Blake Bortles Breaks David Garrard's Jaguars Record for Most TD Passes in Season

Blake Bortles has entered the Jacksonville Jaguars' record books after throwing his 24th touchdown pass this season, surpassing the previous mark of 23 set by David Garrard in 2010.   

ESPN Stats & Info noted Bortles' history-making moment. He went on to throw for five touchdowns in the game, giving him 27 for the season.

This is the cherry on top of what has been a very good year for Bortles and the Jaguars. The second-year star has made significant improvements in yards per game (268.4) and QBR (50.78) and has already more than doubled his touchdown output from 2014. 

In October, Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus noted where some of Bortles' improvements from 2014 to 2015 had come from:

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Though he still struggles under pressure far more than when kept clean, he has increased his completion percentage to 43.9 percent, thrown one touchdown to two picks, and his passer rating is up to 58.7. None of those are spectacular figures, but that is a big improvement in just one year, and it is the worst element of his game. His yards per attempt on those plays has jumped by more than two yards as well, as he has figured out how to make some big plays as well as the bad ones.

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There is also a lot of talent around Bortles that is developing nicely. Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns might be the NFL's best wide receiver duo, with Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus noting the Jaguars were the only team with two wideouts who had a PFF grade above 84. 

Garrard told Mike DiRocco of ESPN before this season started that he wanted to see Bortles break his single-season touchdown record. 

"I’d be happy if Blake were able to break it," he said. "The way the league is now that shouldn’t be a problem. You can barely touch receivers now. ... you add all these weapons and T.J. Yeldon, hopefully he’ll be in the 30s this year."

While Bortles still has a little bit of work to do if he wants to reach the 30-touchdown mark, he certainly has enough time to do so. The Jags are finally showing signs of building something after four consecutive years of disastrous performance on the field. 

When the Jaguars took Bortles third overall, they were hoping he would be the face of the franchise and lead them to the promised land. There is still a lot of work to be done, but things look very good in Jacksonville for the first time in a long time.