In the AFC title game, the Jaguars had the Patriots on the ropes. But the Jags couldn’t punch the Pats through.
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey thinks the team lost because it failed to trust its quarterback to win the game.
“I think in crunch time moments, like last year’s playoff game -- not as a team, because we would have trusted him -- but I think as an organization, we should have trusted him more to keep throwing it,” Ramsey told GQ as part of his rollicking this-guy-sucks-this-guy-is-good interview. “We kinda got complacent and conservative. And I think that’s why we lost. We started running it on first and second down, throwing it on third down, every single time we were out there. [The Patriots] caught on to that.”
The Jaguars definitely didn’t trust Bortles in that game. Whether it was taking a pair of knees with 55 seconds left in the first half while leading 14-10 or throwing short passes only during what could have been a knockout drive in the fourth quarter, when the Jags had extended their lead to 20-10 and had recovered a fumble with fewer than 14 minutes to play.
One way to prepare Bortles to succeed against opposing defenses would be to let him face Jacksonville’s starting defense. Ramsey said that doesn’t happen once the real games begin.
“We never go against him unless it’s training camp,” Ramsey said. “We never go against them in practice, during the season. . . . [W]e don’t wanna hurt his confidence. That’ll probably hurt his confidence.”
Not trusting him to win big games in January also may hurt his confidence. Especially the next time the Jaguars have a big game in January.