Disclaimer: Please do not come after Editor in Chief “Big Natural” Stoney Keeley with your pitchforks, tanks, and scooters. He is not responsible for this article. This is Joshua Huffman who suggests that Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles is better than Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota. Huffman is also responsible for praising Nike as ‘brilliant” for the Colin Kaepernick ad. His beliefs do not represent those of most Nashvillians. Alan Jackson sucks. Just kidding.
Remember when Blake Bortles sucked? He earned the nickname “Garbage Man” because he was the master of manipulating stat-lines with meaningless yards and touchdowns when outcomes were decided. Former Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley‘s team entered every season as a trendy playoff pick. Then Bortles never progressed. Another Top 10 pick awaited them.
Those days appeared over when new head coach Doug Marrone benched Bortles during Jacksonville’s third preseason game of 2017. Backup quarterback Chad Henne didn’t seize the moment. Bortles recaptured his starting job. His Jaguars faced a Week 1 road contest against an AFC South favorite Houston Texans team whose town had just met Hurricane Harvey. Maximum motivation was expected.
Then the Jaguars dominated Houston, 29-7. Two games later, Bortles threw for four touchdowns in a 44-7 victory against the Baltimore Ravens. He had a mid-season stretch where he quarterbacked seven wins in eight attempts. From Dec. 3 to Dec. 17, Bortles had a three-game stretch where his offense outscored opponents 105-41. That stretch included a 7-0 TD-INT ratio. His lowest quarterback rating during that span: 119.8. That stretch gave them the edge with winning the AFC South.
Bortles finished 2017 with 3,687 yards, 21 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and a 84.7 quarterback rating. Those aren’t All Pro numbers. He led two playoff victories. One win came against the heavily favored Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in a 45-42 shootout. Maybe his most impressive showing came when he nearly out-dueled Tom Brady’s New England Patriots in the AFC Championship. Bortles completed 23-of-36 passes for 293 yards with one touchdowns. Jacksonville led 20-10 late in the fourth quarter. Then Brady led two touchdown drives. Bortles couldn’t answer them. The Patriots won 24-20.
NFL fans can look back and realize that maybe those days truly were over—just not in the way everyone imagined. Instead of Bortles finally getting demoted, a new coaching regime helped him improve. Bortles became more comfortable with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. That relationship continues to pay dividends in 2018. The Jaguars have started 2-0. Their Week 2 victory came against Brady’s Patriots. Bortles outplayed Brady as he completed 29-of-45 passes for 377 yards with four touchdowns and an interception. Don’t forget about 35 rushing yards. Not too shabby when one considers Bortles lost his three main wide receivers from the previous season (Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, Marqise Lee). Running back Leonard Fournette didn’t play.
Don’t mistake Blake Bortles for an elite quarterback. That said, he has passed Mariota as the superior quarterback. That wasn’t the case before 2017. A rough patch that included a 2017 season with more interceptions than touchdowns and a 2018 season that started with an elbow injury has dampened many fans on the former 2015 first-rounder.
Mariota has faced a few problems. He can’t remain healthy. Consistent coaching turnover prevented him from adapting to an offense. His wide receivers are inexperienced and/or lack talent. He’s inaccurate on downfield passing (20-plus yards). That was displayed during a Week 1 underthrow to Luke Stocker. It’s worth noting that, in 2016, he increased his quarterback rating on downfield passes from 32.8 to 101.2. The talent is there.
One area where I love Mariota: clutch. Whenever necessary, Mariota throws a block or stiff-arm. He has led multiple fourth quarter comebacks. He was a major component of that 2017 AFC Wild Card comeback when Tennessee turned a 21-3 deficit into a 22-21 victory. Bortles made some key throws in his 2017 AFC Divisional playoff matchup. On his final drive during the 2017 AFC Championship? He fell apart.
Season 4-5 are critical for quarterback development. Just look at how much Bortles has improved. Remember Steve McNair during that period? McNair’s fifth season came during the 1999 Titans’ Super Bowl bid. McNair reached his peak when he shared 2003 Co-NFL MVP honors with Peyton Manning.
This Jaguars vs Titans feud could determine the AFC South for the foreseeable future. Throw in quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Andrew Luck? Developing Mariota is of the utmost importance. The Titans have a good roster. They’ve defeated Jacksonville four of their last five times.
To take that next step, Mariota must step up his game. Get that elbow healthy. Then revisit 2016. See why he excelled in his first two seasons. Use what worked for him then and build from there.
Blake Bortles is a better quarterback than Mariota…for now. Barring injuries, that won’t remain true.
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Joshua Huffman was born and collegiately edumacated in Middle Tennessee. He has published content for Yahoo! Sports (via Contributor Network) and Titan Sized, among other venues. At SoBros, he’ll provide Daily Fantasy Sports suggestions and broad sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter.
