I’ve been fooled by Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles before, during the 2014 preseason, when his impressive performance led me to believe he was primed for a good rookie season. He then went out and ranked last in the NFL in our QB grades.
That’s why I’m trying not to get overly excited about Bortles again lighting it up this preseason – but it’s hard not to be impressed with what he’s done through three games, most notably his performance against the Lions last week. He found a rhythm, playing into the third quarter, and displayed the kind of accuracy that the Jags want to see from the face of their franchise – earning a very impressive +5.7 grade in the process.
His stats are certainly gaudy enough; he completed 20-of-29 passes including seven over 10 yards in the air. What’s more, outside of getting spooked a little early on one play, he showed good poise in a pocket that wasn’t always clean (guard Zane Beadles had issues with the power of DT Tyrunn Walker, and tackle Luke Joeckel struggled with everything thrown at him by Philip Hunt). He scrambled when necessary, and did an excellent job of leading his receivers into extra yards while fitting the ball into some rapidly closing windows.
No career is made on a preseason performance. But you’d be forgiven for allowing Jaguars fans reason to get excited about Bortles after last week.
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