Jaguars, Blake Bortles Must Play Better Against the New York Jets
By David Levin
After the team’s 9-6 loss to the Tennessee Titans, the Jacksonville Jaguars and quarterback Blake Bortles must play better against the New York Jets this Sunday at TIAA Bank Field.
The comments after the 9-6 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon by Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles summed up his performance and the how the team played against their division rival.
This one stung a bit.
The fifth-year quarterback has had an up and down season so far, looking like an All-Pro against the Patriots and then trying to find his rhythm in the season opener against the New York Giants and his performance against the Titans.
It’s still early in the year, but a better effort from the team’s signal caller is what this team needs to stay the course and win the AFC South.
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“Offensively we didn’t play good. We killed ourselves. We made stupid penalties, drops, missing throws. We have to not hurt ourselves. I think especially the way our defense is and the way they play, we have to score one touchdown and win the game. Not score six points in four quarters, that’s bad as an offense… They played good,” he said.
The performance on the field this weekend, 155 yards passing and no touchdowns, is a far cry from the 377 yards in the air and four scores he threw just a week ago. The Titans defense game planned well and keep the offense at bay for the majority of the afternoon.
The team has had issues with the Titans in their last three contests, and now are tied with them for the lead in the AFC South, but are technically behind them in the standings by virtue of the loss at home.
"“It definitely feels like a letdown. I don’t think there was anything carried over from last week or the previous two weeks. We try to treat it like a new start, a fresh start,” Bortles added. “Second home game of the year, first divisional game. I thought the week of preparation was really good. I thought practice all week was good. Kind of came out and offensively laid a goose egg. Score six points in four quarters is hard to do.”"
With the New York Jets coming to town this weekend and rookie Sam Darnold under center, the opportunity presents itself for a chance at another win. The Jets beat the Jaguars last season. Bortles will have to play better, as will the rest of the offense.
It all starts with quarterback play, as the former first-round draft pick knows.
"“I think you go into an NFL season and you want to win every game you play. I think realistically you are going to lose a game,” Bortles said. “You’re going to lose a couple of games. You don’t want to. You don’t expect to but it’s going to happen… We still have a chance to win the first quarter of our season and we have another home game coming back, so we need to get rolling again and get back on track.”"