I'll admit that I certainly hoped for, and even expected, a better performance from Blaine Gabbert. Against a defense among the league's worst I thought he would finally be able to have the breakout game to inspire hope for the future of the Jaguars offense. A bad interception on his first throw of the game did not help.
At halftime, Gabbert was 6 for 12 for 48 yards with one interception and no touchdowns. Good for an uninspiring 25.7 quarterback rating.
His performance in the second half was a completely different story, though. After throwing an incompletion on his first attempt of the half, he finished with eight consecutive completions for 70 yards, including a touchdown pass to Jarett Dillard. His second half performance was good for a 136.1 rating and was enough to pull the Jaguars from a 3-3 halftime score to a 17-3 victory.
After throwing for 70 yards in a half, I'm not going to use the word "breakout" to describe anything about Gabbert's game, but it may have been enough to enstill some confidence into the rookie. Jaguars fans can only hope that his performance carries into coming weeks.