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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- On paper, it looks like Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles played poorly against the Tennessee Titans at EverBank Field on Thursday night. He completed just 13 passes for 115 yards, both the lowest totals of his rookie season. Those numbers, though, don't truly capture everything Bortles did to help the Jaguars beat the Titans 21-13 in front of 61,202 and a national television audience. On paper, he wasn't good. On the grass, he was. After the Jaguars' offense managed just 16 yards on its first four possessions, Bortles sparked a pair of touchdown drives sandwiched around the halftime break to rally the Jaguars from a 10-0 deficit and send them to their third victory of the season. He did it with his legs as much as his arm, an impressive feat considering there was some doubt that he would even be on the field.  "That’s that 'it' factor, man," receiver Cecil Shorts III said. "That’s why he went third overall. He's got that 'it' about him. When you really need it, he's going to make the play, he's going to find a guy, he's going to do what he needs to do.
"You’re only going to see him continue to get better and better and better." Bortles was limited in practice all week because of a right midfoot sprain, which he suffered on a sack during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 20-12 loss to Baltimore. Coach Gus Bradley wasn't sure Bortles would be able to play against the Titans until he watched the rookie go through a workout on the field several hours before the game. Even though Bortles was cleared to play, he was expected to be limited in terms of scrambling and running the ball. Nobody told Bortles this, though. The No. 3 overall draft pick from Central Florida played the way he has all season -- he ran bootlegs, he scrambled away from pressure and he carried the ball on a couple of zone-read plays as well. "If I was able to play, I was going to go play like I know how, like I do," Bortles said. "I wasn't going to go out there if I couldn't run around and move and help the offense at all." For a while, he wasn't helping, but he wasn't alone. The Jaguars had just 16 yards on their first 14 offensive snaps. Bortles completed four of eight passes for 10 yards in that stretch and was sacked twice, including one on which he was hammered by linebacker Derrick Morgan and fumbled. But things changed on the fifth possession, which began at the Jacksonville 20-yard line with 3:46 remaining in the first half. Bortles completed five of seven passes for 42 yards and a touchdown and also had a 9-yard scramble to convert a third-and-9. Three plays later he found tight end Marcedes Lewis for a 4-yard touchdown. Bortles was even better on the first possession of the second half. He hooked up with Marqise Lee for a 34-yard reception on third-and-7 and also ran for 12 yards on a third-and-goal from the 14. The Titans were penalized for holding on the play, giving the Jaguars a first down at the 1-yard line. Bortles also had a 19-yard scramble on third-and-12 later in the third quarter, finishing with 50 yards on five carries. So much for limited mobility. It was a gritty performance, especially from a rookie who is still adjusting to the speed of the game, learning to read defenses and playing behind an offensive line that has allowed a team-record 66 sacks. "We've known this whole time he's a tough guy," left tackle Luke Joeckel said. "We watch him play. He’s a hard-nosed guy. He takes some hits and he pops right back up. We knew going in this game he was a little bit limited, but he didn't show it at all and he made plays. "He's got that confidence and he's got that ability. He's a great leader and he's fun to follow. As an offensive lineman, you love to follow guys that go out there and just compete." It wasn't pretty, and anyone just looking at the box score will call this one of Bortles' worst games. In reality, it was probably one of his best. He was struggling, and the offense was struggling, but he came through when it mattered most. We saw that against the New York Giants, when he led the Jaguars on a game-winning drive, and we saw it again against the Titans. "You know you're going to have games like this and you're going to win," Bortles said. "I couldn't be happier to be a part of it. Some things are going to happen and you're going to win games when you throw for 400 yards and you lose some as well. So it’s part of it. I'm just glad we won."
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