FanPost

Bortles good, not great, all time against 2017 AFC playoff teams

Bortles is better than you think?

Love him or hate him, it's a question we all have.

Blake Bortles is not Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady. Let’s get that out of the way. In fact, outside of 2015, he’s never even come close. He wasn’t close in 2015 either, but he at least hit some big arm statistics: 4,400 yards, 35 TDs. The biggest stat Bortles is known for is pick 6s; which, at the beginning of the 2017 season he had as many as he had wins. In 2018, Bortles will play all 5 2017 playoff teams during the regular season, including twice against the Titans. So far, he is 1-0 against those teams.

This got me wondering what Bortles’ all time record is against the 2017 playoff teams. Four of those five teams are our biggest current rivals: the Titans, Patriots, Steelers and Bills. All time, Bortles is 8-10, with a chance to improve to 14-10 before the 2018 playoffs. I decided to dig into the stats a little deeper, and was actually surprised by what I found. While (as mentioned) not Rodgers or Brady, what if I told you he has done better than you think?

Preface: Bortles most important stat is playing all 18 games possible against these teams. It doesn’t matter how good a QB is if they can’t stay on the field. Despite his success as a mobile QB, Bortles has been dependable and played through injuries.

Here is a breakdown of Bortles’ stats, all time, against the 5 2017 playoff teams:

Titans: 3-5 record

184/298, 61.7%, 2057 yards, 6.9 yards/attempt, 13 TDs, 4 INTs, 26 rushing attempts, 163 yards, 6.27 yards/attempt, 1 reception, 20 yards, 1 rec TD, 3 fumbles

Patriots: 1-2 record

69/114, 60.5 %, 912 yards, 8 yards/attempt, 7 TDs, 2 INTs, 11 rushing attempts, 40 yards, 3.63 yards/attempt, 2 fumbles

Steelers: 2-1 record

44/76, 57.9%, 500 yard, 6.6 yards/attempt, 1 TD, 3 INTs, 10 rushing attempts, 58 yards, 5.8 yards/attempt, 1 fumble

Bills: 2-1 record

38/78, 48.7%, 395 yards, 5 yards/attempt, 5 TDs, 1 INT, 23 rushing attempts, 166 yards, 7.2 yards/attempt, 2 fumbles

Chiefs: 0-1 record

22/41, 53.7%, 252 yards, 6.1 yards/attempt, 2 TD, 1 INT, 6 rushing attempts, 51 yards, 9 yards/attempt

Now, these stats wont necessarily pop of the stat sheet, but there’s some pretty interesting results when analyzed.

  • Good - Health: played all 18 games
  • Bad - Success: lost more than he’s won
  • Good - Clutch: 2-1 playoff record
  • Good - Yards: 250+ yards per game against 3/5 teams
  • Good - Mobility: 6.3 yards per attempt in 18 games for 473 yards
  • Bad - Scoring: Less than 2.5 TDs per game against against all teams
  • Good? - Turnovers: Averaged 1 or less turnovers per game against 3/5 teams
  • Good - Recent: 4-3 record since 2017, including 3-1 against the best 2 teams in the AFC this millennium.

He may not be Rodgers or Brady, but these are much better conclusions than I thought I would find. It will be very interesting to see how these stats shape up against these opponents by the end of the regular season, especially if he wins the 5 remaining games.

What other conclusions can we draw from these stats? Is it better or worse than you were expecting? Tell me down in the comments section!

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