The Jacksonville Jaguars lost by one possession in their second straight week, most recently to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, and rookie quarterback Blake Bortles is a big reason why. He's completing two out of every three passes, and has 71% accuracy on third down.
And the good people over at Pro Football Focus are finally taking notice.
According to Pro Football Focus, Bortles finally earned a positive grade for his performance against the Titans. He completed 32-for-46 passes, threw for 336 yards, ran for another 38 yards and scored a touchdown. He had a few ill-advised passes, with the interception on the pass intended for Allen Hurns being the most egregious, but otherwise looked very good... especially when you consider it's only the third start of his career.
His 1.3 rating earns him 13th place for the week, above the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Nick Foles, and Peyton Manning.
Although I'd disagree with a few evaluations from Pro Football Focus (like the time they gave him the fourth-worst rating of the week against the San Diego Chargers) I'd have to say they have Bortles ranked appropriately. He could be a little higher, but it's close.
While his completion percentage was fourth-best of the week, his interception was a result of locking onto one receiver and not seeing the cornerback sitting on the route. And at least one, and possibly two, of the six sacks he suffered was directly his fault.
However, with a porous offensive line, a non-existent running game, and receivers who drop passes or fumble near the red zone, there's only so high of a grade you're going to be able to get as a rookie entering your third career start. With all that said, I think just outside of the top-10 is a good place to be.