Like it or not, Blake Bortles has played well enough to keep his job

About this time last year, Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars were coming off their eighth straight loss of the season with playoff hopes in the rearview mirror and a head coach firing on the horizon.

It was all but assumed the former third overall pick's days as the team's starting quarterback were numbered following his third straight losing campaign.

The promotion of interim head coach Doug Marrone and return of Tom Coughlin to Jacksonville as vice president of football operations somehow earned Bortles another chance as management planned to lean on solid defensive play and a heavy rushing attack. That did little to instill confidence in the minds of fans and media, who had been assuming the Jaguars would move on to a free-agent veteran or one of the many high-profile college passers.

However, those fans and media also assumed that Bortles would be the pin that popped the Jaguars' balloon.

The array of talent across the Jaguars' defense and within their receiving and running back corps is undeniably enough to warrant a playoff spot. What's surprising though, is that Bortles is playing his part, too. As such, the Jaguars are right where they should be - atop the AFC South, one game back of a playoff bye.

The 6-foot-5 passer is playing the best football of his pro career, and more importantly, has managed to kick his habit of producing an abundance of game-losing turnovers. Bortles has turned the ball over multiple times just twice this season, going 1-1 in those contests.

Last Sunday, the 25-year-old won the biggest game of his career, knocking off the Seattle Seahawks with a two-touchdown, 268-yard performance while averaging 9.9 yards per attempt. Over the last seven contests, Bortles has helped the team to a 6-1 record, throwing eight touchdowns to just three interceptions.

*Also had two rushing TDs in a 27-24 loss (only loss of stretch)

While the league's second-ranked defense and top-rated running game will receive the bulk of the credit for the wins, Bortles is doing his job for the Jaguars - not losing the game.

That may not be the best compliment, but it's all Bortles may need to do keep his position as Jacksonville's starting quarterback. Those options that some were assuming before the season to be automatic upgrades over Bortles aren't looking so obvious anymore.

The Jaguars have gone too long into this season without Bortles messing things up to secure a draft pick that would be high enough to get one of the more polished quarterbacks like Josh Rosen or Sam Darnold. It's possible that a high-ceiling passer will be available with their late first-round pick or in the later rounds, but with the current win-now state of the franchise, a step backward may not be the best bet.

It's unlikely that Jacksonville will be interested in shelling out the big bucks to attract a veteran name like Kirk Cousins or Drew Brees as its run-first offense doesn't need a star under center. Upcoming contracts to defensive contributors will also require plenty of cap room. Assuming the Minnesota Vikings retain Case Keenum, potential free-agent passers Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater are coming off major injuries. Eli Manning and Alex Smith are rumored to possibly be on the trade market, but the Jaguars would need to outbid other clubs to pry either way.

Bortles' name has been dragged through the mud over the first three years of his career, due in large part to his overly candid quotes and comically bad play. The NFL world has become accustomed to scoffing at the notion of Bortles as a top quarterback - a bold statement that his teammate Leonard Fournette suggested last Sunday.

With one year remaining on his rookie contract after this season, Bortles has not lived up to the top-three draft status that Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, Andrew Luck, and Marcus Mariota have set. But having helped the Jaguars to their first winning season since 2007 by reducing the high turnover numbers that set back his first three years, it's time to stop talking about Bortles as if he's a dead man walking. He may be here for a while.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)