Those who thought the Jaguars were primed to take a step forward this season usually included quarterback Blake Bortles among the reasons for their optimism about things to come in Jacksonville.
Bortles took some strides during his second NFL season and formed a strong partnership with the Allen Robinson/Allen Hurns receiving duo, but he hasn’t built on those strides so far this season. Bortles ranks near the bottom of the league in completion percentage, interception rate, yards per attempt and passer rating after turning in a dismal performance against the Raiders last Sunday.
Those struggles haven’t shaken coach Gus Bradley’s faith in Bortles, though.
“I firmly, firmly believe in Blake Bortles,” Bradley said, via ESPN.com. “Without a doubt. I think it was a challenging day yesterday about some of the situations we were in, but as far as the competitor ... and what he brings to this team, there is no doubt [about Bortles].”
Disappointing as Bortles’ performances may be, the Jaguars don’t have anything to gain from going in a different direction. Chad Henne isn’t the future on offense and the Jaguars have tied too much of their future to Bortles’ development to totally shake things up with rookie Brandon Allen.
Should things fail to improve in the coming months, perhaps a different decision will be made by a different coach. For now, though, the Jaguars will have to hope that Bortles reverses course.