JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Blake Bortles agrees with what Jacksonville Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said Monday: He’s not playing well right now.

He’s also eager to show that he can fight through the adversity that all quarterbacks face at some point in their rookie season. Some, like Ryan Leaf and JaMarcus Russell, never get past it but Bortles said he’s determined to be one of the ones that does.

"It’s ruined guys careers by starting young and not doing well," Bortles said Wednesday. "I kind of take it as an opportunity to say, ‘We’re not doing well. Watch how I can handle this and bounce back and continue to grow from it.’ That’s how I look at it.

"I know that’s how Gus looks at it and it’s kind of the environment and message that we’re given."

Bortles played his worst game of the season in Sunday’s 23-3 loss to Indianapolis. He completed 15 of 27 passes for a season-low 146 yards. He completed just 4 of 10 passes for 34 yards in the first half and his third quarter was even worse: He was 2-for-5 for 5 yards, sacked twice for minus-18 yards, and fumbled once.

Sunday was the latest in a stretch of poor play. In his last five games Bortles has completed 58.0 percent of his passes for 1,063 yards and four touchdowns with eight interceptions. His Total QBR of 9.1 (50 is considered an average quarterback) is the worst in the league over that span. That’s in contrast to his first four games, three of which he started: 67.8 completion percentage, 1,004 yards, four touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a Total QBR of 48.6.

Bortles admits he was playing more freely in the first four games than he has the last five. He said, as Bradley did on Monday, that he needs to make quicker decisions and get the ball out quicker. He has gotten caught up in a bit of overthinking, he admitted.

"I think that’s part of it," Bortles said. "You want to go play and I want to and I feel like I’m playing my best when I’m playing carefree running around and not thinking a whole lot. I think just trying to get back to that, trying to eliminate some thinking and all of that comes with preparation during the week and making sure that on Sunday you can go play carefree."

Veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis spent time with Bortles on the flight from Indianapolis because he wanted to make sure Bortles understood that he had the support of everyone else as he fights through this slump.

Don’t get impatient and let us help, Lewis said he told Bortles.

"He wants it right now and I was just telling him, like, you have to just slowly get better," Lewis said. "Stop worrying about all the stuff he can’t control. The quarterback’s job is hard enough as it is in this league so just worry about your job. We have to get better around you.

"Just making sure that he knows that we’re not blaming you. You’re not the problem. It’s so many different pieces that need to come together for us to get this thing rolling in the right direction."

But Bortles knows it starts with him.

"That’s pretty obvious that I can do better and do more in my efforts to contributing to help this team be successful," he said.