Blake Bortles has taken much of the blame for the Jacksonville Jaguars playing poorly over the past month, and the quarterback seems to believe the finger-pointing has gone too far.
Michael Silver of NFL.com interviewed Bortles four days before he was benched in last week’s 20-7 loss to the Houston Texans, and Bortles claimed he is “totally at peace” with the criticism he receives. However, he had an interesting way of describing how fans and analysts view him.
“I totally understand that I’m like the scapegoat for this team,” Bortles said. “When we play good, ‘The defense played well, the running back did good, the receivers made great plays.’ And when we play bad, ‘Blake Bortles is the worst quarterback on the face of the planet.'”
While those remarks seem to indicate that all the negative talk bothers Bortles, he insists he “couldn’t care less” and just wants to win games. Despite being benched in favor of Cody Kessler last week, Bortles will get another shot to start in London against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Bortles may not get the credit he deserves when he plays well, but that’s because he has far more bad games than good ones. He has thrown five interceptions and lost three fumbles in the past three games, and his inability to protect the football has put Jacksonville’s defense in difficult positions. Leonard Fournette’s injury hasn’t helped a team that typically relies on the run, but Bortles has not done nearly enough to compensate for the running back’s absence.
With a recent report we heard about how Bortles’ teammates feel about the former No. 3 overall pick, he might feel he is becoming a scapegoat in his own locker room — not just with fans.
