunday. The defense was its usual stubborn self, allowing Houston a grand total of seven points. Ever so under-the-radar-y, though, Blake Bortles is playing quality football. On Sunday, the least respected multi-year starter in football enjoyed another multi-touchdown, interception-less outing. That’s three straight games now that Bortles, who went 21 of 29 for 326 yards and three touchdowns against Houston, has pulled that feat off. Bortlesmania. #Swaguars"
"6. Jacksonville Jaguars2017 record: 10-4Week 15 ranking: No. 8Calais Campbell and Marcell Dareus (2): Campbell was an offseason acquisition and Dareus a midseason one, but both have revitalized Jacksonville’s defense. Campbell is second in the NFL with 14.5 sacks, and the Jaguars have allowed 3.98 yards per rush with Dareus on field."
My take:
It looks like the Jaguars will be stuck at the 5-7 even if they win their final two games of the season. Barring a loss by the Pittsburgh Steelers or New England Patriots that locks the Jaguars into a first round bye, it’s hard to see anyone ranking the Jaguars any higher than the top 2 seeds in both the AFC and NFC.
That being said, if Blake Bortles keeps playing like this, the Jaguars can beat anyone. Even Frank Schwab, a consistent Bortles hater, begrudgingly admits this (while still throwing shade and saying Bortles won’t play this well in the playoffs).