After a poor showing in their crucial Week 7 divisional game against the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars starting quarterback Blake Bortles was benched for Cody Kessler, via Rotoworld,
Bortles failed to move the ball at all, completing just 6-of-12 passes for 61 yards with two lost fumbles that directly led to Texans touchdowns. Put simply, it was time. Bortles has been as erratic as ever this season, showing no signs of progression, taking too many sacks, and turning the ball over far too often. Kessler is a weak-armed game manager, but he is a better option under center for the Jaguars at this point.
This has been the third straight game where he has played poorly. He threw four interceptions in a 30-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5 and only managed to throw for 149 yards in a 40-7 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6. He entered the week tied for the league lead in interceptions with eight, including six in the past three weeks. He also ranked 28th in quarterback rating at 81.1.
Interestingly enough, this comes just hours after reports surfaced that the Jaguars have no interest in trading for a quarterback to challenge Bortles. To be fair, Bortles wasn't getting much help from his teammates as Keelan Cole had two early drops and the offensive line didn’t give much protection.
Kessler, on the other hand, wasted no time taking advantage of the opportunity given to him and almost immediately scored a touchdown for the Jaguars.
Kessler started eight games in his rookie year for the Cleveland Browns in 2016. He finished that season with six touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 92.3 passer rating.
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