By Greg Henrici and Justin Lipitz

Following a surprisingly successful season, the Jacksonville Jaguars have awarded Blake Bortles with a monster 3 year, 54 million dollar contract. Although Jacksonville was able to push the New England Patriots to the brink in the AFC Championship game, many are still skeptical as to whether or not Bortles was worthy of such a deal and if he actually should hold credit for the team’s dominance.

This past season, Bortles was generally an average quarterback, although the Jaguars saw him improve upon the 2016-2017 season. At the surface, some of his numbers do look solid, as he threw 21 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Even so, his interception rate of 2.5%, and his quarterback rating of 84.7 both ranked 20th in the NFL. Bortles also only averaged 230 Yards Per Game, and his completion percentage was just 60.2%; these two stats place 16th and 25th in the league, respectively.

In the AFC championship game, the Jaguars were leading New England 14-10, and they held the ball at their own 25-yard line with 55 seconds left. Although there was plenty of time left on the clock, they still elected to kneel, becoming the first team all season to do this with at least 50 seconds remaining before the half. Bortles only had 7 passing plays of 40 or more yards during the regular season. This specific play is especially alarming, because it displayed Jacksonville’s lack of trust in their quarterback. It should also be noted that they kneeled even though their best chance of winning against a dynasty like the Patriots would be to take opportunistic risks like this one.

It is absolutely reasonable to correlate much of Bortles’ success to his superb supporting cast. Rookie running back Leonard Fournette had over 1,000 yards rushing this season, and he is the main reason that Jacksonville led the league in Rushing Yards Per Game. The Jaguars were also ranked 2nd in both Yards Allowed Per Game and Points Allowed, while being the leader in Pass Yards Allowed by a wide margin. The team was also known for being an aggressive team at the line of scrimmage, by having 55 total sacks.

It is evident that the Jaguars evolution into a legitimate contender has been a result of their remarkable defense and their strong running game. The way that they have built around Bortles is reminiscent of the way in which the Denver Broncos surrounded an aging Peyton Manning when they won the Super Bowl; they too had an unbelievable defense, a powerful rushing attack and a well rounded offensive line. It is completely understandable to question Jacksonville for paying their quarterback this much, especially because of how he regressed in the 2016 season. But in the AFC, which outside of New England and Pittsburgh is not very strong, the Jaguars will not need Bortles to be much better than he was this previous season in order to break through, providing the reason they opted to go with continuity.