No, the Jacksonville Jaguars are not going to Super Bowl LII - but not because of the reason so many "experts" projected.
With a stellar defense and the league's best rushing attack, the fate of the Jaguars against the New England Patriots in Sunday's AFC Championship Game was supposed to sit on the shoulders of Blake Bortles, considered by some to be the Achilles heel of a well-constructed club.
The Jaguars used rather simple game plans to throw the ball in their first two postseason contests with their fourth-year quarterback, but that type of conservative play would have been too easy for Bill Belichick's crew to pick apart - so the Jaguars bet on Bortles.
For the first time this postseason, Bortles threw more than 26 attempts despite leading most of the game, and came away with his highest yardage (293) since facing the Indianapolis Colts' 28th-ranked pass defense in Week 13. He didn't throw an interception or lose a fumble, nor did he rely on the running game to carry the load.
Facing a raucous crowd and much colder temperatures than Florida, he even turned an ill-timed trick play into a key first down despite being pressured hard by the Patriots' pass rush, and was inches away from a potential game-winning score in the final minutes.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
While the Jaguars certainly never would have been in the AFC Championship with any confidence without the play of their defense, it was their undoing late against Tom Brady and the Patriots' attack. Gaining a 20-10 lead to start the fourth quarter, the Jacksonville defense could not stop Danny Amendola from scoring a pair of touchdowns.
The Jaguars didn't shy away from their mistakes. Safety Tashaun Gipson was not in denial following the defeat, despite the loss of key defenders Myles Jack, Marcell Dareus, and Calais Campbell for parts of the crucial fourth quarter.
"At the end of the day, we had them right where we wanted and we let it get away," Gipson told Ryan O'Hallaran of the Florida Times-Union.
The Jaguars looked the better team for much of the game, showing they belonged in the contest and could very well return in a year's time. However, the question remains whether Bortles will be under center once again. Perhaps his play Sunday showed the front office he is their guy, but the 25-year-old could become a free agent this spring in a snap as he has no money guaranteed on the final year of his rookie deal.
Regardless, Sunday's performance should have silenced many of Bortles' doubters and created even more believers in the quarterback once thought to be the reason his team could never have success.
