Blake Bortles Says He's the 'Scapegoat' for Jaguars' Struggles

Quarterbacks and head coaches in the NFL often receive most of the blame for losses and much of the praise when a team wins, and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles acknowledged that he was fine with being the "scapegoat" for Jacksonville's current struggles during an interview last week with Michael Silver of NFL.com: 

"I'm totally at peace with that. I totally understand that I'm like the scapegoat for this team. 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.'

"And I get it. Obviously, that's not what I would have chosen for myself. And I'm sure it'll never stop. But I couldn't care less. I just want to win football games with this team."

The comments came just days before Bortles was benched in the second half of the team's 20-7 divisional loss against the Houston Texans. He will resume his starting duties in London against the Philadelphia Eagles, however.

Bortles isn't solely to blame for Jacksonville's disappointing 3-4 start, but he absolutely shoulders a large portion of the blame. He's struggled in 2018, throwing for 1,735 yards, nine touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing just 60.6 percent of his throws. He's also been sacked 14 times and lost two fumbles.

That play even prompted Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins to take a shot at Bortles—while making a different point about Colin Kaepernick deserving a place on an NFL team—ahead of their Sunday morning clash in London.

"We've always maintained, I know I've always maintained, and every chance I get to say Colin Kaepernick has started this. Eric Reid deserves a job. Colin Kaepernick deserves a job," Jenkins said, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com. "I can turn on the tape this week in our opponent and see that Colin Kaepernick deserves a job."

As Silver noted, Jenkins wasn't the first opponent to throw shade at Bortles. Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas called him "subpar" last season. The next week, Texans defensive end Jadeveon Clowney called him "trash." Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jurrell Casey said before last year's playoffs that, "As long as Bortles is back there, if the ballgame is in his hands, he's going to choke."

That was just a smattering of the trash talk that has been directed at Bortles from other NFL players throughout his career.

Bortles responded last season by helping lead the Jaguars to the AFC Conference Championship, where they lost to the New England Patriots. And the Jaguars offered him a vote of confidence, signing him to a three-year, $54 million contract extension this offseason.

Thus far that has not looked like money well spent, with the Jags in danger of falling out of the postseason altogether. Sunday's matchup against the 3-4 Eagles will be key for both sides, and for Bortles, anything less than a win will put his starting job in jeopardy.