Blake Bortles, Chad Henne Still Competing for Jaguars Starting QB Job

The starting quarterback spot for the Jacksonville Jaguars is reportedly still hanging in the balance.

According to Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com, Jacksonville head coach Doug Marrone didn't name a starter between Chad Henne and Blake Bortles after the Jaguars dropped Thursday's preseason game to the Carolina Panthers 24-23.

While Rosenthal noted there is not an official timetable for the decision, he added, "Gotta figure it's Henne."

Bortles' statistics from Thursday's game stand out on a cursory look considering he was 12-of-16 passing for 125 yards and one touchdown while Henne was 8-of-14 passing for 73 yards and zero touchdowns.

However, Henne's numbers would have looked much better were it not for a critical drop from Keelan Cole. What's more, Bortles was the only one of the two to throw an interception, and it led to a touchdown for the Panthers going the other way.

Henne also had better numbers through the team's first two preseason games (11-of-16 passing for 183 yards, one touchdown and zero interception) than Bortles (11-of-18 passing for 81 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions) and earned the start in Thursday's contest, the third of the preseason.

The third preseason game is widely seen as the closest thing to a regular-season dress rehearsal in the NFL, and Marrone gave the nod to the veteran.

That the 32-year-old Henne—who has 58 touchdown throws and 63 interceptions in his career and hasn't thrown a regular-season pass since 2014—was Rosenthal's presumed starter over Bortles probably says more about Bortles than Henne.

Bortles was the No. 3 pick in the 2014 draft and still hasn't seized the starting job this year despite previously being seen as the team's quarterback of the future.

They will each have their final chance at making an ideal impression in a preseason game when the Jaguars face the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday.