JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles didn't have a great game in the 24-6 victory over the Cleveland Browns at EverBank Field on Sunday.
In fact, he didn't even have a good game. It was, by the standards that he set in his first three starts, below average: Three interceptions, 55 percent passing, and a season-low 159 yards.
But he had one great drive and that was enough to help the Jaguars snap a nine-game losing streak.
Bortles needed just three plays and a little more than a minute to drive the Jaguars 76 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 27 seconds remaining in the first half. He did it with his legs as much as his arm.
On first down, he escaped pressure and rolled to his left and found Allen Robinson open for a 16-yard gain and a first down.
On the next play, he escaped pressure and ran to his right before an easy toss to a wide-open Clay Harbor, who ran for 20 yards after the catch to put the Jaguars on the Cleveland 36-yard line.
After a defensive offside penalty wiped out an incompletion to Cecil Shorts III, Bortles and Robinson hooked up again. This time Bortles stayed in the pocket and fired a pass to Robinson, who broke free from cornerback Buster Skrine at the 20-yard line and scored his first career touchdown to put the Jaguars ahead 10-6.
"It seems we do that pretty well," Bortles said. "We moved the ball pretty well in the last couple two-minute drills, but I think it was just good getting some points going into the half."
It's obvious Bortles is very comfortable in the two-minute offense. The quick tempo helps him get into a rhythm. It's almost backyard football and it allows Bortles to just go out and play more freely. The stats show it: Bortles was 3-for-3 for 71 yards on that drive and 14-for-28 for 88 yards in the rest of the game.
That two-minute drive gave the Jaguars some much-needed confidence, which was something the team hadn't experienced since the first half of the season opener. They went into halftime with a lead for the first time since that game, and this time held onto it.
"That was great for us without a doubt to go into halftime like that," Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said. "I just saw the look on the sideline. I don't think you have seen the team deflate if that didn't happen, but it sure helped."
More thoughts on the day after ...
It was certainly a breakout game for rookie linebacker Telvin Smith: one sack, a forced fumble, an interception, and another pass breakup to go along with four tackles. He said only one thing would have made it better: Scoring on his interception, which he returned 15 yards to the Cleveland 7. He was really bummed that he was brought down by Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas, who punched the ball out of his hands as he was being tackled out of bounds. "I should have hit him with a move," Smith joked.
Sunday was the first time offensive tackle Luke Joeckel has experienced a victory in nearly two years. Joeckel was placed on injured reserve after breaking his ankle in a Week 5 loss to St. Louis as a rookie in 2013, so he didn't participate in the Jaguars' four victories in the second half of the season. The last time he played in a victory before Sunday was Jan. 4, 2013, when his Texas A&M team beat Oklahoma 41-13 in the Cotton Bowl -- a span of more than 21 months. "I wasn't playing when we won those games so to get your first NFL win, it's a whole lot better," Joeckel said. "You don't realize it until it happens."
The Jaguars' 185 yards rushing and 35 rushing attempts is the most in the Bradley era. The previous highs came against Buffalo on Dec. 15, 2013 when the Jaguars ran for 159 yards on 31 carries. Denard Robinson's 127 yards was the most by a single player under Bradley and the most by a Jaguars player since Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 169 yards against Indianapolis in the final regular-season game of the 2011 season.