NFL: Jaguars: That was just the beginning!

The remarkable season of the Jacksonville Jaguars ended with a bitter 20:24 defeat in the eternal New England Patriots. Despite the disappointment, a lot of pride remains because of an unexpectedly strong season, as well as confidence due to an excellent foundation for the future. Quarterback Blake Bortles has taken his point of view, namely to be the starting quarterback of a winning team, with respect. But does this also correspond to the plans of the franchise?

Tears of disappointment were visible on the face of Bortles as time went by. Too bitter was the end of a dream that, like so many others in the NFL, was destroyed by the sheer genius of Tom Brady and the Patriots. The reward for a Jaguar season that was as strong as it was unexpected was too tangible for the Jaguars, who could have moved into the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history – and at the same time broke the phalanx in the AFC in one fell swoop.

But just because the trip wasn’t in the U. S. Bank Stadium ends at the beginning of February, it does not mean that it was not a successful trip!

Fans in Jacksonville were by no means accustomed to what they experienced this season due to a continuous success allergy in the recent past. Throughout Europe, their brand was more influenced by the annual London appearances than by individual broadcasts in January. In the States, meanwhile, Bortles and the Jaguars acted as metaphorical punching bags in the social media, for which one might have to look elsewhere for a grateful doormat.

The reason for this is the turnaround that Tom Coughlin has initiated since his arrival in the role of Commissioner for Football Affairs in the Sunshine State. The new work attitude was already noticeable in the summer camps. Personnel decisions turned out to be excellent after just one season: Leonard Fournette ran for over 1,000 yards in his rookie season, Free Agent Calais Campbell set a career record of 14.5 sacks and Corner’s newcomer A. J., who had a record of 14.5. Bouye was almost a reflection of the reliability you could count on on the other side of Jalen Ramsey’s playing field.

The Defense paved the way for the magical journey, where the two play-off victories against Buffalo and Pittsburgh this season saw more victories than they had been together for the past three years. The Run Game relieved the error-prone Bortles, who had thrown as many Pick-Sixes in his career before the season as he could win games. However, it was not until the victory against the Steelers in the Divisional round that their relevance was underscored. A win that prevented the two hall-of-fame-quarterbacks in the AFC Championship game from being the only logical choice in many places.

The patriots also got to know what the Jaguars are all about. The Game Plan, which worked very well last week, seemed to be working fine again. New England’s Defense had no answer to the combination of running and play action over long stretches of the first half. In Jacksonville’s two scoring drives, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett allowed Bortles to throw in eight of the eleven first downs – unthinkable, if you remember the supposed dependence on Fournette this season.

The Jaguars dominated the 35:08 to 24:52 ball time duel, holding Brady and the Pats over the first three quarters at one of eight possible third down conversions. Even in one of Belichick’s most effective trick plays, Myles Jack was pulled out of the loop when he conquered the ball in his tackle against Dion Lewis. And yet it should not be enough in the end. In the final drive, the offense failed in need of a touchdown during a fourth-down conversion.

In the end, Brady’s ability to play his best game in the most important moments was too much, and even after Rob Gronkowski’s retirement, to be able to set the scene perfectly. In the end, six penalties over 98 yards, including two pass interference calls, and an approved 3rd-and-18 conversion on the high-impact Danny Amendola were too much. Above all, however, a lack of Plan B was decisive when the patriots increased pressure in the second half and took the play-action component out of play with several rushers.

“We had a bigger goal, bigger ambitions,”summed up a disappointed Ramsey after the game,”We’re pretty pissed that we didn’t win. But at the end of the day we have to reflect on the season and be proud of ourselves. We grew closer together as a group and found a way to get us here.”

The road we have taken up to that point was indeed a long way off. But no one had to go any further than the quarterback, which is always central to football. Bortles finished the best season of his career with an absolute high in December. In the playoffs he ran in a difficult game against the Bills for more yards than he fit. In Pittsburgh, he was responsible for two hugely important fourth-quarter touchdown drives that took the game out of reach for the Steelers.

The performance against the patriots, however, is perhaps the strongest. Bortles, who is so often criticized and laughed at, sold 64 percent of his passports for 293 yards and a touchdown. From accurate back-shoulder throws to a rescued play thanks to rollout after a flea flicker, he showed the unexpected under pressure from his repertoire.

“It’s hard to be happy about anything right now,”Bortles says,”but I’m sure we can look back on the season at some point and think of all the good things that have happened.”

Whether he himself is still a member of the Jaguars at this time is not certain, despite his good season. Discussions about whether Bortles is the right man to lead Jaguars to the Lombardi Trophy at some point in the day were more than enough.

The Jaguars have taken the option in the contract for a fifth year of the former first round pick. In 2018, Bortles stands with 19.1 million dollars, the average salary of the ten best earning quarterbacks in the league, in the books – if he is not yet dismissed – and the options in Alex Smith, Kirk Cousins, Case Keenum, Sam Bradford, Coughlin-familiar Eli Manning or a trade up in the draft have already been and will continue to be diligently speculated after this postseason.

One thing seems to be clear. Whether with or without Bortles, this team is well prepared for the future. The magnificent Defense remains intact and is in all parts, with the exception of Calais Campbell, 27 years or younger. Campbell and Ramsey are on the right track with First Team All Pros and Myles Jack and Bouye:”We’ve definitely earned a lot of respect for next year,” Campbell said,”I told the boys that we need to see this game as a motivation for the future!

And on the offensive side, too, the foundations have been laid for the future. Fournette is already one of the absolute top backs, Hackett is one of the better coordinators of the league. Coughlin has just got a huge head start going in his first year and the team is sure that he has a long way to go “We don’t let our heads down,”says Marqise Lee,”We know how good we are and we just want to get even better. We know where we stand and where we want to go.”

The Jaguars failed by a hair’s breadth in the AFC Championship game, perhaps the most consistent and experienced team of all time. Already this trip up to here was a successful one in any case, because the respect of the league one has secured oneself without question. And so it seems clear to everyone: That was only the beginning!