Jaguars Putting Too Much Pressure on Blake Bortles to Carry Franchise Forward

The Jacksonville Jaguars finally looked to have something going right as Blake Bortles made his first career NFL start against the Chargers. It wasn't hard to tell that Bortles was on the field, because he was the only reason the Jaguars even flashed competency in San Diego. 

Even as the rookie quarterback completed just 29 of 37 passes for 253 yards and one touchdown, it was hard to not be impressed by his first start. Bortles was sacked three times but evaded rushers deftly when given a chance, even putting a spin move on one would-be sack that looked like it belonged in the NBA instead of the NFL. 

But as the game wore on, it became more apparent that the mantle of this Jaguars franchise is completely in his hands. The offense is in disarray as the offensive line continues to hold the run game and most of the deep passing tree hostage. The defense has continued to slide into full-fledged regression from last year. They were 29th in Football Outsiders' defensive DVOA headed into this week, and things didn't get any more promising as Philip Rivers carved them up and left Bortles in bad game scripts for the majority of the second half. 

The natural comparison, both in terms of where the Jaguars aspire to reach and in terms of how much of the load Bortles will be forced to take, is right to Andrew Luck. 

I want to be crystal clear here: I am not saying that Bortles is on pace to be Andrew Luck. I am saying that his situation reminds me a lot of the one the Colts placed on Luck in 2012, when Bruce Arians used Luck, Reggie Wayne, T.Y. Hilton and some bailing wire to win 11 games and go the playoffs despite a horrendous defense and offensive line. 

I am also not saying that Bortles is going to be as good as Luck—he was certainly not that kind of generational prospect coming out of the draft. I am saying that it's impossible to look at how Bortles has raised the game of the offense around him, even despite how conservative the game plan was, and not think of Luck. 

Bortles' physical traits, football IQ and pocket presence are the building blocks that franchise quarterbacks are made of. While it's much too early to say he's there yet, his first start should make Jaguars fans optimistic that he can reach his ceiling. And in the NFL, as long as your team has a pulse in the franchise quarterback race, it has a chance to really get somewhere down the line. 

So it's up to the Jaguars to do what the Colts haven't been able to do so far for Luck: surround their quarterback with a team worthy of his talents. 

That means the regression we've seen so far needs to be fixed. The Jaguars can't have Geno Hayes single covering Eddie Royal 25 yards down field. They can't have Winston Guy continue to play after getting abused week after week. 

For that matter, now that the Jaguars have a quarterback with such intense promise, it's time to stop kicking the other concerns this team has down the road. Luke Joeckel has been a disappointment at left tackle, and the offensive line play has been disastrous outside of Zane Beadles. With all the shots this team has taken at running back—Toby Gerhart, Denard Robinson, Jordan Todman, Storm Johnson—it still doesn't have a consistent back to show for it. 

Gregory Bull/Associated Press

Because look, unless Ryan Grigson and company really start changing the way they do business, the truth is that there will be an opportunity to chase down the Colts from behind next season. The Jaguars are the only team in the division with a quarterback capable of doing so at the moment.

But the Jaguars aren't going to threaten the Colts with a store-brand Colts plan. They can't have a store-brand Luck with store-brand Colts receivers and hope to match up to the real thing unless they start getting consistent play in the areas where Indianapolis can't: the offensive line and the defense. 

And those are the things that, right now, have proved to be a major disappointment for a rebuilding team that didn't seem to have much incentive to give away playing time to youngsters who didn't play well. To let teams throw all over them and embarrass Chad Henne with a 10-sack deluge is, frankly, dispiriting from a coaching staff and front office that seemed to be on the rise toward the end of last season. 

The Jaguars owe Bortles more than that if they're going to ask him to save the franchise. Saving the franchise isn't something he can do on his own. 

Rivers McCown is the AFC South lead writer for Bleacher Report. His work has also appeared on Football Outsiders and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @riversmccown.